Coquard to miss Tour de France

London : Bryan Coquard must endure the disappointment of missing the Tour de France for a second year after Vital Concept failed to earn a wild card invitation to this year’s race, but the Frenchman has insisted that he has no regrets about joining the nascent Pro Continental team.

Coquard was left out of Direct Energie’s selection for last year’s Tour de France after declining to extend his contract with Jean-René Bernaudeau’s squad, and he later became the marquee signing for the new Vital Concept squad, which is managed by the former rider Jerome Pineau.

On Monday, ASO announced that the four wild card invitations to this year’s Tour de France have been awarded to Direct Energie, Cofidis, Wanty-Groupe Gobert and Fortueno-Samsic, who all appeared in the 2017 race.

Coquard’s disappointment is compounded by the fact that the 2018 Tour will pass close to his native Saint-Nazaire in its opening days and the news that Vital Concept have also been overlooked for selection for Paris-Nice.

“I’m very disappointed. It’s a possibility that we hadn’t discounted but it’s still hard,” Coquard told Ouest France. “We were hoping to ride Paris-Nice at least, prove ourselves, and wait for the start of the season for the invitations to the Tour de France. The timing is difficult.”