Bryan Coquard has got his debut Tour de France off to a fantastic start after having taken fourth in the first two bunch sprints of the race. The Frenchman is now third in the points competition and promises to fight for the green jersey all the way to the end.

To go up against the fastest sprinters in the world may be a daunting task for a rider who is just in his second year as a professional but Bryan Coquard is unfazed by the challenge. In his first Tour de France, the Europcar sprinter has been one of the most consistent sprinters so far, finishing fourth in both bunch sprints so far.

Yesterday he again finished just outside the top 3 in the bunch sprint in London and he regretted having used a bit too much energy in the run-in to the sprint.

“It was a nice finish and fourth place, it’s not bad. I couldn’t sprint at 100 per cent because I couldn’t find an opening until late but it’s encouraging for what’s to come,” he said at the finish.

“I made an error in the Olympic Park. I took a cycle path where there were people blocking it at the end, so I lost time and energy. With the rain, you could feel your tyres slipping at times. It was really on the limit.

“Another rider in the finishing straight would have been nice but that’s how it is, my teammates did a lot of work for me before that. I was on Kittel’s wheel in the final kilometre but I lost my place to Sagan. I was on the limit of slipping and he managed to get in there because he was going quicker. He’s really impressive in his bike handling."

Coquard has been first from the peloton in all intermediate sprints so far and currenly sits in third in the points competition. Despite trailing Peter Sagan by 29 points, he still hopes to ride into Paris with the green jersey on his shoulders.

“I’ll fight to the end for the green jersey, even if Peter Sagan will be very hard to beat.”