Matthieu Ladagnous (FDJ) has long been knocking on the door as a future star in the cobbled classics. After his 6th place in the Gent-Wevelgem, his 5th place in yesterday's confirmation was a final confirmation of his breakthrough, and the talented Frenchman now hopes to make it three in a row with a top 10 in next Sunday's Paris-Roubaix.

When Matthieu Ladagnous turned professional in 2006, he was regarded as a huge talent with plenty of potential in the biggest one-day races. However, the Frenchman failed to make an impression in the most important events during his first years as a professional, and many wrote him off as just another example of a talented Frenchman failing to make his mark on the international scene.

As he was only beaten by Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) in the sprint for 4th in the Tour of Flanders, the 28-year old have finally silenced his critics. Adding yesterday's result to his 6th in last Sunday's Gent-Wevelgem, he has been one of the most consistent riders in this year's cobbled classics.

Unsurprisingly, the Frenchman now hopes to continue his string of results in next Sunday's Paris-Roubaix.

"I'm very happy," he said. "My condition has been good for one or two weeks, so this is great. These classics were my objectives. I finished 6th in Gent-Wevelgem and 5th in the Tour of Flanders, and I think I will be very strong in Paris-Roubaix. There is no reason for me to hide away. Since 2012, I have known that I am capable of great things in these classics. I prepared myself for that."

However, a mechanical failure at one of the most crucial points in the race almost cost him any chance of success in yesterday's race.

"To finish fifth here is really good. But I had to come back to the group from far behind. I broke my front wheel on the Koppenberg. Mickael Delage helped me immediately. I started the Koppenberg in last position and I crested the top far behind. I returned to the peloton after the feed zone, and from then on I was well placed."

Demare shows his potential

Ladagnous was not the only FDJ rider to stand out in yesterday's race. The former U23 world champion Arnaud Demare came tantalizingly close to crest the top of the final climb of the Paterberg in the Ladagnous group, but he dropped off just meters shy of the summit.

With victory in last year's Vattenfall Cyclassics and his 2011 U23 world championships, he had proved his potential in long races, but it was nonetheless a surprise to see the young Frenchman so close to the front in his debut in one of the most difficult races of the year.

The talented sprinter saw his performance as a sign of things to come in the cobbled classics.

"It was my first Tour of Flanders," he said. "I had participated in the U23 edition, but this is completely different. The public is impressive, the start in Brugge was loaded with people. It is nice to see. It's a party. On the bike, I had good legs and enjoyed the race. We got a good result with Matthieu."

"I feel that these races suit me. I was near the front and am progressing. I thought I was too young and that I would run out of power, but I lack nothing. I was just a few meters shy of passing the Paterberg with the group that sprinted for 4th. If I had stayed with this group, I would have had a nice top 10 result. Now it's Paris-Roubaix. I have participated in the junior and U23 editions. I know the last 120km. I'm happy to mix it up with the professionals."

Plenty of bad luck

With Ladagnous' results in Gent-Wevelgem and the Tour of Flanders and Demare's narrow defeat in the opening stage of the Driedaagse van de Panne - in which he also had a stint in the leader's jersey - FDJ has had its best classics campaign for years. Team manager Marc Madiot was happy to see the progress of his young team and claimed that it could have been even better if the team had not been hit by plenty of bad luck.

"We are where we want to be - as I expected," he said. "However, we had problems with a number of riders. Suffering from gastroenteritis, William Bonnet did not start. Murilo Fischer did not feel well. Johan Le Bon was the victim of a crash and did never recover. However, our leaders were present in the front and did a great race. Yoann Offredo attacked on the last lap to anticipate the favourites, and behind Matthieu was waiting. Arnaud Demare was only dropped on the last climb and would have ended up 4th, had he stayed in the favourites' group."

The team now hopes to see Arnaud Demare continue their string of top results in Wednesday's Scheldeprijs semi-classic before the team turns its attention to their big home race, the Paris-Roubaix.