Despite having no previous experience on the cobbles, Nacer Bouhanni made the selection and sprinted to sixth in stage 4 of the Tour de France.

"Tony Martin attacked strongly and I was tired," he told L'Equipe. "I did the cobbled sections with courage but I was a bloc. In the sprint, I did not have the legs to do better. I have little experience on the cobbles. Now there are two, three stages for sprinters, I hope to do well."

"At the entrance of the first cobbled sector, we were well placed with Nacer (Bouhanni)," his teammate Christophe Laporte said. "Then the elimination took place from the back. We were riding very fast. We were four in the finale with Nacer, Florian (Senechal) and Kenneth (Van Bilsen) but Kenneth punctured 9 km from the finish. We failed to bring Tony Martin back. We are disappointed because we could have been in the mix for the win."