Yesterday Arnaud Demare continued his excellent run of success when he added the final stage and the overall victory of the Tour de Picardie to his growing palmares. Having succeeded John Degenkolb and Marcel Kittel on the winners' list, the Frenchman feels that he is not too far from the level of the great German sprinters.

Two weeks ago Arnaud Demare dominated the Four Days of Dunkirk when he won two stages and the overall. This weekend he continued his impressive showing in the Tour de Picardie by winning two out of three stages and taking a comfortable overall victory.

The three-day race has always been dominated by sprinters and the 2012 and 2013 edition were won by two of the greatest, John Degenkolb and Marcel Kittel. To succeed those two riders in the race provides Demare with a lot of confidence as he heads into the final part of his preparation for his big goal, the Tour de France.

"Since the Four Days of Dunkirk, it doesn't seem to stop," he told L'Equipe. "I didn't think that I would do so well. I was tired but I seem to continue. These are not easy races, the courses are lumpy and there are enough climbs to make it difficult to control. But I have a dedicated team that has a lot of confidence in me.

"When you see the list of winners, I tell myself that I'm not far from them and it gives a lot of ambition. I have a tranining camp in the Pyrenees (this week) but once I have recovered from all these efforts, I should be in good shape and will go to the Tour with the objective of winning a stage."

"As in previous days, Pierre-Henri Leciusinier and Geoffrey Soupe rode on the front of the peloton to control the break," sports director Franck Pineau said. "I think it was good for Geoffrey, who needed to make efforts after his crash at Tro Bro Leon likes. 

"Then Benoît Vaugrenard and David Boucher took over. In the finale we had William Bonnet and Yoann Offredo and then a great Mika Delage again put his sprinter in the right position. Arnaud is always good in uphill sprints and this one in Bray-sur-Somme was not easy but he managed to win. 

"It is true that he became U23 world champion in Copenhagen and last year in the Eneco Tour he beat Philippe Gilbert in such a finish, and he has won twice this week, this time beating Sinkeldam (Giant-Shimano) and Gianni Meersman (OPQS).

"Everything went well for us and even though Arnaud's talent means a lot, nothing would have been possible if one of his teammates had not been in the game, if they didn't do their job each day. I want to pay tribute to the seven riders of my team who again did a remarkable job to set of their leader for a win."