In Saturday’s Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Arnaud Demare battled back from a puncture to finish 10th and he is ”relieved” as he goes into his next races: Paris-Nice and the cobbled classics. His FDJ manager Marc Madiot aims high and sees him as a future winner of Paris-Roubaix. The 23-year-old Frenchman shares the idea but asks for patience.

Demare started his 2015 season in Qatar and Oman where a third place was his best result and he has had a troubled start to the year. "It is true I had bad feelings, but I think the weather affected me. After having recovered, I found the strength. Last Saturday I felt like my old self. The legs are better so I'm a little relieved," he says in an interview with L'Equipe.

He knows the next part of his schedule: Paris-Nice, Milan-San Remo, Ghent-Wevelgem, Tour of Flanders and Giro d'Italia. The Hell of the North where he was 12th in 2014, is also on his agenda. "It's true that we often speak about Roubaix, but in the long term. We must be honest, this year it would be premature to announce an excellent performance. Last year, I was there in the Carrefour de l'Arbre but I felt weak, powerless. For now, I have suffered, suffered, suffered. When I am able to be at the end and feel like I can attack, I would maybe say 'Well, next year'.”

The 2011 U23 World Champion is in no hurry. "I prefer force anything, everything is solid. I've always done it in that way. At 23 years of age, I cannot  have the strength of a 27-year-old rider. However, for the next few years it is a good sign. If I'm serious, I do not see why it won’t work out for me. Earlier, I spoke of Roubaix, but it was a dream. Now I feel that it can one day become a reality, but this season I think it's more realistic to win a stage in the Tour.”

Last year his first Tour de France was painful. “I suffered. I was not used to feel so bad just to stay in the bunch. Usually I suffer to win. I was struggling just to stay in the group. Psychologically, it is not the same," he says and claims that the rivalry with Nacer Bouhanni and the fact that his spot wasn’t guaranteed, may have had a negative impact. “I hope to stay cooler because last year I was not at 100%,” he tells the French sports daily.

Demare goes into his fourth season at FDJ. In 2014, he won 15 races, including the French championships, and was only surpassed by André Greipel (16). However, he failed to win a WorldTour race, with second in Ghent-Wevelgem and two third places on stages of the Tour de France being his best results.