Arnaud Demare came under attack in yesterday's hilly third stage of the 4 Days of Dunkirk and saw Sylvain Chavanel and Michael Valgren ride away from him in the finale. Due to excellent team work, however, he limited his losses to keep his overall lead by just 2 seconds ahead of today's very difficult fourth stage of the race.

After his dominant showing in the first two stages, Arnaud Demare had expressed concern that it would be difficult for him to defend his overall lead in the hilly third and fourth stages of the 4 Days of Dunkirk. After the first of those hard tests, however, he heads into the fourth stage with the jersey still on his shoulders, albeit with an advantage over Sylvain Chavanel reduced to just 2 seconds.

As expected, the IAM leader went on the attack on the final climbs and together with youngster Michael Valgren, he stayed away to the finish to take the stage win and move into second on GC. Behind the leading duo, Demare found himself in a chasing sextet that also included his teammate Pierrick Fedrigo and hard work of both FDJ riders managed to keep the lead within their ranks.

Fedrigo's and Demare's performances came at the end of a day of very hard work for FDJ. In a very hectic first part of the stage, a strong, dangerous 10-rider break took off, and the responsibility to chase rested solely on the shoulder of Demare's teammates. David Boucher and Mickael Delage worked early in the stage, Matthieu Ladagnous and Yoann Offredo took over in the second half and Fedrigo and Anthony Geslin were saved for the finale.

"What these riders do for their captain is unimaginable," sports director Franck Pineau said. "During the season, I don't have a lot of chances to work with this group of riders but I must admit that I am amazed. 

"The unity of this team is outstanding and riders are like brothers. They know each other by heart and do not need to talk. When a teammate is in the red, they see it and immediately go back to help him.

"All day, we had to ride without receiving help from anyone. First behind the ten escapees and in the end behind Sylvain Chavanel who went on the attack with the Dane Valgren Andersen in the final lap. 

"The finale was made harder by the wind. Arnaud Démare got some great help from Pierrick Fedrigo but no assistance from the four riders that were able to follow them.

"The fourth stage is no less difficult with six passage of the climb in Licques. I trust my riders but the end scenario could be different."