Brittany never stops buzzing for cycling. Just a few weeks after having hosted the Grand Départ of the Tour de France and La Course by Le Tour de France, this land of cycling will once again be the scene of great battles led by the stars of the UCI WorldTour and the UCI Women's WorldTour at the end of August, in Morbihan. The party is even extended over four days with the youth events.
The men will meet on Sunday 29 in Plouay for the demanding Bretagne Classic-Ouest France (251km). The women will compete the following day, Monday 30, in the GP of Plouay - Lorient- Agglomeration Trophée Ceratizit (150.5km). The courses promise a spectacular race, to the delight of the Breton public and spectators from all over the world.
Winner of his first Monument (Liège-Bastogne-Liège) and bronze medalist at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 in addition to his exploits in the stage races, the Slovenian Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) sets out to attack the classics again, after a small break. 4,000 vertical metres and a gravel sector await him in Brittany; which might be ideal terrain for him to shine in his first appearance in the iconic race. He could make the most of his punch in the Côte du Pont-Neuf, which is to be climbed three times, with a final ascent only 2km before the finish.
But the two-time winner of the Tour de France will have to face strong competition. Absent from the Olympic Games, the UCI World Champion Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck - Quick Step) will also return to competition on the roads of Brittany. Fifth in 2014, the last time a Frenchman (Sylvain Chavanel) won, Alaphilippe should have regained some freshness, after a demanding Tour de France, to display his special set of abilities on the Plouay circuit. Two months after claiming the yellow jersey in Landerneau, this could be the last chance for the Frenchman to shine in front of his home crowd before defending his rainbow jersey in Belgium.
Another name comes naturally to the list of favourites of Brittany Classic: Wout van Aert. Triple stage winner on the Grande Boucle this year (on high mountains, against the clock, and in a sprint), the Belgian National Champion came close to the Olympic Games gold medal in the road race, taking silver. But the Jumbo-Visma rider didn't feel as powerful in the time trial (6th). “Maybe it was one too many races”, he conceded as he crossed the finish line.
If three big favourites emerge, the list of underdogs is also star-studded. Groupama-FDJ notably has two good cards, local Breton champions moreover, in David Gaudu (11th in the Tour) and Valentin Madouas (winner of the Polynormande). Kazakh Alexey Lutsenko (Astana - Premier Tech), another major player in the Tour with a 7th place overall, will also be at the start.
At the end of June, La Course by Le Tour de France saw Oranje domination. Demi Vollering (Team SD Worx) won the sprint from a group reduced to just a few riders, having benefited from the impressive work of her teammate and compatriot Anna van der Breggen. Although Denmark's Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ-Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope ) took second place, another Dutchwoman rounded out the podium: Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma Women Team).
These three champions are expected on the roads of Brittany for a spectacular rematch. The route for this 20th edition, at the end of four days of cycling festivities, will offer a terrain suitable for punchers with a good kick. The peloton will have to complete 11 laps of the Plouay circuit.
Attackers will thus aim to make the difference on the course’s three climbs, with a total elevation of 2,321m: first the Côte du Lézot (1.4km at 3.9%), then the Bosse de Toul el Len (500m at 4.6%, before continuing on the ascending false-flat of Lann Payot) and finally the Côte du Pont Neuf (1.5km at 4.2%).
At 32, Briton Lizzie Deignan (Trek-Segafredo) would like to keep her crown in Morbihan, where she's won three times (2015, 2017 and 2020). But Deignan has not yet raised her arms in victory celebration this season, unlike Marianne Vos, who has won four times on the Giro Rosa, Gent-Wevelgem In Flanders Fields and the Amstel Gold Race Ladies Edition. Already twice a winner in Brittany (2012, 2013), the 34-year-old Dutchwoman could draw level with her opponent in the event of another victory at Plouay.
These two days of racing promise suspense, emotion and a great spectacle – as we come to expect in Brittany!