Before the final round on Sunday, a crucial time trial was to be contested this Saturday on the Tour de Luxembourg. Tenth overall before today’s stage, David Gaudu showed good form on the hilly route around Differdange. He was therefore able to climb to seventh place in GC thanks to his thirteenth place on the time trial. The Frenchman and his teammates will tackle another explosive finish tomorrow in Luxembourg to conclude the race.
The riders were expected in Differdange this Saturday for the fourth and penultimate stage of the week in the Grand Duchy. Each of them then had to tackle a course of just 15.5 kilometres. “It was a specific time trial with a rather flat first part of seven kilometres, then a 1.4-kilometre climb averaging 8.5%”, explained Anthony Bouillod. “Following this climb, there was a section that was not so easy to manage because it was a bit hilly, before the final downhill to the finish. You still needed climbing qualities to do well on this type of course. The relief was the main characteristic of the course, unlike the wind which was almost insignificant. It was necessary to adjust your pace well.” Groupama-FDJ’s leader David Gaudu was expected on the starting ramp at 3:42 p.m., and he quickly showed that he was in the mix. When he reached the first timing point, he indeed achieved the provisional sixth time, twelve seconds behind Juan Ayuso, the eventual winner of the stage.
“A great performance”, Anthony Bouillod
After all the competitors had gone through this point, the Breton was still in the top 10 (9th) after nine kilometres of racing. “The first timing point included the flat part and the climb,” said Anthony. “He didn’t only do a great climb; he also rode well on the flat. After the summit, he struggled a little on the slightly hilly part. Initially, he wanted to start off a bit less fast to be able to maintain the pace after the top. Eventually, because he felt good, he maybe started off a little harder. In terms of pacing, there was room for a little improvement. There are always little things to optimise, but we have to remember the good part.” Despite having lost a little more time in the second part of the time trial, the Frenchman indeed set the thirteenth fastest time of the day, thirty-six seconds behind Ayuso and seventeen behind Mathieu van der Poel. “It’s a great performance,” Anthony added. “Personally, I thought he was capable of it on such a course. He perhaps didn’t see himself as high in the rankings given the circumstances of the last few months. Today, he showed the good level that we’ve already seen from him in the past on the time trial.”
Thanks to his day’s result, David Gaudu also gained three places in the general classification and now finds himself in seventh position, 39 seconds behind the leader Mathieu van der Poel. “Everything is still possible,” Anthony concluded. “The goal today was precisely to do a good time trial to stay in the mix overall, with the possibility of moving up tomorrow while aiming for the stage victory. With an offensive strategy, there may be opportunities.”
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