Thibaut Pinot lost 14 seconds to most of his rivals in today's second stage of the Tour de France. However, the Frenchman was satisfied with the outcome after a nervous stage that didn't suit his characteristics.

Thibaut Pinot has never been a fan of the fight for position and so he feared today's second stage of the Tour de France which was expected to be a nervous affair. In the end, he lost 14 seconds to the main group of favourites and lost time to Romain Bardet and Michal Kwiatkowski who are his biggest rivals for the white jersey.

Nonetheless, he was satisfied with the result.

"Thibaut didn't feel super," sports director Yvon Madiot said. "He was fine but no more than that and it is not really serious to have lost 15 seconds. This was not a stage that suited him as it was very tense and nervous. You had to be concentrated all the time and had to fight for position so he was satisfied with his day. His team did a really good job. His satisfaction is also based on his teammates who are all doing well.

"It was a hard stage for the sprinters and I told Arnaud Demare not to insist if he was in trouble. He had no luck as he suffered a puncture at the bottom of a climb. He made a big effort to get back alongside Mickael Delage and Matthieu Ladagnous who punctured too, but then paid the price. He was in a group with the other sprinters except Peter Sagan."