Sixth in the sprint in Fougeres, Arnaud Démare regretted having been boxed in during the last kilometer, especially since there are only few opportunities for the sprinters: "The next is on the Champs-Elysees," he predicted.

"It is clear that I miss William Bonnet a lot," he told L'Equipe. "Sébastien Chavanel did a great job. I was really well placed in the last forty kilometers. It was like I was behind a scooter. It was really good but I'm disappointed because I could not express myself like in Amiens. I was trapped and it was a finish that suited me.

"We were just two (with Chavanel). We tried to go to the front with 2km to go to avoid being trapped. In these conditions, I had to improveise. We knew that the turn at the flamme rouge was tricky. Then I lost positions.

"Until 3km to go, we were still behind the GC leaders from BMC and Movistar. Froome is still fighting for position with two kilometres to go. I do not understand why. They kill the business. They are scared and kill the sprints. They bother us."

In recent years, Demare has focused a lot on the classics but he denies that it has cost him in the sprints.

"No, no," he sai. "The classics are only one month dyring the year. The rest of the year, I am a sprinter. I have prepared myself since January. In the classics, it is important to have endurance. Degenkolb and Kristoff also do both. I'm missing a little something, not necessarily luck.

"This is one of the last opportuninies before the Champs Elysees. Valence is not guaranteed to be sprint. Next time it's on the Champs."