Bryan Coquard (Europcar) achieved his best ever result in a stage of the Tour de France when he finished third in stage 6.

"It is a beautiful place of honor but I am disappointed," he told L'Equipe. "I am not content with a third place but this is my best result in the Tour. I'm only 23 years old. It is in this type of finishes I want to progress to be among the world's best. I work for this and I'm third. I'm beaten  in the sprint by Sagan and that is not a shame. Stybar did it well. I have no regrets, I had no alternative.

"The climb was longer than I though. It began to rise before the red kite and my legs hurt. With coyrage, I hung on. I tried not to put me in the red zone. I fell back on the climb to save energy for the sprint. When Stybar attacked, the sprinters had no teammates. He played it well. Perhaps in one or two more years, I'll be able to follow but this year I could not."

"Maybe in a week [I will have a chance in Rodez]. I'm happy. The bunch sprints like yesterday are difficult for me , with my 60 kg unless I get an armchair ride until 200m to go. I try with aspiration. I like finishes like this one. I want to be a guy who can win the Amstel Gold Race and Milan - San Remo. I have good feelings, good legs. We will take stock of the green jersey later."