Bryan Coquard (Europcar) took the best Tour de France result when he finished second in the final sprint on the Champs Elysees.

“It’s a real pity but that's cycling. I’ve had some placings but I think I went well, even if I didn’t manage to win," he said.

"It is a bitter taste. It's a dream to win on the Champs-Elysees. I had time to look at my sprint: I make no mistake. I'm just too young. Perhaps with one more year, I will succeed. I was second and third in this Tour so I am making progress. Last year, I was off the pace 300m from the line. This year I watched Greipel and stayed with him.

"In the sprint, I was coming back up and threw my bike at the line with a final kick. It was like a track race finish. I was on Greipel wheel before hand and had a perfect lead out from my teammates. The team set me up with a chance. I can only hope it comes off next year.

"I saw myself winning and that's the most frustrating. This is the biggest disappointment of my career after Paris-Nice, where I was passed 20 meters from the line but this is the Tour de France.

"We did a great Tour with two second places, one third place and Pierrot (Pierre Rolland) makes a top 10 overall. The team did well while we were in trouble. Our situation is precarious: it is not known what will be happen next year (Europcar will end its sponsorship at the end of the season, ed). Still, everyone did their best."

"I would like a train. In the Tour I have showed that I deserve it. The problem is the money. If a big sponsor listens to me and wants to give millions to Jean-René [Bernaudeau, manager], we can build a train. I promise you: if you have 15 million euros, we will come back with a train and I will win easily on the Champs-Elysées," he added with a smile.