Paris (AFP)

Arnaud Démare, who will return to the Tour de France next summer after two missed editions, felt Tuesday to be "on an equal footing" with Thibaut Pinot, the other leader of the Groupama-FDJ team .

"I was often put behind Thibaut, we are on an equal footing now," said the French champion during the virtual presentation of his training.

"We are always looking for a rivalry between leaders in a team but we manage to choose our races well. What we will try to set up with David (Gaudu), it is possible with Thibaut", added Démare about the planned cohabitation with Gaudu during Paris-Nice from March then during the Tour de France.

For his part, the boss of the French team, Marc Madiot, recalled that Démare was already "the undisputed leader in his field", the sprint.

"In France we are very polarized on the general classification of the Tour", he noted.

"There may have been an image shift but, as far as I'm concerned, I know that Arnaud had a decisive role in the team".

Démare (29 years old) won two stages of the Tour de France, one in 2017 and the other in 2018, before devoting himself the last two years to the Giro.

Pinot (30), another emblematic rider of the French team, climbed on the podium of the Tour in 2014, where he has won three stages since his first participation in 2012.

"I wanted to return to the Tour even before knowing the course. When I saw it, I was thrilled," also welcomed the French champion.

“Last year, I never imagined there would be so many sprints on the Tour. When I saw them, I wasn't frustrated, because I was focused on the Giro, but I had some 'desire".

Asked about the possibility of fighting for the green jersey in the points classification, he replied: "I am thinking of going to the Tour in the same state of mind as in the Giro. For this jersey, you need victories. It will become a target when the race starts, after a week. "

On the strength of his four stage successes in the last Tour of Italy, he showed his confidence: "I had always dreamed of being the sprinter of a grand tour. I did it on the Giro. J ' I want to do the same thing again, I know it's doable, with my teammates we all have the same goal. "

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