{"id":687680,"date":"2026-01-10T22:45:19","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T22:45:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/687680\/"},"modified":"2026-01-10T22:45:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-10T22:45:19","slug":"when-you-see-a-rider-like-thymen-arensman-winning-at-la-plagne","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/687680\/","title":{"rendered":"When you see a rider like Thymen Arensman winning at La Plagne…"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nFor 2026, the Tour de France<\/a> is not just another goal. It is the season.Top 10 and more than survival<\/p>\n

Gaudu is clear about what he wants in July. \u201cI want to get back into the Top 10 overall, I am made for that,\u201d he said. \u201cThe axis of my career has always been general classifications in stage races or Grand Tours.\u201d<\/p>\n

But he is not chasing quiet respectability. \u201cI also want to be able to fight for stage wins, even if it is very hard because there are not many opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n

That belief comes from watching what is possible when timing and form align. \u201cWhen you see a rider like Thymen Arensman<\/a> last year winning the stage to La Plagne<\/a>, that means there are possibilities,\u201d Gaudu said. \u201cYou have to be there on the right day, you have to be in the form of your life.\u201d<\/p>\n

He knows those chances are rare. \u201cMaybe one day there will be an opening, maybe there will not, but if there is one, you have to know how to take it.\u201d<\/p>\n

That is the mindset shaping his winter and everything that follows.<\/p>\n

\"David<\/p>\n

Gaudu wore the Red Jersey at the Vuelta a Espana in 2025<\/p>\n

Training for July in January<\/p>\n

This winter has already felt different. \u201cFirst of all, much more volume,\u201d Gaudu explained. \u201cI have a new coach, Italian, Luca Festa, who joined the team this year. We work much more on volume, slowly, and I am pushed much more to my limits when it comes to doing exercises.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those limits arrive earlier now. \u201cI mean it is very, very hard,\u201d he laughed. \u201cIt was already very hard before, but now we are on another level, much earlier in the season as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

The logic is simple. January is not the target. July is. The goal is not to feel good now. It is to make suffering in July feel normal.<\/p>\n

Racing himself into shape<\/p>\n

Rather than easing into 2026, Gaudu plans to race straight into it. \u201cI will race a lot at the start of the season,\u201d he said. \u201cI will do three stage races. I will line up at the UAE Tour, Paris-Nice and the Volta a Catalunya.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those races matter because they suit him. \u201cIt is often a period that suits me well,\u201d he said. \u201cI have already gone well at Paris-Nice, in Catalunya, that is where I had my first World Tour results.\u201d<\/p>\n

He wants to see himself back near the top. \u201cI want to get back into the Top 10 overall in those races. On all three, I do not know if it will be possible. In any case, we will give ourselves the means to try.\u201d<\/p>\n

And if general classification ambitions fall away early? \u201cAs a plan B, if it does not work in the general classification in those races, you have to enjoy yourself and go for a stage win on the final weekends.\u201d<\/p>\n

He even sees chaos as opportunity. \u201cSometimes the first days are a bit tense with crosswinds. And this year, the finale of Paris-Nice is a bit more punchy, but I have punchy qualities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Drawing a hard line under 2025<\/p>\n

There is no nostalgia in how Gaudu talks about last season. \u201cI have completely drawn a line under the 2025 season and everything that happened before,\u201d he said. \u201cAll of that is behind me. I do not even want to talk about it anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

For him, 2026 is about visible change as well as mental reset. \u201cNow it is 2026. Like I say, we have a new jersey, we have a new bike. It is a new season, a new year.\u201d<\/p>\n

That also means choosing his battles carefully. \u201cI will not be at the Ardennes Classics this year,\u201d he said, pointing to the depth of Groupama FDJ United in that area. \u201cI think that, intrinsically, Romain Gregoire has better qualities than me on efforts of three minutes and five minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rather than fight for the same space, he is stepping aside. \u201cI prefer to leave my place in the Ardennes to the younger riders so that they can try to get results.\u201d<\/p>\n

His own space is somewhere else. Long climbs. Long efforts. And one long build to July. Because when the Tour de France<\/a> comes again, David Gaudu<\/a> does not want to be watching. He wants to be there, in the mountains, in the group, waiting for the day when he really is in the form of his life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For 2026, the Tour de France is not just another goal. It is the season.Top 10 and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":687681,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4104],"tags":[4230,207840,94767,207841,79,42461,20680,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-687680","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-cycling","9":"tag-david-gaudu","10":"tag-groupama-fdj","11":"tag-romain-gregoire","12":"tag-sports","13":"tag-thymen-arensman","14":"tag-tour-de-france","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115873233165172968","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/687680","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=687680"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/687680\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/687681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=687680"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=687680"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=687680"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}