After the third stage, Frenchman Bryan Coquard still leads the Four Days of Dunkirk. Today he faces the queen stage. "The race will be decided on Mont Cassel," the Europcar sprinter told Het Nieuwsblad. "I hope I can count on a strong team to defend my leadership."

"You could lose the Four Days of Dunkirk on the cobbles on the first day but you can win it in Cassel."

Coquard also had some words left for yesterday's finale in Saint-Omer. "This was very dangerous.In Thursday's there was also a dangerous finale, but this was worse. We rdode passively. The three escapees were not a threat to the lead and so we did not want to use too much energy. We also informed the other teams that we were not going to work to close the gap. Eventually the chase started too late. You should not underestimate riders like Gougeard and Antomarchi. They are strong."