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Friday, December 6, 2024
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2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. - Edmund Burke
Bill & Carol McGann’s book The Story of the 2023 Tour de France, 2023: The Viking Again Conquers the Tour is available in both Kindle eBook & audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.
Upcoming racing:
- December 15: Namur Cyclocross-Citadelcross
Latest completed racing:
- November 17: Flandriencross
- November 3: European Cyclocross Championships
- November 1: X20 Trofee Oudenaarde-Koppenbergcross
- October 27: Superprestige Overijse-Vlaamse Druivencross
- October 15 - 20: Tour of Guangxi
- October 20: Japan Cup Road Race
- October 20: Veneto Classic
- October 16: Giro del Veneto
- October 13: Chrono des Nations
Gaudu’s Team Groupama-FDJ posted this
The crashes, the failures, the doubts, the hopes, then the rebirth. Over the 2024 season, David Gaudu experienced it all. After an eventful first part of the season, including a difficult Tour de France, the Breton climber gradually made his return to the highest level in the late part of the year. He sat down to talk about it in detail, and in all honesty.
David, let’s go back to the day after the Tour de France’s finish. How did you feel at that moment?
I woke up in the morning without feeling like I’ve just done the Tour, actually. Of course I was there, but it was very special this time. It might be the only year where I wasn’t there for the general classification or to help someone who was fighting for it. I was obviously tired physically, but absolutely not mentally. The day after the Tour, I was very much aware that only the Vuelta could still save my season. Nobody wants to have a blank season, and I really didn’t want to have one – even if I won the Tour du Jura before -. When I woke up, I was already in Vuelta mode. It’s funny, I’ll always remember that in the Couillole stage, where I was really struggling, guys like Valentin or Romain, when they saw me fighting through, told me: “Come on man, good job, you’re working for the Vuelta”.
Why did you think racing the Vuelta was a good idea?
First of all, we had already planned to ride two Grand Tours last winter. I wanted to have a full season in terms of racing days after two seasons with less than sixty. That’s all I could think about: to get more and more racing days. I had to do a complete last part of the season, and I had almost never done two Grand Tours in a year. When I did it in 2020, the Vuelta had been shortened by 2-3 days, and I had also left the Tour a little before the end. It was also a way to have a big goal after the Tour, and the Vuelta was perfectly placed in the calendar. Nervously and mentally, it was also ideal because there were not too many sprints, and because the stages are usually less stressful than on the Tour. When I felt that I no longer had the required level at the end of the Tour, I knew that I was just working for the Vuelta. That being said, I had to race the Tour. If I had gone to the Vuelta without doing the Tour, my Vuelta would not have been the same, I’m sure of it. I obviously started the Tour being 100% focused on the Tour, but when I was struggling during the last days, it was clear that I was already thinking about the Vuelta.
David Gaudu wins 2024 Tour of Luxembourg stage five.
You said that you were “living for the Vuelta” between the two Grand Tours. Didn’t you have too high expectations, with the risk of coming down to earth with a bang?
I’m the type of person who always moves forward. If I had failed at the Vuelta, it wouldn’t have changed much to the situation. I was already struggling for 6-7 months, so it would have been like the rest of the season. It was already bad up until then, it would have just continued to be bad… I would have kept the same state of mind, which is telling myself that the next attempt could be the right one. It was my last chance to avoid a blank season, and it did avoid it. At that stage, I had nothing left to lose, but everything to gain by preparing for this goal.
Did fighting for the overall seem fundamental to you?
Initially, it wasn’t really the plan, but when I saw that my form was gradually improving in August, that I felt good, I wanted to race freely. As I didn’t fight for the GC at all on the Tour, I also didn’t feel mentally tired. On top of that, I was supposed to support Lenny if he had been there, to race more with a free spirit, and to take over only if he had cracked. Finally, going to the Vuelta to fight for a stage win isn’t something I was interested in. That’s what I tried to do on the Tour this year, and I didn’t like it. Obviously because I didn’t have any results, and it might be strange to hear, but it’s almost easier for me to enter the overall top-10 on the Tour than to go and win a stage. What I experienced on the Tour was hard to swallow, not only because I wasn’t in top form, but also because the Tour was extremely blocked. Only one breakaway was successful on the hilly profiles. For a climber who goes for these stages, it’s extremely frustrating, especially when you know how hard it is to enter a breakaway on the flat in the Tour. The Vuelta might have been more open, but I didn’t want to live that kind of Grand Tour again; to find myself in the gruppetto in order to attack the next day, without being sure that it would pay off.
Has the 2024 Tour definitely buried the “breakaway climber” approach?
