Pierre Rolland got agonizingly close to a repeat of his 2013 win in the Circuit Cycliste Sarthe queen stage when he was beaten into second by Manuele Boaro.

"I think I could win but I was a bit tired in the end," he told Cyclingpro.net. "The finale was narrow and I could not go where I wanted. It's a shame because I was really close to winning. However, the race did not turn out quite as I would have liked. Many riders say they want to attack but in the end, very little happened in the queen stage

"We had a rider(Thomas Boudat) in the break and it allowed us not to chase. I made the most of protecting Thomas (Voeckler), so I was really cool in the final. This allowed me to finish second in the sprint but I'm still disappointed not to win. I had not imagined this, a group of riders competing for the win, I was thinking more of a solo win. It's a shame that I missed me a little force to get rid of the Tinkoff-Saxo rider (Manuele Boaro, the winner and new leader).

"There were attacks but they came late. To put Malori and Movistar under pressure, you had to go early. That's why we had a rider in the break I was the first to attack from the peloton but was not rewarded. It's a shame. Second place is frustrating after I had the same result in the Tour of Catalonia (first stage). I would like to win. It's been two years that I have not won a race. I have third and fourth places in the Giro last year, but I miss the victory. I will do the Vuelta a Castilla y Leon, the Ardennes, and then I will think of the Tour de France, but I would like to raise my arms before taking a break."