Paris-Nice: Is David Gaudu already the successor of Pinot?

He will probably not succeed Laurent Jalabert, the last French winner of Paris-Nice in 1997, but it is nevertheless time for David Gaudu to make the legacy bear fruit.

At the end of last season, he had fully assumed his status as the designated successor of Thibaut Pinot at Groupama-FDJ.

Particularly in the Tour of Spain where, for his first major race with the leader 's bib, he had won two stage victories (11th and 17th), for an 8th final place synonymous with enhanced confidence.

This Spanish success prompted Marc Madiot, the team boss, to accelerate the handover.

Since Gaudu, 24, gave sufficient pledges, he gave in to Thibaut Pinot's desires to leave the Tour de France for a year to attack the Giro.

So here is Gaudu inducted as the new boss for Paris-Nice, who starts this Sunday at 1 p.m. from Saint-Cyr-l'Ecole (Yvelines), even if, as on the Tour, he will share the pressure of success with the house sprinter. , Arnaud Démare.

Last laps of the wheels before tomorrow.

pic.twitter.com/dg8JwGSdq7

- Groupama-FDJ Cycling Team (@GroupamaFDJ) March 6, 2021

Not enough to scare the little Breton, Harry Potter clone in the pelotons, who has nothing to do with the kid bursting into tears in his bus in Brussels after a fall in the team time during the Tour 2019. Square jaw like another illustrious elder, Bernard Hinault, but with a softer look, Gaudu accepts his new status.

In good form, as evidenced by his recent victory in the Ardèche Buckles, he will aim for a Top 5 for his first Paris-Nice. The Pinot classification last year.

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If the first part of the test will consist, for his team, in putting Démare in value, he knows that he can also, in “

the race in the sun

”, catch one or two rays of light.

“The stage of Chiroubles (the 4th) may suit me, he assumes.

Its final looks a bit like the loops of the Ardèche.

And the stages around Nice also during the second weekend.

I know that more is expected of me now but the most important pressure is not that of the public, but that which I impose on myself.

"

Without yet resembling the statue of Michelangelo, little David learned the harshness, even the nastiness necessary when it comes to rubbing in the peloton during delicate passages.

“There is clearly a before and an after Vuelta for me, he admits.

I now take pleasure in acting as a leader, as if I was directing a game of video games.

"

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From Thibaut Pinot, Gaudu also retained the way of expressing himself.

Words are as heavy as his food, and pretension is not invited on the luggage rack.

“Thibaut brings serenity to the briefing.

It doesn't go all over the place.

Exactly Gaudu's state of mind.

Even if the successes of the Pogacar or Bernal generation may lead one to believe that the flashes of light have surpassed the slow ramp-ups, Gaudu is convinced that the best is ahead of him.

And that his turn will come.