Nacer Bouhanni has done two races, the Challenge de Mallorca and the Tour of Qatar, and until now his best result has been third place. However, the Cofidis sprinter is calm and confident in his shape and he expects to get his first win in the Tour of Oman.

Bouhanni makes it clear that he has just started at Cofidis where Cyril Lemoine, Dominique Rollin, Jonas Ahlstrand, Adrien Petit and Geoffrey Soupe will form his lead-out train. “We have built a train. Now everyone must find his place and this comes naturally. Without thinking, without needing to talk too much. I'm still in a new team and I knew it would take at least two races to adjust everything. Of course I would have liked to open my account, but it is not a drama not win a stage in Qatar. It remains a preparation race," he said in an interview in L'Equipe .

However, he expects to get better. "Yes, I like to be good early in the season, I have often won in February. And for the team it would be great. In Oman, there are still at least three sprints and there will be other occasions. My form is getting better, I felt better and better in Qatar. But I'm not in top condition, I am probably at 80%. I hope to get better until Paris-Nice and Milan-San Remo," he said.

"I have nothing to prove, I know what I have to do. I have changed the color of the jersey, but I'm still the same. I have still a lot of motivation and determination. I put pressure on myself, I do not need anyone to tell me you have to do this or that. I'm very hard on myself," he said.

In Qatar, things did not go well, but the team is learning. "We try to work as a group and that was the goal. Two guys from my train crashed, Dominique Rollin and Geoffrey Soupe, and that weakens you. I hope the automatisms start to work in Oman. We took lessons every day. Every night we did briefings to discuss what worked and what did not, all our errors, including mine. We talked about our automatisms to make things better,” he said.

"I was surprised at the physical level of the whole peloton. Qatar remains a special race with the wind, echelons, and the big teams that are very experienced. Kristoff was very strong and his team know this race by heart. His strength is also the team," he told the French sports daily.

Finally, he describes his emotions when he crosses the finish line.  "When I'm disappointed, I try to keep it within myself. I like to be alone after a sprint, I do not like to talk to anyone for the first ten minutes. I like being alone and analyze what happened," he said.