David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) rounded Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) in the final metres to pull off a surprise win on an undulating stage 3 of the 2025 Vuelta a España to Ceres.
Lidl-Trek had controlled the entire stage, putting on a fierce pace throughout in the hope of stinging the legs of the fastest sprinters. Pedersen enjoyed a perfect lead-out from Giulio Ciccone in the final few hundred metres, only to be pipped to the line by Gaudu, with red jersey Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) in third place, continuing his lead overall.
Pedersen came into the stage as the overwhelming favourite, but ran out of legs in the end as Gaudu recorded his first stage win in a Grand Tour in five years.
The Frenchman had shown a glimpse of his form the previous day by finishing third in the first uphill finish of the race, but the shock was visible on his face after crossing the finish line. With his victory, Gaudu draws level on time with Vingegaard, moving up to second on the general classification, with Ciccone now third.
“I was thinking in the bus this morning it was more for Pedersen, but [Stefan] Küng said to me this morning I have a punch and I can win today,” a delighted Gaudu said in the TV interview after the finish.
“The team is doing a very, very, very good job. They keep us on the first position all day. So I'm very happy. I'm very, very proud to win for me, for the team. This is, I think, the best start to the Vuelta we could get.
“When I see Pedersen launching the sprint at 200-250 metres, I disconnect totally on the last corner and push all my limits to the finish line,” he added.
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How it unfolded
Gaudu was visibly in shock after the stage (Image credit: Getty Images)
With 136.4 rolling kilometres through Piedmont to cover, the third stage was one of the shortest in this Vuelta a España. Lidl-Trek began with intention, putting their two rouleurs, Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier and Daan Hoole, straight to the front to control a breakaway of four which moved away in the early stages.
The break was made up of: Alessandro Verre (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Sean Quinn (EF Education-EasyPost), Patrick Gamper (Jayco-AlUla) and Lars Van Boven (Intermarché-Wanty). The quartet’s lead grew to around 2:30 at its peak.
With 75km to go, the riders began climbing the main test of the day, the second category Issiglio climb (5.8km @ 6.5%). For the first time, multiple teams came to the front, hoping to put their leaders in the best position. The break split on the climb with Quinn and Verre too strong for their companions. The Italian was looking to make the KOM jersey that he was wearing on behalf of Vingegaard his own. He did just that, taking five points for crossing the line in first place.
Hoole and Ghebreigzabhier both did a huge amount of work throughout the stage (Image credit: Getty Images)
Behind, Ghebreigzabhier was driving things on for Lidl-Trek, aiming to make the race as hard as possible to put the fastest sprinters in trouble, with several riders being dropped off the back.
As the riders completed the descent, Quinn rolled through the intermediate sprint in Cuorgné in first place as the pair held a lead of two minutes with 55 up-and-down kilometres left to ride. Quinn struck clear 15km later, but the gap back to the peloton was now less than a minute as the road dragged up an unclassified ascent.
Quinn was caught with 19km to go as the road began its long drag towards the finish in Ceres, with more teams now taking an interest in being near the front of the peloton. The pace was ramping up as teams fought for position through several technical sections, some protecting GC riders, others hoping for a shot at the stage. With 8km left, Lidl-Trek’s first objective was ticked off with Philipsen dropping off the back.
Quinn on the attack. He would be caught with 19km to go (Image credit: Getty Images)
Five or more teams fanned across the road in the last 5km, which only averaged 3%, but looked much harder than that with the racing at full tilt for the entire stage. Visma-Lease a Bike took over in the finale’s steepest section - up to 7% - with Vingegaard well positioned alongside Pedersen and Filippo Ganna, who had been moved up late by Ineos Grenadiers.
As Ciccone took over in the final 500 metres, the group behind him splintered and split under the pace. Only Gaudu and Vingegaard were able to stay in contact as Pedersen confidently launched the sprint.
Gaudu was able to round the former world champion at the very last to claim his third career Vuelta stage victory.
Gaudu celebrates with a teammate after a stunning victory (Image credit: Getty Images)
Dan is a freelance cycling journalist who has written for Cyclingnews since 2023 alongside other work with Cycling Weekly, Rouleur and Escape Collective. Dan focuses much of his work on professional cycling beyond its traditional European heartlands and writes a regular Substack called Global Peloton.
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