"It wass not possible, there is something wrong with Arthur Vichot. Today he was behind on the Côte de Wanne and it is obviously not his level. He had to be in contention for top 15 at Liège-Bastogne-Liège."

FDJ manager Marc Madiot is worried because his leader in the Ardennes classics was not at his best. Vichot who had prepared these races with great seriousness for several months, returned home very disappointed and waiting for the results of the blood tests that will be taken.

"It's really sad for him but it's also what makes the career of a rider. We'll take care of him," Madiot said.

In this last spring classic won by Valverde (Movistar), Vichot's teammates were strong but they missed their leader.

"They would all have come up short but when the leader is in trouble, we're all a bit lost," Madiot said. "In the end, I had three in the first group, Anthony Roux who did not suffer too much after his crash in Flèche Wallonne, Laurent Pichon and Arnold Jeannesson who is much better. This is very good news. They were caught out a big crash before the Côte de La Redoute and like all those who found themselves in this situation, they never made it back."

This was not a good spring classics campaign for the FDJ team but they are ready to bounce back. This will be the case in the Tour de Romandie with a very solid group around Thibaut Pinot.