David Gaudu discussion thread

[Mayomaniac]

When he crashed, everyone suddenly breathed a sigh of relief when they realized it wasn't Pinot who'd hit the deck. I mean that's how much Gaudu's Tour sucked. It was his defining moment tbh.

So that wasn't just me and the commentators...

 

[skippo12]

If you don´t have Vingegaard or Pogacar it makes no sense to build the entire team around GC ambitions. For the most part all Gaudu has to do is follow them for as long as possible and it doesn´t take an entire team to do that.
Just have to look at teams like Bahrain that successfully changed their approach. When plan A (Haig in the GIro, Landa in the Tour) failed they still had a backup GC contender and options to go for stages. Including sprinters like Milan or Bauhaus.

 

[Peter von]

If you don´t have Vingegaard or Pogacar it makes no sense to build the entire team around GC ambitions. For the most part all Gaudu has to do is follow them for as long as possible and it doesn´t take an entire team to do that.
Just have to look at teams like Bahrain that successfully changed their approach. When plan A (Haig in the GIro, Landa in the Tour) failed they still had a backup GC contender and options to go for stages. Including sprinters like Milan or Bauhaus.

True. Gaudu at most needs two guys to help him in the peloton on flat stages and two guys to bring him bottles on climbs. That still leaves you three spots for stage hunters or a sprinter with two lead out dudes.

Often you bring riders that can do a bit of both and help on some stages and stage hunt three days later.

 

[ThisFrenchGuy]

I mean, Pinot was there. Maybe happily carrying water, more a wild card than a co-leader, but still. Final GC illustrates that. Madouas at #20 too. Groupama FDJ apparently #5 in team ranking as well. Overall the team seems to have performed at a good level but couldn't get a stage win or a better Top 10 ranking.

I feel that generally FDJ brings a sprinter and leadout in the TdF (though not always for test returns) and is not purely GC focused... But we all know they haven't this year due to "exceptional" circumstances.

 

[skippo12]

I mean, Pinot was there. Maybe happily carrying water, more a wild card than a co-leader, but still. Final GC illustrates that. Madouas at #20 too. Groupama FDJ apparently #5 in team ranking as well. Overall the team seems to have performed at a good level but couldn't get a stage win or a better Top 10 ranking.

I feel that generally FDJ brings a sprinter and leadout in the TdF (though not always for test returns) and is not purely GC focused... But we all know they haven't this year due to "exceptional" circumstances.

Looking at the last few years. Demare started in 2017, 2018 and 2021. That´s it. Otherwise all in for Pinot or Gaudu. 2/3 times Demare OTL´ed but after his performances in the Giro one has to assume that he can easily survive the mountains as long as he is close to his peak shape.

 

[ThisFrenchGuy]

Looking at the last few years. Demare started in 2017, 2018 and 2021. That´s it. Otherwise all in for Pinot or Gaudu. 2/3 time Demare OTL´ed but after his performances in the Giro one has to assume that he can easily survive the mountains as long as he is close to his peak shape.

I see Démare selected in 2015, 2014. Bouhani in 2013. I stand corrected about moving away from that general trend in recent years.

 

[Tonton]

Demare started in 2018 and 2021. That´s it. Otherwise all in for Pinot or Gaudu.

This.

It's nothing new though. The yearly team goals have never changed: get the French RR title and have the best French GC finisher at Le Tour. Be #1 in France against, basically, AG2R. Pinot vs. Bardet, blahblahblah...and the circus...

The pressure was on last year, it got rough for David. Thanks Thibaut in the Hautacam stage. We saw the same again this year.

GFC invested their GT future and they have to find out what Gaudu is made of: give him every chance to succeed. After this Tour, I'm not sold but I think that the prep' was off.

 

[ThisFrenchGuy]

This.

It's nothing new though. The yearly team goals have never changed: get the French RR title and have the best French GC finisher at Le Tour. Be #1 in France against, basically, AG2R. Pinot vs. Bardet, blahblahblah...and the circus...

The pressure was on last year, it got rough for David. Thanks Thibaut in the Hautacam stage. We saw the same again this year.

GFC invested their GT future and they have to find out what Gaudu is made of: give him every chance to succeed. After this Tour, I'm not sold but I think that the prep' was off.

Distant outraged Cofidis voice from the back : "...don't forget us !"

 

[IndianCyclist]

Gaudu Got what he wanted. A team all for himself. No Pinot, No Demare distractions. He now has all the pressure to get the results. With great power comes great responsibility. WIth great failure, comes great criticism.

 

[staubsauger]

Gaudu was a complete non-show at the Tour de France. No stage win, no notable attack. Not even an Iban Mayo zig-zag impression. Even in the final up towards Col de la Loze he was a non-factor.

There wouldn't have been a single bit missed if he wasn't in the Tour de France.

