Romain Feillu got close to his biggest win in Bretagne colours when he finished a close second in today's stage of the Tour de l'Ain. Having done a great sprint, the Frenchman regretted that the stage had not been 5m longer.

Romain Feillu has had a few difficult years but after joining Bretagne he seems to be back on track. He did a solid Tour de France after having taken his first win for some years in the Ronde de l'Oise and today he got close to an even bigger victory when he finished second in stage 2 of the Tour de l'Ain.

"Meersman got a great lead-out," he told Directvelo. "In the corner I was in sixth or seventh position. It was said to be 300 meters from the line but as there were only 200m I tried to het back quickly but he beat me with a small wheel. If it had been five meters longer, I think I would have won. 

"The final was winding but not too dangerous. You had to be well placed, it was a fight very hard for the last three or four kilometers. I'm happy with second, it's already a beautiful place. I didn't lose by much. That is the cycling.

"Now I want help teammates. My personal ambitions were in these two days. I missed the boat with the headwind on the first day. It was a tough sprint to gauge, much more dangerous than today's. It is clear that I had expected to be better. It's a race to get back into competition, but that's the same for many. 

"I will not say that I would have signed for a place on the podium, but it's a small consolation. I will take my revenge in Chateauroux Classic de l'Indre or in Plouay. First there is the Tour du Limousin, but it will be a little difficult. There are two stages with a finish for the sprinters, but before that it will be pretty hard."