Just after the finish line, Bryan Coquard made ​​a first gesture: making a sigh of relieg. In Orchies , finishing city of the first stage of the 4 Days of Dunkirk , he took his second win of the season after a stage victory in the Etoile de Bessèges . 

For the fast Frenchman, it is a great satisfaction after a period of frustration: "I'm happy because it's a long time since I last raised my arms." 

He went onto praise his teammate Antoine Duchesne who did an enormous work to give Coquard the best chance in the finale.

"The victory is mainly due to the work of Caribou (the nickname Antoine Duchesne, ed.). We tried a break and it worked. It was deserved because we were working the hardest. And then we got rewarded," he said.

The victory for Bryan Coquard was difficlt to achieve. He first attacked with Duchesne behind a front trio and both had to watch his rivals and wonder what was going on behind

"In our group, I was afraid of Thurau Bjorn (former Europcar rider, ed.) and Yauheni Hutarovich that would be fast in a sprint. And I did not know where our GC rider Thomas (Voeckler) was," he said.

In the end it was he who found himself at the front, in a stage that was not necessarily to his advantage: "It's true that I don't have the right stature for the cobblestones and this kind racing is not my specialty, but it was decided by the legs."

The Frenchman will now focus on a new goal: "We will try to go for GC. That is our priority."

With Arnaud Demare being the two-time defending champion, Coquard can make it three in a row for fast home riders in the race.