Bryan Coquard confirmed that he is one of the best uphill sprinters in the world when he made all his rivals look like amateurs on stage 3 at the 4 Days of Dunkirk. Having started his sprint from Nacer Bouhanni’s (Cofidis) wheel, he easily distanced everybody else on the uphill finishing straight, putting metres into second-placed Baptiste Planckaert (Wallonie) and Rudy Barbier (Roubaix) in third and extending his overall lead on the eve of the queen stage.

We have gathered a few reactions.

Bryan Coquard ready for the queen stage: I won’t give up without a fight.

"I cannot do anything else than thanking my teammates. Again they totally controlled the race and I could finish it off for the third consecutive time,” said Bryan Coquard. "Last season we went through very difficult moments. It was uncertain whether the team would be able to continue but eventually all came together. Thanks for our sponsors and manager Jean-René Bernaudeau.

“There were no easy times when the team had to chase but Direct Energie has shown a beautiful dynamic. Tomorrow we will be attacked. For three days we have chased but it was a hard finish uphill, and I knew it suited me.

"It bothered me that Cofidis didn’t chase, but it also made me fun. The attitude of Cofidis motivated me, I told myself that Nacer was feeling a little less than me right now. I make it clear right now. And it was not a finish that he liked.

"Tomorrow it will be different. We have chased for three full days with the team. On Saturday it is the most difficult stage in the Four Days of Dunkirk. I expect much opposition from the other teams. They certainly want my pink jersey. But who knows? I'm not just giving up my leader's position. My team has done too much work. If I lose the pink jersey, I might be able to win again on Sunday. anyway, I might be Sunday again unpack.

Baptiste Planckaert after second place: We can do great things in the queen stage

Baptiste Planckaert suffered a puncture in the finale but still managed to take second. 

"I had a puncture at the entrance of the local circuit and Jimmy Duquennoy have me his wheel," explained Planckaert who could not contest the sprint on Thursday due to a puncture in the final kilometers. "The whole team were in front of me and I could rejoin the peloton and reposition myself at the front. But I was still far back with 600 meters to go, in the last corner, and Grégory Habeaux brought me back. Then I had the opportunity to pass everyone except Coquard who was too fast. He also won with a big margin. 

”I am very happy with this beautiful second place that really makes me feel good because I was not very good in the first stage and unfortunately I punctured in the finale of the second stage where I found good legs. The 4 th stage on Saturday around Cassel will be the decisive stage of the 4 Jours de Dunkerque. With the heat and the difficulty of the course, the weaker riders will have to let go. In any case, we have proved on Friday that our team, even if it is continental, can fight against the big teams and I am sure we can do great things on Mont Cassel on Saturday." 

Baptiste Planckaert is 6th place overall.

Frustrating near-miss for Iljo Keisse in Dunkirk

In what was the most action-packed stage so far at the 62nd edition of the Quatre Jours de Dunkerque, Iljo Keisse decided together with the team that the pace of the peloton was too soft for him, so he took off after 40 kilometers and set up a four-man break. Together with Tom Devriendt (Wanty-Groupe Gobert), Armindo Fonseca (Fortuneo-Vital Concept) and Brian Van Goethem (Roompot Oranje), the former Giro d'Italia stage winner opened up an advantage of five minutes, which made the chasing teams nervous. Keisse, a rider used to give his every ounce of energy regardless of the race or the scenario, did some really long and impressive pulls front, that allowed the escapees to keep their dreams alive until the final 1500 meters, when they were swept by the pack.

"The team decided I had to be in the break today, so I did. When we came into the final kilometers we were caught and it all ended up in a bunch sprint. It's really an awful feeling knowing you're so close and then getting caught. If we would have had 15 more seconds, then maybe we could have made it, but that's cycling. Now I look forward to the next two stages", an upbeat Keisse said after the Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise stage.

With the finish in a slight uphill, Maximiliano Richeze sensed there was a good opportunity for him to land another strong result, which he did, as he crossed the line in fourth position, behind Bryan Coquard (Direct Energie), Baptiste Planckaert and Rudy Barbier. For Richeze, who's in his maiden season with Etixx – Quick-Step, this was the third top 10 in a row in the French race, which he's doing for the first time in his career.

Rasmus Quaade makes surprise attack in tough stage in Dunirk

Stage 3 of the 4 Jours de Dunkerque (2.HC) was expected to end in a sprint, but the final kilometres of the stage weren’t as straightforward as first thought. Like several other riders, Rasmus Quaade tried to jump away and hold off the peloton but eventually had to give in.

At the beginning of the final lap Quaado took off, trying to make it to the lead group. The strong Dane who’s also part of the Danish track pursuit team could hold off the peloton until some 4 km to go before he was caught again. The remaining attackers were caught on the final kilometre, and just like on the days before Bryan Coquard (Direct Energie) won the sprint, with Michael Reihs finishing in 15th place.

“We did have the plan to try to attack in the final if the opportunity arose,” explained Sports Director Jochen Hahn. “But Rasmus also assessed the situation well and played to his strengths. For tomorrow we’ll have to see what we can do; we don’t really know where we are compared to the other teams as there have been only sprint stages until now. But we’ll try something for sure.”

In-form Alexis Gougeard nearly upsets the sprinters with late move in Dunkirk

"Of course, when it was thirty seconds, I thought it was possible,” Gougeard told LA Voix du Nord. “In front, the others were naturally tired and not taking big turns, even though we got along well. We always said we shouldn’t look behind.

"I look for sensations. Whenever I attack, I think it can work, but I also testing my legs.The legs respond better, I find a certain pleasure in playing with the pack.”

Sports director Stéphane Goubert added.

“This time it was possible, unfortunately teams came to help Direct Energie even though we knew from the first passage of the line that it was made for Coquard. But Alexis had a sudden fatigue after Het Nieuwsblad and needs to reassure himself by making efforts.”