CREATE TABLE table_204_726 (id DECIMAL, "rank" DECIMAL, "athlete" TEXT, "country" TEXT, "time" TEXT, "behind" DECIMAL, "points" DECIMAL)

how many competitors were from france ?
SELECT COUNT("athlete") FROM table_204_726 WHERE "country" = 'france'
SELECT COUNT("athlete") FROM "table_204_726" WHERE "country" = 'france'