Gaudu's new winter approach pays off, Yates and Uijtdebroeks surprise themselves

"I had it in my head since last night," Gaudu exclaimed on his team's website. "I had confidence in my punch. I deliberately didn't look back, but because of his shadow, I saw him coming back. I said to myself, 'As soon as he attacks, I attack too, and then it's a man-to-man fight.' I knew I would not let him go. I was thinking about it all morning. I've been able to work on it this winter, and I think that was the deciding factor for the final stretch."

"It feels good; I needed this. The first win of the year is sometimes the toughest to get. It opens up my season well, as it does for his team. It also opens the door for the team that hadn't won until now, even if the guys had done well in Australia or Bessèges. All that was missing was a win to start the season."

Yates only had to give way in the last few hundred meters. He seemed to come alongside for a moment, but his rival had one more attack in his legs. 'I’m happy with today’s performance,' the Brit from UAE Team Emirates - XRG said in a press release. "Like I said at the beginning of the week, I’ve had an easier approach to the start of the season as I need to be in top shape for a long time later in the year – so to be fighting for the win on an explosive final climb like this is a good sign that the training is working and my shape is coming."

Uijtdebroeks finished sixth, sixteen seconds behind the winner. "It's been a while since I had to reach the limit like that," he sighed on his team's channels. "The last few days were not so extreme, but today, the finale was too punchy for me. The guys did a fantastic job and dropped me off perfectly. Pietro went on a very long climb. The legs were good. I tried to limit the damage as much as possible. All in all, I'm happy with this."

Wednesday is the last chance for the climbers, and the Belgian of Visma | Lease a Bike sees a big opportunity at the top of Green Mountain. "That's a climb that normally suits me better. Other riders usually come out on top there, and the differences will be bigger. Everything is still possible. I'm curious how the legs will be."