Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) again missed out on a stage win at the Tour de France when he crashed on the descent from the Col d'Allos and finished stage 17 in 4th.

"I believed in it. I had good legs to win," he said. "When it won't work, it won't work. I fell in the descent. I was blocked, I don't know why I crashed. It's a pity because I had done the worst. After that my handlebars were damaged and that made it difficult.

"I will try again tomorrow and everyday. Until Saturday, I will try. I have good legs. There are years like this. Last year, everything went right, this year it's not the case. It's the beauty of sport.

"There are three opportunities left. I'm going to attack again, it's frustrating but I don't want to have regrets in Paris. I'm sure it's going to work in the days ahead. I want to go all the way, I want to try."

"He left it a little late but it was not easy for him," sports director Yvon Madiot said. "When he rode in front, everyone was looking at him. When one attacked, everyone looked at him and waited for him to make the effort. This climb was not hard enough or long enough for his abilities. He erased half of his deficit to Geschke in five kilometers and made a good start to the descent but even without the crash it would have been hard to get back because Geschke managed his effort. I can say that Thibaut is not demoralized. There are only three days left."