I was referring to the stages of intermediate difficulty only.
If you look at the new points scoring system this year, mountain and intermediate sprint points count very little in those stages.
It has to be the TV exposure, but, that must vary from country to country, because watching a typical stage like that in the UK, I see 45% Cav, 45% Contador/Schlecks/Yellow Jersey and only 10% breakaway, typically filmed from behind and overhead so you cant read much of the sponsorship anyway
I guess French TV would be showing much more of a French team leading.