Nacer Bouhanni 2nd in Fougères
Nacer Bouhanni finished second in the stage in Fougères, he is also fourth in the provisional green jersey classification. Nairo Quintana remains eighth in the overall classification after the fourth and final stage in Brittany.
ON THE FINISH LINE WITH…
“I knew that on the occasion of this finish in Fougères I had to take the last corner on the inside, but when I had the opening and I could make my effort it was already too late. It’s a pity, we could see the line on the last fifty meters. Cavendish had already taken a lead, but I finished strong. This is the sprint. I already finished second in the intermediate sprint, but I didn’t come to the Tour de France to achieve such places. I am not satisfied with that, that is not what I came for. I still have six chances left and I will have to take them when the opportunities arise, the next one is Châteauroux”.
“I knew that on the occasion of this finish in Fougères I had to take the last corner on the inside, but when I had the opening and I could make my effort it was already too late. It’s a pity, we could see the line on the last fifty meters. Cavendish had already taken a lead, but I finished strong. This is the sprint. I already finished second in the intermediate sprint, but I didn’t come to the Tour de France to achieve such places. I am not satisfied with that, that is not what I came for. I still have six chances left and I will have to take them when the opportunities arise, the next one is Châteauroux“.
The débrief’
“It was a close call! And above all what I want to remember is the attitude of Nacer and the whole team. Confidence has been built up within the team, we are very close to victory, we must continue to believe in it. The next opportunity will be Châteauroux, it could be a very good sprint. Nacer is beaten by a Cavendish who won here in 2015. I would like to congratulate the whole team and Nacer who is a hard worker, to come back to this Tour at such a high level: hats off to him, I hope that he will be able to do well. I feel he is strong and confident, the psychology of a sprinter plays a big role. He has the mental strength to win, but also a certain kind of serenity that will help him to get the success we all hope for“.
“3, 2, 1… maybe next time. Our strategy was to be active on all the stages of this Tour de France, whether it was the sprint, the mountain stages or the stages for the riders. The sprint today was very close. Nacer is beaten, but not at all defeated. We had spotted this final, we were on the grounds of our General Manager, Emmanuel Hubert, and we were all really keen to shine”.