With Romain Bardet and Alexis Vuillermoz, Ag2r were among the favourites for the first stage of the Tour du Gevaudan but after Bardet had launched a late attack on the final climb in the big mountain stage, both were dropped.

"We came today to fight for victory," sports director Stephane Goubert told Directvelo. "The boys were very competitive. Since we did not win, we are inevitably disappointed. We controlled the race with FDJ. They wert just better than us. We must accept it, draw conclusions and talk about it. 

"Tomorrow, we must bounce back as soon as possible. There were no signs of any poor form for Romain Bardet or Alexis Vuillermoz before tackling the final climb. Romain attacked early, then he fell behind, but he finished well."