Nacer Bouhanni has added more fuel to the internal rivalry between him and fellow FDJ sprinter Arnaud Demare by claiming that the two talented sprinters are not treated equally by the team management and that he would wish that their could be a clear division of responsibilites between them. Stating that there is a 50% chance that he will leave the team, he claims that Demare has refused to ever do a lead-out for his teammate.

These days Nacer Bouhanni is a hot topic in the cycling world. After Marcel Kittel's abandoment, the Frenchman has taken over the role as the leading sprinter in the Giro d'Italia and he has already taken two stage wins in the Italian grand tour.

At the same time, however, his internal rival Arnaud Demare has been unstoppable in France, winning two stages and the overall at both the Tour de Picardie and the Four Days of Dunkirk. Their success has done nothing to dampen the internal rivaly that blossomed earlier this year when Bouhanni was left off the Milan-Sanremo roster after having made the race his big spring target.

Since that disappointment, Bouhanni has made it clear that he is negotiating with several teams while Demare has already been given a lucrative extension of his contract. At the same time, it is rumoured that while Demare has already been promised a spot on the Tour de France roster, Bouhanni may be left off.

Bouhanni has spent the rest day in the Giro venting his frustration over the current situation and he reiterates that there is a big chance that he will leave the team.

"At the moment it's 50-50," he told L'Equipe. "It will not be a matter of money (one million euros per year although, of course, I won't ride for half that figure.. If FDJ doesn't want me, that's how it is . But I would still say that the options are both open. My agent is working on the matter.

"I've always tried to evolve, I have not rested on the laurels. Otherwise, it would have been the end of my career. Here I have won two stages but I have already forgotten about it. In this business, you are alway hungry. I will not be content with wins in the Circuit de la Sarthe."

Bouhanni details when the rivalry started to blossom

"It started with Paris-Nice when I was taken off the roster for Milan-Sanremo because I had abandoned after five days," he said. "But I had pain in my knee. I could not bend the leg. If I did 200 watts, I suffered massively. Then I was informed via email - without any explanation - that I would not do Sanremo. The pain was over and that race was my goal. It really hurt.

"I'm also frustrated that I have never been part of the classics roster with Demare, Offredo, Delage. I want to win Ghent-Wevelgem, Paris-Tours, Hamburg, I know I'm capable of that."

Sports director Martial Gayant has suggested that Bouhanni will be left off the Tour roster if he leaves the team.

"This is the threat they always use," Bouhanni said. "They said the same two years ago when Hutarovich joined Ag2r. He still did the Tour."

"At Giant, Kittel and Degenkolb are can co-exists. They have their different programmes. Degenkolb does the classics, Kittel the grand tours. The roles are clear which is certainly not the case in our team."

He claims that he would have no trouble doing a lead-out for Demare but that it would be impossible the other way around.

"If I feel bad, yes, of course," he said. "It is a matter of honesty, but he would not do it for me. He won't share the roles, he has already said that he will never ride for me. I think this kind of statement is disrespectful to [manager Marc] Madiot. But hey, everyone has their own way of acting."

"I have often been criticized. They say: "Nacer can't handle the strains." I won't forget that and it is not true. Here we had a stage of 276km, seven and a half hours in the saddle, and the next day it was a sprint and I was there. When they criticize me, it makes me stronger. Just for than reason, I want to reach the finish in Trieste."

Bouhanni will get a chance to underline his potential by winning his third stage in today's flat tenth leg of the Giro.