Two years after finishing second in the race, Sebastien Turgot was again near the pointy end of Paris-Roubaix when he finished 14th in the 2014 edition of the race. Having lacked a bit of strength to go with the favourites, he regretted his late decision to change his tactics and not try to anticipate the strongest riders.

Two years ago Sebastien Turgot rose to fame when he finished a hugely surprising second in Paris-Roubaix. Since then he has carried much of the burden of expectations from the home nation and yesterday he was again one of the big hopes for the French public.

One year ago bad luck had taken out Turgot from contention and the then Europcar rider had been extremely disappointed with the outcome of the race. Now riding in Ag2r colours, he lacked the strength of the previous two years in yesterday's race and this caused him to make a bad tactical choice.

In the past, he would maybe have been strong enough to go with the favourites when they attacked but with a lack of condition, he had planned to anticipate the decisive moves. Feeling good in the early part of the race, however, he changed his plans and instead saved himself for the final pavé sectors.

That was a costly decision as he was unable to match the best riders on the Carrefour de l'Arbre and so he had to settle for 14th. Afterwards, he regretted his tactical choice.

“The race speeded up at the Carrefour de l’Arbre," he said. "I was not really well placed, just behind Adrien Petit and Arnaud Démare. Adrien crashed after colliding with a spectator, and then we were 50 meters behind the race and in this race, each meter is important. I tried to make the effort in order to come back in the group but it was too late.

"This year, I had decided to anticipate the race  but once on the bike, I thought it might be better to wait because every year I make some efforts too early. With the benefit of hindsight, I think that I should have gone out at 30 km from the finish, when the race really began. I decided to try this tactic, it didn’t work but I still finished 14th.

"I’m disappointed but it is how it is. I have less regrets than in 2013 when I was in a great shape. Today, my feeling were good but I was physically less strong than last year. Next year I will have to be stronger.

"The best team won today. If Cancellara was supported by a team like Omega, he would win every weekend, for sure.

"For our part, the guys were well present. They did a great work, especially early in the race with Bagdonas, Hutarovich and Mondory. They put me in the best possible conditions.

"Then, Steve (Chainel) and Sébastien (Minard) tried to come back in the group ahead but it didn’t work. This is where I decided to attack and to go out with a small group. If there's something to improve I think it is how we are positioned in th final kilometers. We are often too much dispersed and we will be stronger if we were a little more grouped."