Armindo Fonseca (Bretagne) has gradually approached the top of the sprinting hierarchy and today he confirmed his potential by sprinting to 3rd in the second stage of the Tour Mediteraneen. Having been disappointed with his performance in the Tour de San Luis, the Frenchman is happy to be back at his best.

With several strong performances in 2013, Armindo Fonseca has repeatedly shown that he has the potential to become an excellent sprinter in the future. The big win may still be missing but he has come close on a number of occasions.

Fonseca is not your usual pure sprinter. In fact, he is a solid climber who can overcome even rather tough challenges before launching his powerful sprint. This made him a perfect candidate for today's sprint in the Tour Mediteraneen as the Col du Petit Galibier threatened to rule out many of the fastest finishers.

That was exactly what happened and in the end Fonseca showed his promise by sprinting to 3rd behind John Degenkolb and Yannick Martinez. The result caused a sigh of relief after a disappointing showing in the Tour de San Luis.

"In the Tour de San Luis I was not at my best," he said. "I was asking a lot of questions. I talked to Franck Renimel, our coach. He told me I was too tired in Argentina since I had had stomach problems in early January during our training camp in La Londe-les-Maures. After my return, I worked well for two weeks and it pays off.

"Already yesterday, the sensations were better. Today, when I saw that I felt well in the last climb, I said to myself that I would for the win. In the end, it was not easy. There were four from the team: Florian Guillou, Anthony Delaplace, Eduardo Sepulveda and me. The guys have repeatedly tried to escape in the last kilometres so I could save myself. But it was complicated because John Degenkolb was still present. A top 3 is encouraging for the future."

Fonseca gets another chance in tomorrow's first half-stage that is expected to finish in a sprint. The team will then shift its focus to Sepulveda in the afternoon's time trial, with the Argentinean eyeing a top result on GC after his splendid performance in San Luis.