La Polynormande ended as a frustrating experience for Team Europcar as Fabrice Jeandesboz and Antoine Duchesne had to settle for second and third in the six-rider sprint that decided the race.
"It is a disappointment to finish second," Jeandesboz told Directvelo. "Especially as Antoine (Duchesne) finished third. It is not enough to be on the podium. We were up against a better sprinter than us. In the end I tried to attack him with 2km to go and Antoine tried at the flamme rouge. But he joined us every time. Personally I believed in my chances because we quickly got a lead over the peloton. Nevertheless, the sprint is not really my cup of tea and there were guys like Pierrick (Fedrigo) that are fast.
"This season is going much better than the previous two. My victory in the Rhône-Alpes Isère Tour brought me a lot of confidence. The form is there, I could take a good rest in July. I'm ready for the Vuelta. I will go there to help Pierre Rolland if he decides to ride, and Romain Sicard. I will finalize my preparation at the Tour de l'Ain."
"I'm disappointed," Duchesne said. "I came to win. I felt good today, I believed in it. It's a shame because we were well represented at the front but we did not win. We were caught with 10 kilometers to go which was hard.
"When we returned to the lead group at the flamme rouge, I accelerated immediately. I wanted to drop Pierrick (Fedrigo) because we had no chance in the sprint against him. It would have been better to stay calm but I was not cool enough. Now I will do the Tour de l'Ain and the Vuelta."
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