Not necessarily. I think I could have this philosophy in the future, because I will perhaps do two Grand Tours in a year again, and I won’t fight for the general classification on the Tour for another ten years. It can be an idea, but it will depend a lot on the circumstances, the route, the profiles, the starts, and finishes. Also, I do not forget that the polka dot jersey was my dream growing up. Yet, it is complicated to win it when you fight for the general classification, unless your name is Pogacar or Vingegaard…
About the Vuelta, do you remember clearly when you started to feel like you were back?
The starting point for everything, and what unlocked it all, was the Granada stage, where I was in the break. In the morning, I told the guys that my only chance of finishing with the group of favorites was to have an early lead, and everything went well. But above all, the day after the rest day, I still felt super good and super fresh. I felt that something clicked, that my legs weren’t exactly like the week before. The following day, we dropped O’Connor on a small hill with 3-4 other riders. There, I thought it was crazy. From that moment on, it got better and better every day. I struggled a little bit on the Cuitu Negru, probably because I didn’t have the right strategy, but I was ‘in the zone’ in the last week. I felt easy in Carapaz’s wheel when he attacked, I finished second at Moncalvillo behind Roglic, and I also went all-in on the last day. It all started at the beginning of the second week.
What did you feel when you finally found yourself along with the big guns?
At that point, I still took a step back. I thought that I had recovered well but that I had to avoid any backlash. You never know… I felt that I was on the right track, that it was promising, but you always have to be careful. That said, from the start of the stage, the next day, I noticed that my legs were going really well, and I knew that it was on. I didn’t know how long I would be able to keep up this form, but in the end, it lasted quite some time (smiles).
Was taking your own pace up the climbs also a way to take some confidence back?
Maybe a little, but I think that I followed the attacks much more on this Vuelta than on the 2022 Tour de France, for example. Skjelmose used the “steady effort” much more than I did, and I rarely stayed with him actually. I preferred to follow the attacks. The steady effort left its mark on the stage that Michael Woods won because I was dropped very early. They sprinted from the bottom all the way to the top, it was crazy! As for me, I really managed my climb perfectly. I caught about fifteen competitors along the way and finished sixth among the favorites, so people remembered it. Yet, apart from that, I didn’t take my own pace very often. Even if the raw performance was good that day, that’s not what I remember personally. I rather remember to have been able to follow Carapaz when he attacked, to have been aggressive before the favorites on certain stages, and to have tried everything at Picon Blanco. These are the images that I remember from the Vuelta. It’s also the part that I want to show of myself. When I feel good, when I’m confident, I’m not afraid to dare and try.
Do you feel like you’ve completed a proper challenge on this Vuelta?
For sure when I showed up in Lisbon, there was maybe 20%-30% that I would succeed, but the start to everything is believing, and I believed in it. I think that from the moment you believe in something, you have to go for it. If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work, but it might work next time. If you go without believing, you can be sure that it won’t work. I needed this challenge, to get back to this path and to the top. The team knew it, my teammates knew it. During the second week, when I had super legs, I felt that many of the guys preferred to stay with me, support me as much as possible and give everything they had rather than go in breakaways. It was heart-warming.
How do you make sure that your teammates regain confidence?
You necessarily have to bring performance, but also be able to cope with the difficult moments, and particularly handle poor performances with the right attitude. That’s probably the hardest part. Poor performances happen, but you always need to pick yourself up. That’s what I tried to do this year. After my crashes in Paris-Nice and the Tour of the Basque Country, I managed to win. The Ardennes Classics didn’t go well, but I managed to get back on track in the Tour de Romandie. I always tried to get going again right away, in races as well as in training camps. Behaviour on and off the bike is extremely important. When you’re with your teammates, you have to be irreproachable. You can’t just sulk. It might sometimes have played against me, and I wasn’t mature enough to understand it.
Where do your Vuelta’s data fit in your performance history?
In the high range, even very high range for some data.
Some fans made a connection between your return to the highest level and your change of style…
It’s quite funny, but the long hair project started in the beginning of May. It just took a while for it to grow. In the end, it was almost too long compared to what I had imagined, but from the moment I managed to tie it back properly, I left it this way. I’m not saying I believed in the causal link, but I just felt good. You could almost say a new look for a new career (smiles).
What state of mind did you go on holidays with?
With a very, very good state of mind. I felt free, relaxed, and I didn’t think about cycling anymore. When I go on vacation, I really go on vacation. I leave cycling aside 2000%. For example, I was in Corsica when the Tour de France’s route was released, and I only quickly read about it the next day. I just saw that Mûr-de-Bretagne was on the menu (smiles). I went fishing, I did a few hikes. I just took advantage of the vacation to rest and do everything I can’t do the rest of the year. I was really looking forward to racing at the end of the season, but I was also really looking forward to it being over because after almost 90 days of racing, I felt like I was starting to get tired in Lombardia.
