One day after their excellent showing in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, FDJ.fr failed to play a similarly dominant role in the Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. Left with only Yoann Offredo to support sprinter Arnaud Demare in the chase group, the team had no chance to lend a hand to Lotto-Belisol, Sky, and Katusha in the pursuit and the team came away from the race empty-handed.

On Saturday, Arnaud Demare, Yoann Offredo, and Johan Le Bon proved that FDJ.fr is a force to be reckoned with in the cobbled classics. 24 hours later the tables had turned for the French team which failed to play a role in the Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne.

When the dust had settled after Omega Pharma-Quick Step's attack on the Oude Kwaremont, the French team only had sprinter Demare and Offredo in the first chase group and this made it impossible for them to contribute to the chase. In the end, they failed to catch the 10-rider fron group and so there was no glory for the team in Kuurne.

"For 60 kilometers, the gap was constant, remaining at a minute," manager Marc Madiot told the team's website. "The Lotto-Belisol team for Greipel and Sky for Boasson Hagen chased and Katusha came to lend a hand but I think everyone had tired legs from the previous day. 

"This was also the case for my riders. Johan (Le Bon) had not recovered from his excellent Nieuwsblad and it is normal as he has only 5 days of racing in the legs. David Boucher did a big job to put Arnaud Démare and Yoann Offredo in position but broke his front wheel. William Bonnet sacrificed himself to help and suddenly, we only had Yoann and Arnaud in the group. Herman Frison (Lotto-Belisol director) asked me to collaborate in the pursuit but I did not have the team. However, we leave Belgium with great satisfaction and confidence. "