The good start to the 2023 Tour de France continues for David Gaudu. With the entrance into the Pyrenees on Wednesday, stage 5 was set to reveal the favourites’ condition. The Groupama-FDJ leader got through the day in a very good way. In the final climb, the Col de Marie-Blanque, he was only distanced by Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar. After the last downhill and thanks to the support of Valentin Madouas, up front all day with the tricolour jersey, he even caught the Slovenian in the final. The Breton climber then took ninth place in the stage and moved up to tenth place overall, 1’56 behind the day’s winner and new yelloew jersey Jai Hindley.
The first big climbs of the 110th Tour de France were on the riders’ menu this Wednesday, from Pau to Laruns. Precisely, two proper ascents featured the first Pyrenean act: the Col du Soudet (15 km at 7%), after eighty kilometres, and the Col de Marie-Blanque (7.8 km at 8.4 %), just twenty kilometres from the line. However, before tackling the mountains, a long, quite flat section was to be covered on this fifth stage, and the attacks kept on going for thirty minutes or so. Thirty-six men eventually managed to join the break, including French champion Valentin Madouas. “The tactic was to be one step ahead in order to be a relay for David in the final”, explained the wearer of the blue-white-red jersey. “We talked about entering the breakaway, thinking that it could be useful to have riders up front”, explained Philippe Mauduit. “We had two men at one point, and then only Valentin. We know it’s a bit of a lottery when there are seventy kilometres before the first climb. You need to follow the moves, but you can’t follow them all. Once the breakaway was settled, we decided to stick to the morning plan, and the riders did that very well”. At the front of the race, the native of Brest found himself with many big names, such as Jai Hindley, Giulio Ciccone, Dani Martinez, Jack Haig, Wout van Aert, Julian Alaphilippe or Rigoberto Uran. Against these contenders for the stage or for the GC, the rider from Groupama-FDJ, isolated, kept a low profile while the breakaway increased its lead to three minutes at the bottom of the Col du Soudet.
“It’s good mentally”, David Gaudu
Then, with the road rising, the leading group naturally split apart. Valentin Madouas kept a solid pace all the way to the top and crossed the first Hors Category climb of the race not far from the breakaway’s best riders. Within the bunch, the pace also increased due to a threat named Jai Hindley, but David Gaudu remained well supported by his teammates as they entered the final fifty kilometres. The riders then got over the small Col d’Ichère (4.2 km at 6.2%), where the frantic chase kept on going in the peloton, before reaching the foot of the final climb. Barely back together starting the Col de Marie-Blanque, the breakaway went to pieces just a few moments later. Valentin Madouas hung on for a while but had to let the best go with four kilometres left to the summit, including Hindley. “I managed my effort as best I could in order to get over the climb with enough of a lead to go easy on the downhill and do the maximum for David after,” he said. David Gaudu, precisely, followed the best for a long time despite a very high speed on the final climb. He just had to let it go two kilometres from the summit, shortly before Vingegaard launched his attack and distanced Pogacar. However, the Frenchman never blew up. “Among the favourites, I was third at the top behind Vingegaard and Pogacar”, recalled David at the finish. “I tried to manage my climb, even if it was really hard. I did my best and there were only five or six of us left. It’s good for mentally, but we have to stay focused, clear-headed, and humble”.
“We did what we wanted to do this morning”, Philippe Mauduit
Followed by the yellow jersey Adam Yates, Simon Yates, Michael Woods and Cristian Rodriguez at the top, David Gaudu re-joined his Breton teammate for the last eight flat kilometres following the descent. He was then able to bridge across Pogacar, while Jai Hindley took a solo victory and Jonas Vingegaard gained a minute over the other favourites. Ninth on the line, 1’38 from the Australian, the Groupama-FDJ leader still lived up to the day’s expectations. “The team did a great job and I felt good all day,” said David. “It bodes well but the Tour is still very very long. It was only the first mountain stage”. “We managed to do what we wanted,” added Valentin. “I am quite satisfied to have been able to do my part on a personal note. It’s promising for the rest of this Tour and it’s good for morale. I think it’s pretty positive for David. He is in the mix and there are still great things to do in the coming days”. On Wednesday, the fourth in the 2022 edition moved up one place in the general classification. He now sits 10th, 1’56 behind Hindley, the new yellow jersey. “The team worked well, and we did what we wanted to do this morning”, concluded Philippe. “David is where he needs to be. We saw today that there were big gaps, that it was going to be a tough Tour and what he did today is very good. Overall, the whole team really committed, and they all did their part.”
Thursday, it will be time for the second Pyrenean stage, which will offer a first summit finish, in Cauterets-Cambasque (16 km at 5%), after a spectacular Aspin-Tourmalet sequence.
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