Romain Feillu (Vacansoleil) celebrates on the podium (Image credit: Isabelle Duchesne)
Romain Feillu dons the yellow jersey for the second day.(Image credit: Isabelle Duchesne)
Romain Feillu only arrived back from the world championships in Australia late on Wednesday but finished second in Thursday's Paris-Bourges race and is confident of his chances at Paris-Tours.
The Vacansoleil sprinter finished tenth in Geelong, just a few bike lengths behind Thor Hushovd and believes he has a great chance of winning the sprint on the Avenue de Grammont.
"I'm not scared to say that it's a classic that is tailor-made or me," Feillu told l'Equipe on Saturday.
"And I didn’t need to wait for the world championships to understand how good I am. I know what I can do and I'm confident."
This year's Paris-Tours is the last time the end of season classic will be held on the long, straight road into the centre of Tours because a tram system is soon to built along the road.
Feillu finished tenth in 2007, his first season as a professional and was 26th in 2009. However this year, he has made the race his final objective of the season and believes he can win a bunch sprint or beat other riders if a small group forms on the short climbs on the outskirts of Tours.
His big rivals are likely to be 2009 winner Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto), Matti Breschel (Saxo Bank),who was third in Paris-Bourges, Oscar Freire (Rabobank), Filippo Pozzato (Katusha) and possible Tom Boonen (Quick Step).
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Feillu showed his finishing speed at Paris-Bourges, despite still suffering jetlag following his long flight back to France from Australia.
"On Thursday I woke up at four am and was unable to get back to sleep. But the jetlag was the reason why I rode Paris-Bourges. Racing is much better than just training, it really makes your legs feel good. Now I feel ready."
Stephen is one of the most experienced members of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. Before becoming Editor-at-large, he was Head of News at Cyclingnews. He has previously worked for Shift Active Media, Reuters and Cycling Weekly. He is a member of the Board of the Association Internationale des Journalistes du Cyclisme (AIJC).
