Having enjoyed two days in the spotlight as race leader, Nacer Bouhanni's time in the yellow jersey came to an end when he could only manage 7th in yesterday's bunch sprint in Paris-Nice. Claiming that he is not in the race to finish seventh, the Frenchman has now set his sights on a win in today's hilly stage to Belleville.

Nacer Bouhanni had great expectations for the fast sprint on the Magny-Cours motorsport circuit in Paris-Nice but it wasn't to be for the Frenchman who could only manage 7th. With John Degenkolb winning the stage, he lost the leader's jersey he had won since stage one.

Throughout the day, his team did an outstanding job to control the early break, with a recovering Geoffrey Soupe (who has been suffering from gstroenteritis) single-handedly leading the peloton for several kilometres. In the end, however, FDJ were unable to match the powerful lead-out trains of Giant-Shimano and Orica-GreenEDGE and depite Sebastien Chavanel's best efforts to position his sprinter, Bouhanni had to brake near the end, losing all hopes of a top result.

Bouhanni lamented the lost opportunity but now hopes to take a surprise win in today's hilly stage to Belleville.

"The dominant feeling is one of frustration," he said. "I'm not in Paris-Nice to finish seventh. But with a stage win and two days in yellow, I fulfilled my goal and I don't get desperate about not winning the third stage. Now I will try to win on Wednesday in Belleville."

His sports director Thierry Bricaud, however, expects the GC riders to come to the fore and now hopes that his two GC aces will start to shine.

"It's a new climb," he said about the Cote du Mont Brouilly which features in the finale. "It'll be up to our leaders Arthur Vichot and Arnold Jeannesson to be there. They feel good, are healthy and motivated. And the team will be united to support them! "

You can read our preview of today's stage here and follow our live coverage at 14.25 CET on CyclingQuotes.com/live.