21 year old French sprinter Bryan Coquard was fourth in yesterday’s hectic Tour de France sprint. In an interview with L’Equipe, he discusses yesterday’s events.

“Fourth is good but I'm a winner. I am not satisfied with fourth place. There is a slight disappointment because when I launched my sprint, I could see myself win. It went really well but it was stuck with Simon Gerrans. He wanted to go at the same time as me and we had to bang handlebars. It cut me in my tracks and I lost my speed. The time it took to get back up to speed, I was out of contention. I am disappointed and happy at the same time. I see that there is a possibility to do better.”

In the end, Marcel Kittel flew by for the win, taking Peter Sagan and Ramunas Navardauskas with him.

“Arrival in a false flat finish like that, what could be better for me? In the team, we do not have the ability to set up a train, but I saw myself winning. Kittel, it is very, very strong. I would have liked to see a mano a mano in the final meters. I've beaten him in the Tour de Picardie. He is beatable.”

Coquard won the intermediate sprint yesteray and he has just recently led home the peloton today in the sprint, leaving many viewers wondering if he is targeting the Green Jersey. But Coquard will leave them disappointed, saying he is not after the jersey.

“No, it was not for this purpose. It was really to release me and get into my Tour. This morning I had a little apprehension. At the intermediate sprint, I let the legs go and I entered the Tour. Win the bunch sprint, it's not a bad thing. The legs are good. The whole team has worked hard. We share a good dynamic.”

Coquard even believes he may have a chance tomorrow but he is still reserved about his chances beieveing he will be better than most sprinters but it will probably not be his day.

“Cavendish and Kittel will not pass the difficulties, but I might get over them. When I look at the course, I thought it was a little Amstel Gold Race, which would have suited me but rather a small Liège-Bastogne-Liège. This is harder."