With the first summit finish of the 2022 Tour de France, 25-year-old David Gaudoux is living up to the expectations of the French team and country by eating into the top contenders in the uphill test and moving up the overall leaderboard.

"In the end it was a good day," said Gaudoux. I'm 20 seconds away from the podium.

The French climber crossed the finish line of stage 7, La Super Planche des Belles Filles, in sixth place, moving him from 10th to 5th overall. With Pogachar and Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo Visma) battling for the stage win, Gaudo fell behind in the last 300 meters and finished 19 seconds behind. Overall, he was 1:31 behind leader Pogachar, less than 1 minute behind Vingegaard in second place, 21 seconds behind Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) in third place, and 13 seconds behind Adam Yates (Ineos Grenadiers).

"It wasn't the best ever, but it was a good feeling. The team did a great job." The team did a great job and everyone was there. It's really nice to have that support where you can hear them yelling 'Alets Thibault, Alets David.'"

"I'm fifth in the standings for the win, but I have to stay focused. The Tour has just started and this is just the first test. I'm very happy with the start of the Tour, but the hardest part is yet to come and I don't know what will happen yet."

Gordou, who finished 11th in last year's Tour de France, is competing for the first time as a Groupama-FDJ support rider. Pinot returned this year, but having just cleared COVID-19, Gordou is clearly the most suitable team rider for GC.

"David had a great climb. 'He was right where we expected him to be. He is clearly one of the best in these finishes. We shouldn't get too hot and keep our feet on the ground, but the riders again did exactly what we expected them to do on this stage.

On this day, 10 years after his first Grand Tour victory, Pinot was targeting a stage in his hometown and was going to go into the break looking for more wins.

"It was a strange atmosphere, as always," he said. 'The public was up for the task. But I want to thank them for their support. It was another great moment for me."

"It was a great moment for me.

"I'm certainly disappointed because I always hope for better, but I knew I wasn't at 100% yet. I still need a few more days. Also, we used a lot of energy in the first hour and it paid off in the final. But the most important thing is that David had a good run.

The team is also optimistic that Pinot will lead after this, even though he did not lead in the first summit finish.

"Thibault is still not back to full form, which is normal after COVID, but I think we will see great Pinot in the Alps and Pyrenees," said team manager Marc Madiot.