Riding his first Tour de France, Bryan Coquard proved that he is still fresh at the end of the second week when he sprinted to sixth in today's stage of the race. Despite having been brought into a great position by teammate Kevin Reza, the Frenchman was not too disappointed after again missing out on the victory.

It was another fine finishing for Bryan Coquard (EUC), who was 6th in Nimes, and there was only a slight disappointment of not having quite been a contender.

"Kevin (Reza) led me out very wellm" he said. "I came back at the 500 metres next to the Omega Pharma Quick Step and I tried to take Renshaw's wheel, and then Greipel pushed me around a little. Finally I finished 6th.

"I'm not disappointed because it was a tough day with the rain. I'm a little bit disappointed for Kevin, who did a great job. With only two of us, it's difficult to fight with the others. I'm satisfied but disappointed all the same.

"It was close. We saw them in the last stretch. Then I must admit I was totally focused on Kevin's wheel. I hope I'm going to go through the mountain alright. I'm not going to say that the hardest part has been done. I still need to grind my teeth."