Coquard: I lost confidence in myself, I was scared of other sprinters

When Bryan Coquard (Vital Concept-B&B Hotels) rivalled Marcel Kittel in one of the closest photo finishes the Tour de France has seen, it seemed as if the diminutive Frenchman, although ultimately not victorious, had signalled his arrival among the top tier of the world's best sprinters. That was 2016, though, and Coquard's career has since stalled. Having won 13 races in the six months before that Tour, he has only won nine races in the 32 months since it.

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Patrick Fletcher

Patrick is an NCTJ-trained journalist, and former deputy editor of Cyclingnews, who has seven years’ experience covering professional cycling. He has a modern languages degree from Durham University and has been able to put it to some use in what is a multi-lingual sport, with a particular focus on French and Spanish-speaking riders. Away from cycling, Patrick spends most of his time playing or watching other forms of sport - football, tennis, trail running, darts, to name a few, but he draws the line at rugby.