Gaudu's rescue operation successful, new haircut led to comeback: "A new look for a new career"

David Gaudu's season was dull until the Vuelta a España, partly due to minor crashes and COVID-19. Except for a few French one-day races, the number four of the 2022 Tour de France was almost overlooked. The only thing that stood out was his new look: long hair in a bun. In recent months, however, the climber managed to rescue his season with a nice sixth place in the Spanish grand tour. Those three weeks proved to be a lesson for years to come.

"I'm back on the path I had set for myself," tells Gaudu to his team, Groupama-FDJ. For a while this year, The Frenchman had lost himself. "I woke up in the morning without feeling like I’ve just done the Tour, 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."

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David Gaudu

For Gaudu, a GC is easier than winning a stage

For Gaudu, the Vuelta felt like all or nothing. "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."

And so we don't have to expect that in the coming years. We should expect the old Gaudu because everything changed from the Vuelta stage to Granada. The bad feeling in his legs disappeared into thin air, and then it became a Spanish round filled with fond memories. "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."

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David Gaudu with his new look

Is there a correlation between Gaudu's new look and his performance? 

Some fans of the French team make a correlation between Gaudu's comeback and his new haircut. "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)."

That new career included a total abandonment of the sport during his vacation. "I leave cycling aside 2000%. I went fishing, I did a few hikes.." He even ignored the presentation of the Tour route, where, as it happens, he does have plans to return in 2025. "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."

He is also pursuing what Pogacar is doing. "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," the French pocket climber concluded.

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