Do you consider that a new chapter in your career has started?
I would say that I’m back on the path I had set for myself. As I tell everyone, what drives me is being a general classification rider. That’s what I’ve always done, and that’s almost all I can do. It’s a bit of a return to the basics, hopefully in a stronger version. I wouldn’t say that there’s been a proper break in my career. I was ninth in the Tour a year and a half ago, which isn’t a bad performance, and I was second in Paris-Nice and fourth in the Tour of the Basque Country less than two years ago. I want to get back to this path. I’ve been able to produce these performances in the past because I believed I could do it, so I have to keep believing. I’d like to be more aggressive, of course, but you have to be really strong to attack nowadays. I want to have fun, but I don’t necessarily want to change things, because I finished fourth in the Tour in my own way, and it was still a pretty amazing moment. I just want to relive these moments.
What are your dreams now?
Above all, I’m chasing results. I want to be as high as possible in the GCs when the big names are there, and to win races. When I won the Tour du Jura or on the Tour de Luxembourg this year, it was so great, honestly. Raising your arms is still the best thing that can happen to a cyclist. That’s also why we ride our bike. I would like to go to the Giro, I would like to win a stage on the Tour. My ultimate dream is to win it or get on the podium. I know it will be extremely difficult, that there is very little chance that I will succeed, but if you don’t believe in it, you might as well not go.
Would you say that the 2024 season, if it is not your best season, is perhaps the most important one?
I will tell you that next year (smiles). For sure, this is an important step in my career. You inevitably grow up from all the difficult experiences you go through. All riders, whoever they are, have to face challenges during their career. The most important thing is to be able to bounce back. I managed to do that, but now it has to continue. And then, it’s not my best season, but it’s not the worst either with two victories and sixth on the Vuelta (smiles). Is it the most important one? I had important stages in my career between 2018 and 2021, pivotal seasons where a lot happened. Everything will depend on what happens next. So we’ll see next year when we wipe the slate clean.
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Here’s the team’s update:
EF Education-EasyPost is riding into 2025 on a high.
After a great 2024, our squad will launch into the coming racing season with renewed ambition and a crew of new recruits who can’t wait to splash pink all over the biggest races with their EF Education-EasyPost teammates.
This year, our team enjoyed another successful campaign, picking up 24 pro victories, including five national titles, two grand tour stages, and our first King of the Mountains jersey at the Tour de France. As a team, we raced aggressively throughout the season, always making the most of our opportunities, entertaining our fans, and bouncing back whenever we hit a setback. We are very proud of our 2024.
It’s now December, and we’re ready to build on the strong foundation we laid this past year.
Seven new arrivals headed to our first camp of the new season to meet their new teammates and the support staff who will help propel them to success in 2025. We welcomed Vincenzo Albanese, Kasper Asgreen, Samuele Battistella, Alex Baudin, Alastair MacKellar, Madis Mihkels, and Max Walker to our squad.
Kasper and Vincenzo will elevate the core of our classics team, while Samuele and Madis are two fast finishers with undoubted talent and potential to improve. Max’s versatility will add strength to our team from the start to the end of the season, Alastair has already settled in as our new neo-pro, while Alex has shown flashes of the grand tour rider he could become.
“I think that Alex will be our breakout rider next year,” said Jonathan Vaughters, CEO of EF Pro Cycling, during the recent camp. “I’m confident that he’ll produce some very surprising results. His style is super aggressive, he doesn’t hold back, and he’s a GC rider who isn’t afraid to attack and put it all on the line. He’s built in more robustness with another grand tour under his belt in 2024, so next season he could take that to the next level.”
Kasper Asgreen wins Tour of Flanders in 2021. Sirotti phnoto
The arrival of Kasper, a former winner of the Tour of Flanders, as well as a stage in the Tour de France and several other semi-classics, is a major coup for the team. The Dane will be a natural focal point for the 2025 squad during the cobbled classics, while his all-around skills and experience will no doubt rub off on his new teammates.
“He’s our blue-chip signing,” Vaughters said. “With Kasper, our job is to help him get back to the level he was at in 2021 when he won Flanders and recapture that magic. He’s a really intelligent rider and has already adjusted to making improvements. You could see that with his sixth place at the worlds. He’s very quickly coming back to that highest level and the indications are that he fit in nicely at team camp.”
The sky is the limit for Madis Mihkels. The 21-year-old from Estonia was third in the European continental championships this year and racked up several impressive top-tens throughout the year at races such as Paris-Roubaix, Scheldeprijs, and in a string of stages in WorldTour events. Vaughters believes the youngster could reach the very top.
