“A big disappointment”: David Gaudu announces his withdrawal from the Tour de France

David Gaudu , who is out of form, announced to AFP this Thursday that he will not be competing in the Tour de France , which starts on July 5 in Lille.

"Given my current level... I've been transparent with the team. In any case, they have my values, my data, and so we decided together to skip the Tour this year," declared the leader of Groupama-FDJ, whose fourth place three years ago remains the best result for a French rider on the Tour since 2017.

"It's obviously a big disappointment. Especially since the Tour is coming to Brittany this year and my loved ones were going to be able to come and see me," lamented the 28-year-old climber.

After seven consecutive participations, this is the first time that Gaudu, who was also the best Frenchman in 2023 (9th), has given up on the Tour de France.

"Going there just to finish is pointless," stressed the rider, who has very bad memories of the 2024 edition where he "struggled around in misery for three weeks" (65th in the end).

He had bounced back with a fine sixth place in the Tour of Spain. But this year, he has been on a roll. In four months, he has crashed four times, first because of a cat during training, then while racing on the Italian roads of the Strade Bianche, Tirreno-Adriatico (broken hand), and the Giro d'Italia in May (a deep cut in his hand again).

"A massacre" which forces him to "run after fitness, all the time," he regrets.

He finished the Giro d'Italia "completely exhausted." "At this point, I still believe in the Tour. I gave myself until the end of last week to go back to training, do more mountain passes, and do some exercises. But the feeling is still not good," he admitted.

Why? "We don't really have all the answers. I've had medical tests, everything is good, everything is normal," he added.

In any case, he does not feel capable of competing for a top 10 in the general classification - "that's for sure" - and thinks that it would have been "also complicated to influence the race in the breakaways."

"The team also has its strategy" to aim for a stage victory and a Top 10 overall with Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet, recalls Gaudu who is once again counting on the Tour of Spain (August 23-September 14) to bounce back.

"The Vuelta saved my season in 2020 and last year. I say never two without three," he recalled.