Arnaud Demaret admitted his disappointment at not being selected for the Groupama-FDJ selection for this year's Tour de France.

The French sprinter made his fifth Tour appearance last year, but finished outside the time zone on stage 9 and left the race in just fourth place, compared to five stages in the Giro d'Italia, a race he will compete in again in 2022, where he has won two races.

In a team presentation for next season, De Mare said he accepted the decision to race the Giro while the team focuses on the GC battle at the Tour with Thibaut Pinot, David Gaudoux, and Michael Stoller.

"Of course, it's a big disappointment for me to be in the Tour de France this year," he said. It doesn't mean that because it didn't work out last year that it won't work out again. [But it's the team's choice. But it's the team's choice, not my own, and I'm going to pursue the team's interests, not my own. I accept it because it's what's best for the team."

Although he missed out on stage wins at the 2021 Tour and the Vuelta a España, De Mare enjoyed success in races outside the World Tour throughout the season. 30-year-old De Mare won nine races, including two stages at the Valencia Volta, three stages at Mayenne-Boucle, and the overall win at the wins, and ended the season with a victory from a small lead group at the Paris-Tours.

He finished the season without winning a major WorldTour race for the first time since 2015, but the sheer number of victories should not be ignored. DeMare said he is not satisfied with how his 2021 campaign has gone.

"Some years all the hard work doesn't pay off," he said. It's discouraging." But it was really nice to win Paris-Tour in the fall, and we had a good winter because we knew the results would come in the end. As a result, I set myself big goals for the rest of the year."

He will start the 2022 season on the UAE Tour before heading to Italy for Tirreno-Adriatico and Milano-Sanremo, which he won in 2016.

Paris-Roubaix is also on the calendar before heading to the Giro d'Italia, where he won four stages and the points jersey two years ago. The sprinter-friendly World Championships in Australia is another goal of his.