David Gaudu outsmarts Pedersen and rest to win stage 3 of the 2025 Vuelta a España

Mathew Mitchell

Published on August 25, 2025
in Men's Cycling

The day began under clear skies in San Maurizio Canavese, though the tension was higher than usual after Visma | Lease a Bike confirmed that 18 of their bikes had been stolen overnight. The team scrambled replacements together, and Jonas Vingegaard rolled out in red, albeit with the sort of start to the day no leader would envy.

Once the flag dropped, attacks came thick and fast. Alessandro Verre, already wearing the polka-dot jersey, was determined to consolidate his mountains lead and forced his way into the break alongside Sean Quinn, Patrick Gamper and Luca Van Boven. The quartet quickly established a gap of around 1 minute 40 seconds, but Lidl-Trek, riding for Mads Pedersen, refused to give them much rope. Daan Hoole and Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier tapped out a steady but punishing tempo, holding the leaders to just under two minutes as the race barrelled towards the Issiglio climb.

On the 5.5km ascent, Verre pressed hard. First Gamper cracked, then Van Boven, leaving Quinn alone to try and follow. The American grimaced his way to the summit but didn’t contest the points, which Verre mopped up to take five more and move into the outright lead of the mountains classification. Their effort whittled the break to just two, with the peloton always looming less than two minutes behind.

The descent was fast and smooth, and though Lidl-Trek allowed the gap to creep over two minutes again, the leash was never truly slack. With 55km remaining, the intermediate sprint in Cuorgné offered another incentive. Quinn led Verre through for maximum points, with Pedersen himself contesting the reduced bunch sprint behind to snag third and two bonus seconds. It showed Lidl-Trek’s intent: everything was about teeing up their leader.

The peloton hit the rolling middle section of the course at a furious pace, averaging close to 45kph, and riders began to suffer. Jasper Philipsen was one of those distanced, yo-yoing off the back with his Alpecin-Deceuninck teammates frantically trying to shepherd him back. Ethan Vernon also found himself slipping out the rear, while Movistar’s Orluis Aular and EF’s Harold López endured mechanicals and crashes that disrupted their rhythm.

Quinn, riding his first major race back after a long spell out with a knee injury, tried a bold solo move with just under 40km to go. He prised open a lead of around a minute, leaving Verre to be caught by the Lidl-Trek-led bunch. The American pushed hard, but the workload told, and with 19km to go his adventure was over. The peloton swept him up, the speed barely relenting as the run-in to Ceres loomed.

The final climb to the town was not especially steep, just 2.6km at 3.6%, but it was technical, narrow, and explosive. Crucially, the 3km rule protecting GC riders from time gaps did not apply, which meant general classification teams jostled elbows with the sprinters’ trains all the way into the finale. The nervous energy was palpable.

With 15km to go, Lidl-Trek still controlled the front. Soren Kragh Andersen and Julien Bernard burned their matches, while Bagioli offered a final injection of pace. Visma then came forward, Jorgenson and Tulett delivering Vingegaard into the top positions. Ineos Grenadiers tried to bring Egan Bernal up, and Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe rallied around Finn Fisher-Black, while UAE kept Juan Ayuso protected.

Inside 5km, the bunch was strung out in one long line. The second hairpin whittled the group further, leaving only the strongest in position. Pedersen was ideally placed in second wheel, seemingly destined to finish what his teammates had started. Vingegaard sat locked onto his wheel, with David Gaudu a few places further back.

At the last hairpin, barely 80 metres from the finish, came the decisive moment. Pedersen swung wide, holding what looked the optimal line, but in doing so left a sliver of daylight at the inside apex. Gaudu saw it, committed instantly, and dived through. His timing was immaculate- accelerating onto the straight with momentum that neither Pedersen nor Vingegaard could match.

The Frenchman surged clear, his body rocking as he drove for the line. Pedersen fought to recover but could not close the bike length that opened in a matter of seconds. Vingegaard, pragmatic, settled for third, content with the bonus seconds and the overall lead.

Gaudu crossed the line almost disbelieving, arms raised in release more than triumph. It was his first Grand Tour stage victory since 2020, and a breakthrough after a year plagued by injury and disappointment. “It was a surprise,” he admitted, “but the team told me I could do it today. The corner opened, and I went all-in.”

The day left Vingegaard still in red, equal on time with Gaudu but ahead on countback. Pedersen had the frustration of second after Lidl-Trek’s control of the race, but his form was clear. And for Gaudu, it was a reminder that the Vuelta has often been the race that revives his fortunes, and perhaps one that could reshape his season once more.