Groupama-FDJ have revealed a part of their lineups for the 2024 Grand Excursions, with GC rider David Gaudu set to trip each the Tour de France and Vuelta a España.
Gaudu will lead their battle for the rostrum on the Tour at his seventh Tour in as a few years. The Frenchman will likely be hoping to bounce again from final yr the place, though he completed ninth, he was absent from the main group on the most important levels and arrived in Paris 23 minutes off the lead.
For Gaudu the goals for the season had been easy: “Get again to successful, purpose excessive within the Tour de France, obtain an awesome season,” he stated on the workforce’s Instagram.
His finest outcome got here in 2022 the place he completed fourth and rode with sensible techniques alongside his workforce to maneuver up from eighth to fourth total. One in every of his key domestiques that yr was French nationwide Champion Valentin Madouas, with the versatile Classics rider additionally an possibility for stage wins.
They’ve misplaced long-term chief Thibaut Pinot to retirement and sprinter Arnaud Démare to Arkea-Samsic B&B Motels, so will likely be all in on Gaudu to problem the general and attain the rostrum on the Tour.
His race might want to go excellent, nonetheless, if he’s to beat the stacked begin record crammed with GC stars the likes of Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), Tadej Pogačar (UAE Crew Emirates), Primož Roglič (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) to call simply 4.
Thrilling younger prospect Romain Grégoire can also be scheduled to make his debut on the Tour in 2023 alongside the large names, incomes his place with a superb neo-pro season that noticed him take 5 wins and narrowly miss out on a Vuelta a España stage victory.
“After discovering the Vuelta in 2023, I’m going to participate in my first Tour de France in 2024. It’s clearly a dream, however the purpose isn’t solely to go there: it’s to carry out properly,” stated Gregoire by way of the workforce’s social media.
“I learnt rather a lot final yr, I gained a number of races, however I nonetheless wish to go one step additional and set up myself on the highest stage. I can’t wait to tackle the most important race on the calendar. I do know I nonetheless have rather a lot to study however I’m approaching the calendar confidently.”
Grégoire, nonetheless solely 20, discovered quick type within the WorldTour in 2023 with an eighth-place end at Strade Bianche in March. Alongside Madouas, the French aspect would have nice stage searching choices on punchy terrain on the Tour if they’re allowed the liberty.
Stefan Küng will likely be again for his eighth Tour de France and eyeing up the flat 25km particular person time trial on stage 7 into Gevrey-Chambertin, with a maiden Grand Tour victory nonetheless eluding his palmarès regardless of twice ending second on levels of the Tour prior to now.
Outdoors of the Tour, Groupama additionally revealed Gaudu as one among their key riders for the Vuelta a España alongside Lenny Martinez, who final yr grew to become the youngest-ever wearer of the pink jersey at 20.
Martinez held pink after ending second to Sepp Kuss on stage 6 and held it for 2 days. The younger French climber is one other key a part of the workforce’s future and has proven nice promise by taking his first professional win on the CIC – Mont Ventoux forward of Michael Woods.
Gaudu has solely raced on the Vuelta as soon as in 2020, however whereas on debut there he took two stage wins and eighth total so his confidence must be sky-high on Spanish roads.
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