“With Madis, I honestly think he can win Paris-Roubaix one year,” Vaughters said. “At this point, it’s a little bit undefined as to what sort of rider he is, but he’s only 21 years old. He’s been great in the spring classics and he’s taken a few top-tens in the field sprints. He’s not pulled off a big win yet, but he’s shown that he can compete in long races and that he can freelance in field sprints. He’s the perfect rider for us. He can mix it with the best in the classics and the reduced bunch sprints. He can be a productive member of a multi-pronged approach in the classics, for sure.”
Vincenzo Albanese brings another dimension to the team. The Italian was a late-season pickup but notched up over 15 top-ten results this year.
“Vincenzo, like all our signings, is a key component in terms of how we’ve strengthened the team. He’s consistently in the top ten. I’ve been following him for a while and he was in the group that sprinted for second at Flanders. He crashed out of the group but wasn’t going to get dropped. When you’re scouting for talent, he’s the sort of rider who delivers all year long. He’s so versatile,” Vaughters said.
Of course, it’s not just about the new recruits. In 2024 we welcomed several up-and-coming neo-pros into the team and they spent this season learning their way around the WorldTour and developing at their own pace. With a year’s experience under their belts, 2025 is all about making the next step in their progression.
“We’ve got lots of upside riders I’m looking forward to seeing next season, riders like Lukas Nerurkar, Darren Rafferty, Archie Ryan and others who used this year to adapt to the needs of the WorldTour. Next year, it’s time for them to start producing. I think they’re all ready to do that,” said Vaughters.
“The existing core of the team, riders like Richie, Neilson, Ben, Georg, Sean, and Rui all had their moments this year. They’ll be just as important to us in 2025,” he added.
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As a team, we will strive to be competitive from January through to October, while the main focal points will center around the biggest races on the calendar.
“We always race the Tour de France as best we can because that’s our responsibility to our sponsors, our fans, and ourselves. The classics are beautiful races and while they’re not as commercially impactful as the Tour, they’re races that core fans of the sport truly love. They’re races that we want to be successful in because they’re some of the coolest races in the year,” said Vaughters.
Former Giro d’Italia winner Richard Carapaz, who won his first Tour de France stage this summer, along with the KOM jersey, will again play a pivotal role in next season’s grand tour ambitions and his full race calendar and objectives will be announced in the new year.
Richard Carapaz wins 2024 Tour de France stage 17. Sirotti photo
After Georg Steinhauser’s 2024 stage win at the Giro, the team will aim to go even better at the Italian grand tour.
“With the Giro, we have a lot of ambition for next year,” Vaughters said. “It’s a race that we’ve won before and it’s the most beautiful grand tour of the season. We’ll be doing different things next year. This year we raced the Giro for stages and our initial Tour plan was hit by bad luck but the race ended up being successful. Then at the Vuelta, we raced that purely for GC. Going into next year we’ll have a mix of objectives but there will be a grand tour that we’ll ride GC for and there will be two where we chase other targets, such as stages and chasing breakaways.”
In the coming weeks, we will continue to build on the foundations we’ve created in the off-season with the riders training hard and refining their goals before a second camp takes place in January and the team starts racing at the Tour Down Under in Australia.
“This year we’ve demonstrated that the team is in a stable place and from that position we can now jump forward another notch. We’ve pulled off some pretty impressive results in 2024 and made big splashes. We had peaks here and there but there wasn’t that consistent foundation going into each race. In 2025 we’re going to go into a lot more races with defined goals and realistic aims because our foundations are stronger,” added Vaughters.
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EF Education-EasyPost 2025:
- Vincenzo Albanese (28)
- Kasper Asgreen (29)
- Samuele Battistella (26)
- Alex Baudin (23)
- Markel Beloki (19)
- Richard Carapaz (31)
- Hugh Carthy (30)
- Alexander Cepeda (26)
- Esteban Chaves (34)
- Rui Costa (38)
- Owain Doull (31)
- Ben Healy (24)
- Mikkel Honoré (27)
- Alastair MacKellar (22)
- Madis Mihkels (21)
- Lukas Nerurkar (21)
- Neilson Powless (28)
- Sean Quinn (24)
- Darren Rafferty (21)
- Jack Rootkin-Gray (22)
- Archie Ryan (23)
- James Shaw (28)
- Georg Steinhauser (23)
- Harry Sweeny (26)
- Yuhi Todome (22)
- Michael Valgren (32)
- Marijn van den Berg (25)
- Jardi van der Lee (23)
- Max Walker (23)
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