Paris-Nice stage 3 winner Jonathan Hivert of Direct Energie won the Tour de Finistère in a punchy way, hinting that Peter Sagan will be the hot favourite for stage 5 of the Tour de France following three standard sprints and a team time trial. In Saturday`s French Cup race, Romain Bardet was second and Guillaume Martin, showing good form ahead of the Ardennes classics, while BMC duo Richie Porte and Tejay van Garderen enjoyed the pre-Tour de France recon in racing conditions. Eighth in Quimper, Van Garderen claimed his first top 10 since he finished third overall at the Volta ao Algarve in mid-February. `This result shows that I still have good form,` the American told Cyclingnews. `I have a good schedule up ahead with the Tour de Romandie, the Tour of California, the Tour de Suisse and the Tour de France. In every race I line up, I want to be aggressive and give my best. Obviously, the Tour is a big goal but all the races I just mentioned I want to show up there. Today was no exception. It was a recon race and also a race to get some fitness. I`m happy. I usually like the longer climbs, more of a stage race where it`s a little calmer. Obviously, I`m never gonna beat those guys who are specialists for this kind of race.` The last 37.6km of the Tour du Finistère will feature again on stage 5 of the Tour de France from Lorient to Quimper on July 11. It includes a lot of ups and downs. `I`m definitely glad I got a chance to see it,` Van Garderen added. `It`s narrow, technical, punchy, with dangerous sections. Having knowledge of the course is gonna be critical. Definitely, Sagan will be a favourite for stage 5. But I`m gonna go with Greg Van Avermaet.`ADVERTISEMENT Duels in uphill finales at the Tour often end up being contested by Sagan and Van Avermaet but Bardet added the name of his compatriot Julian Alaphilippe as they both hail from the Auvergne region. `I`m happy to have done this race, produced a lot of efforts and put myself back on track for Liège-Bas ...
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