After all the talk, ambitions and expectations that's just an abysmal performance. Gaudu was fully irrelevant!

 

[Netserk]

The yearly team goals have never changed: get the French RR title and have the best French GC finisher at Le Tour. Be #1 in France against, basically, AG2R. Pinot vs. Bardet, blahblahblah...and the circus...

That’s pretty *** sad.

 

[movingtarget]

Gaudu was a complete non-show at the Tour de France. No stage win, no notable attack. Not even an Iban Mayo zig-zag impression. Even in the final up towards Col de la Loze he was a non-factor.

There wouldn't have been a single bit missed if he wasn't in the Tour de France.

After all the talk, ambitions and expectations that's just an abysmal performance. Gaudu was fully irrelevant!

His form just before the Tour looked ominous re not on target. He is yet to convince he can be a regular top five rider in grand tours which means the podium is still another level away at least.

 

[titan31]

He'll end up having to transform into a KOM guy/stage hunter and a guy for week long stages. He's obviously miles off the top guys but on this form, he's probably a tier 3 GC guy who might get lucky and have a 5th/6th

 

[Eddy Evenepoel]

he's probably a tier 3 GC guy who might get lucky and have a 5th/6th

I for one believes the Grand Tours would become less interesting if the tier 3 GC guys who might get lucky to get a top 5 stops trying for the GC, ships half an hour in the first week and don't bother about stages where they don't make it in the early break.

Gaudu was 4th last year and everyone knew that the 3rd spot on the podium would be far off the winner and not a direct competitor of Vingegaard and Pogacar. I think it would be madness if a rider like Gaudu DIDN'T go all in to try this even if it kind of looked a bit far fetched.

Of course, when it doesn't work out it looks bad - but if you are afraid of doing things that might not work out you'll never make things work.

 

[Netserk]

He'll end up having to transform into a KOM guy/stage hunter and a guy for week long stages. He's obviously miles off the top guys but on this form, he's probably a tier 3 GC guy who might get lucky and have a 5th/6th

I don’t buy that at all. It’d be different if he delivered his best and just wasn’t good enough, but he quite clearly didn’t hit his mark this year.

 

[Red Rick]

With all his big talk I would bet money he overtrained.

 

[Valv.Piti]

We saw the best Gaudu in early March, but the two last Tours have shown he's basically not better than this. A better version of G. Martin which no doubt is very valuable to FDJ, but..........

 

[T-Nielsen]

With all his big talk I would bet money he overtrained.

You mean panicked after Dauphine and burried himself or all year?

 

[Red Rick]

You mean panicked after Dauphine and burried himself or all year?

Definitely before Dauphine. Maybe after Itzulia, where he got blasted away by Vingegaard after beating him in Paris Nice.\

Zeeman said Paris-Nice wasn't that high level apart from the final stage and that even Pogs numbers weren't even that high before that.

 

[Reynard]

Not sure he has the potential to be a top notch GC rider. probably he will have the same problem as Pinot... he has the wrong passport to have a career fitted to his strengths.

It worked out in the end for Bardet who had I think the max success he could have hoped for but I'm not sure that will be the same for Gaudu. Now with Martinez comes the next climby-punchy guy whos maybe not build for GT success but has to ride the Tour every year for the best gc result possible...

 

[movingtarget]

With all his big talk I would bet money he overtrained.I

I think that's not uncommon and plenty of GC riders learn from it.

 

[Rob5091]

DNS on the last day of Paris-Nice - what a difference a year makes!
And there's a new kid in town who's getting all the limelight (unless he goes to Bahrain) so getting rid of Demare has not helped his aspirations.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Nah, all he needed was Démare gone, now he will finally do something other than being the 5th-10th best climbers come July.

My god this guy. Hard worker no doubt, but he just doesn't have the top end level to compete at all with these monsters he's facing these days. Just a lack of talent on his part, and FDJ are now stuck with a mediocre to decent GT-rider who will demand everybody to put their own aspirations aside and help him.

 

[Red Rick]

Nah, all he needed was Démare gone, now he will finally do something other than being the 5th-10th best climbers come July.

My god this guy. Hard worker no doubt, but he just doesn't have the top end level to compete at all with these monsters he's facing these days. Just a lack of talent on his part, and FDJ are now stuck with a mediocre to decent GT-rider who will demand everybody to put their own aspirations aside and help him.

Tbh Demare only has won 2 1.1 races nobody cares about since he left, so he's not exactly leaving a gaping hole behind him.

FDJ is behind the curve IMO cause all their talents hit a ceiling at the level below the world beaters and then they stop progressing. The DS that let Pinot ruin years of his career riding around with a back injury in 2020 is still there.

Not being able to extend dudes like Lenny Martinez also doesn't help.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Maybe, he's just a very forgetable and uninspiring rider. He's a OTP, no real punch, no timetrial, only riding tempo in the mountains. Just a much worse Carlos Sastre