The Tour de France had not featured that much of a distance in a single stage since 2000. On Friday, from Vierzon to Le Creusot, the peloton had to cover more than 250 kilometers if we include the neutral start. After about 5h30 on the saddle, it all ended with Matej Mohoric’s victory from a breakaway. In the hard last part of the race, David Gaudu safely managed to follow the other GC contenders. He stays in the top-20 overall before the first major mountain stage of this 2021 edition, towards Le Grand Bornand on Saturday.
“We needed to be there alongside David”, Frédéric Guesdon
Stage 7 of the Tour de France was expected to be long, but the time probably passed by quickly for the riders in the first hour of the race on Friday. Due to the suitable terrain for the breakaway, almost everyone wanted to go up the road at the start of Vierzon. It took more than an hour to see a group establish itself, in the wake of Wout van Aert or the yellow jersey himself, Mathieu van der Poel. No less than twenty-seven riders followed the crossmen’s wheels, but the intensity did ease off immediately. The teammates of the reigning champion Tadej Pogacar tried to catch the break for some time, but proved unsuccessful. “The start was super fast in order to take the breakaway, because it was 100% sure it would make it,” said David Gaudu. Unfortunately, the Groupama-FDJ cycling team was unable to put a man in the lead. “We were hoping to have Valentin or Stefan in front but the move went on the flat part and it’s never easy to know when the right move will go,” explained Frédéric Guesdon. “Once the breakaway was gone, and looking at the composition of it, we forgot about the stage win and focused on the final. It’s always annoying not to have riders in front when there are twenty-nine guys up the road, but you can’t aim at all stages either. We missed it but then we focused on the overall and we were right to do so. There was still some action at the end and we needed to be there alongside David”.
After 150 flat kilometers, the race entered a much hillier section in Saône-et-Loire. The breakaway split and Matej Mohoric (Bahrain-Victorious) eventually soloed to the stage victory as the peloton gradually lost some members. After being positioned by Stefan Küng, Bruno Armirail and Valentin Madouas in the key moments, David Gaudu was able to safely get through the climbs, including the demanding Signal d’Uchon, and finish inside the main peloton. “It was a difficult day with these 250 kilometers,” said the young man. “Carapaz tried from far but ultimately did not gain any time. Personally, I did not lose anything. So it’s a good day, although the sensations were not so good today”. Thanks to the breakaway, some riders were able to overcome Groupama-FDJ’s leader in the overall, but David Gaudu still remains within the top-20. Above all, he’s now getting to his favourite playground. Tomorrow, the Tour enters the mountains with 3500m of elevation gain between Oyonnax and Le Grand Bornand, through the Romme and Colombière’s passes.
“I want to do well”, David Gaudu
“On the opposite of today, it will be a very short stage of 150 kilometers,” explained Yvon Madiot. “There are three first category climbs, including the Colombière, which features nice percentages. The pure climbers will come onto stage. It will be a nervous stage, and today’s hard stage may give some ideas to some teams. Either way, it’s a good stage for David. He will like it more than today’s one”. “I want to do well,” concluded the young climber. “We’ve been racing well with the team since the start of the Tour, so we hope that will continue in this first mountain stage. Today, some favourites have already suffered. We will see tomorrow if it will be the same”.
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