All year Quentin Jauregui has been very strong in the biggest French races and yesterday he was again a key protagonist when he finished third in La Polynormande. Despite having achieved a major result, the 20-year-old was disappointed.

Riding for Roubaix Lille Metropole, Quentin Jauregui has done a lot to recommend himself for the WorldTour teams as he has been a constant presence in the hard French one-day races that are part of the Coupe de France race series. Yesterday he got close to that elusive first big win against the WorldTour teams when he finished third in La Polynormande.

Jauregui was part of the 14-rider group that decided the race but he failed to join eventual Jan Ghyselinck and Antoine Duchesne when they attacked in the finale. Having won the sprint for third, the 20-year-old was disappointed.

"I'm disappointed, today I knew that I could win," he told Directvelo. "As proof, I won the sprint for third. I really wanted to get the win, because I knew that I was one of the fastest in the breakaway. I launched my sprint 300 meters from the line to try to get back to the two escapees. I finished third.

"Well, I said I wanted to finish in the top 5 in La Polynormande. I finished third, I'm still happy. The legs are there. On Monday I will attend a training camp in Savoie for the French U23 national team. Then I'll do the Artic Race of Norway with Roubaix Lille Métropole and the Tour de l'Avenir."