So far considered by most as a promising sprinter, Brian Coquard, in fact, despite his young age excels in the French one-day races arena and hopes to get rid of that hugely unjust etiquette by continuing in the same line in the Ardennes classics.

Coquard enjoyed a great start to the 2014 season with two consecutive stages claimed at the Etoile de Besseges, and even though he failed to make a serious impact in more demanding races like Paris-Nice, Milano-Sanremo or Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne, the 21-year old Europcar rider eventually bounced back with victories in one-day Route Adelie de Vitre and Paris-Camembert.

Encouraged by his latest results and confident about the current disposition, Coquard claimed that he wants to eventually “get rid of the label” of a pure sprinter, as he developed his love for tough one-day events and aims to make serious improvement in this area, starting with his participation in the Amstel Gold Race.

“I go there to learn,” Coquard told L’Equipe

“I’m not saying that I’m going to win, but I still want to have a good race and to emerge as a protagonist in the finale, instead of remaining passive. I do not see myself in an early breakaway because I need to stay much fresher in order to contest a victory, like John Degenkolb. I want to hold on as long as possible and stick with the best.”