FDJ.fr took a big – but fully justified – gamble when they opted to include Arnaud Demare in their Tour de France line-up ahead of Giro d’Italia red jersey winner Nacer Bouhanni.

Demare, who repaid the faith immediately by being crowned French champion ahead of the Tour, has suffered a stop-start campaign over the first six days however.

Backed in some corners to pull off a surprise stage one success in Harrogate, the 22-year-old and his team-mates were nowhere to be seen at the denouement.

In London, on The Mall – scene of his 2013 RideLondon triumph – he could only finish 14th though finishing third on the first French stage at least raised hopes.

Crashes on stages five and six – the latter being followed by missing the split at the end – has put paid to those hopes however, and with Thibaut Pinot also losing time in the crosswinds it has been a far-from-perfect first week for the team.

Whether Bouhanni would have fared any better will remain unknown – though he, too, had no answer to Marcel Kittel in the two sprints the German competed in at the Giro.

Wearing the tricolore, riding for a French team, as a French rider, there is more pressure on Demare than most 22-year-old Tour debutants would expect to face.

And things are going to have to improve significantly for the team is he is live up to the home fans expectations.