A full 30 years after Laurent Jalabert took his first and only Grand Tour victory in the 1995 Vuelta a España, France's quest for a successor to 'Ja-ja' continues. So far when it comes to outright triumphs in cycling's toughest stage races, the search has proved fruitless.
Now a TV and radio commentator after retiring in 2002, Jalabert recently ran the rule over the current, lengthy, drought on Grand Tour winners in his home country for Spanish sports daily MARCA.
By way of explanation for this dearth of success, the ongoing domination of Tadej Pogačar was one element that caught his eye. But Jalabert, who himself came close to an epic defeat of Spanish stage racing giant Miguel Indurain in the 1995 Tour de France thanks to a daring long-distance breakaway, observed that no rider's position at the top of the cycling hierarchy is guaranteed.
Meanwhile, one of France's longest-standing Grand Tour contenders, David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ), has confirmed he will make his debut in the Giro d'Italia and will be aiming for a top-five GC, without ruling out a crack at the podium.
But, as Gaudu warned in an interview with L'Équipe, "We will have to see who's there at the startline. If there are riders like Pogačar, [Primoz] Roglič, [Jonas] Vingegaard or [Remco] Evenepoel, that will be complicated."
A top five and top ten finisher in previous editions of the Tour de France, Gaudu said that he had been able to use the 2024 Vuelta a España to restore his confidence in his options in three-week stage races. The after-effects of COVID-19 played havoc with his most recent Tour de France, where he slumped to his worst-ever Grand Tour performance overall - 65th. But a subsequent sixth overall in the Vuelta a España told a very different story, and he aims to continue that return to top result at the 2025 Giro d'Italia.
"I would hope it'll be a repeat of my Vuelta ride," Gaudu said."The Giro is raced in a less restrictive way than the Tour, and I want to enjoy myself racing it, feeling a sense of freedom."
"The [French] riders who have talked to me about the Giro like Thibaut [Pinot] or Romain [Bardet] have told me it's an experience you have to live through, they couldn't find the words to describe it. But you could tell by the tone of their voice that it was an incredible experience. That appeals to me."
Gaudu said he would be taking a very different build-up than usual to his 2025 season, starting with the Muscat Classic on February 7, and - rather than racing Paris-Nice, where he finished second in 2023 - including Tirreno-Adriatico, Strade Bianche and the Tour de Romandie before the Giro d'Italia. However, the Tour de France remained on his schedule.
"I won't be as fresh as at the Giro, but I will maybe have a chance to try a gamble, to take risks," the 28-year-old said regarding his planned eighth participation in his home Grand Tour next July.
"If the Giro goes well, I should be lighter and have nothing to lose, even if I end up losing 10 or 15 minutes one day because things haven't worked out."
When it comes to GC battles, though, Jalabert warned in MARCA, "there's always a rider who is on top of the game. And right now that's Pogačar, who's a phenomenon. But it's not just him. There are other riders who can take him on, and they've done so in the past."
"In races, anything can happen. Pogačar is the strongest right now, but you never know how long that could last."
Whilst Jalabert told the Spanish newspaper he was keen to see how one of the newest French GC contenders on the block, Lenny Martínez, progressed in his new team at Bahrain Victorious, he agreed that "as I'm the last French racer to win a Grand Tour and that was back in 1995, right now we're worse off than the Spanish."
"Spain has good riders, but to win a Grand Tour is another level. [Juan] Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) can do so, and Carlos Rodríguez (Ineos Grenadiers) too, but principally Juan."
"The trouble is these days in cycling riders need to be ultra-aggressive, and there's a lot of competition out there. You don't just need a good rider [to win Grand Tours], you have to have a champion."
