Arnaud Démare finished thirteenth in the final stage of the Tour of Qatar after a sprint that was done at an amazing pace. This result is easily explained and gives no reason for concern in the FDJ camp.

The Doha Corniche has smiled at Demare and his teammates twice but the sprint here is never like another sprint. We got the illustration on Friday.

Behind the war for bonus seconds in the intermediate sprints, the sprinters wisely waited for their turn as the short stage (113km) made it likely that they would be allowed to contest the win. With one and a half lap to go, Demare was neare the front with his teammates, probably a little too early. In the fight, he gradually dropped back and the quick pace made it difficult to get back.

With 2km to go, the French champion was outside the top 20 positions and victory was already impossible. The post-race discussion of the mistakes was easy and the FDJ train that will be reinforced by the addition of Sébastien Chavanel, will try not to make the same mistake next week at the Tour of Oman.

The victory went to Irishman Sam Bennett (Bora Argon 18), a rider who was followed in 2009 and 2010 by FDJ sports director Yvon Madiot. However, he was never a stagiaire in the team due to health troubles. The win was the biggest of his short career.