Tour de France: More disappointment for empty-handed Demare

The disappointment was clear as Arnaud Démare arrived back at the Groupama-FDJ bus in Amiens after placing fifth on stage 8 of the Tour de France.

"As you can see, there are a lot of you here to cover my defeats every day," the Frenchman said to the semi-circular scrum of television cameras and microphones. "I'm obviously very disappointed."

The reasons were numerous. He was on home turf, Amiens is situated just over 50 kilometres from his hometown of Beauvais. It was also Bastille Day, a day of national celebration when everyone is on the lookout for a home winner.

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Most of all, though, it was the last bunch sprint of a first week rich in opportunities, and Démare must now head into the mountains empty-handed.

"It was pretty chaotic, even if I knew the finish like the back of my hand," Démare said of the run-in to Amiens, where his teammates were on the front for a while.

"I knew the corners were tight, and it was a mess. My teammates were up front, but then I don't know where they went. With around two kilometres to go, it got really hectic.

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