Bretagne Classic podium history | 2019 edition | 2021 edition | Start list

Formerly named "GP Ouest-France Plouay".

Michael Matthews wins the 84th edition of the Bretagne Classic Ouest-France.

Plouay - Plouay, 247.8 km. A circuit of 234.1 kilometers plus a lap of 13.65 km = 247.75 km

Weather at the start/finish city of Plouay at 2:10 PM, local time: 21C (70F), cloudy, with the wind from the west at 29 km/hr (18 mph). There is a 5% chance of rain.

The race: Because one of its riders tested postive for Covid-19, the entire Bora-hansgrohe team withdrew from the race.

Here's the report from winner Michael Matthews' Team Sunweb:

As was the case with the Women’s race earlier on in the day, this year’s edition of the Bretagne Classic – Ouest-France featured a brand new route. The challenging 247.8 kilometre parcours included a whole host of short punchy climbs spread across the course, three of which, the Côte du Lézot, Montée de Lann Payot and Côte du Pont-Neuf, featured in the finishing circuit.

Six riders decided to try their luck early on and formed the morning breakaway. Despite gaining a healthy advantage, the peloton, commanded by Team Sunweb in conjunction with some of the other favourites, were always in control of affairs. With just under 50 kilometres to go, the remnants of the early escape were reeled in. However, the early catch encouraged a flurry of attacks which eventually resulted in a group of three getting away before the peloton settled down once again.

The unrelenting nature of the parcours whittled the peloton down to around about 60 riders and left Michael Matthews with just one team mate in the form of Nils Eekhoff going into the closing stages. The leading trio held their ground until 20 kilometres to go leading to yet more attacks.

One by one the moves were neutralised. The most dangerous one coming in the last few kilometres closed down superbly by Eekhoff with Matthews in his slipstream creating a split in the process. The young Dutch rider didn’t let anyone out of his sight, setting Matthews up perfectly to take his first victory of the season. Rounding off an impecable team effort, Nils Eekhoff took his first World Tour top 10 by finishing 7th.

“Luka had to go early so I could wait.” reflected Matthews at the finish. “This time I sprinted to perfection. After my crash in San Remo it was really difficult mentally. I knew I was in really good shape. To come back here and win in only my second race, I’m really happy.”

Speaking about the team’s performance, Team Sunweb coach Sebastian Deckert said: “It was a really tough race, especially considering the tough weather conditions early on. Felix did an amazing job riding on the front for 160km, which meant the guys didn’t have to spend any extra energy. They were really well positioned throughout. In the crucial moment, Nils and Michael had very good communication. It was such an incredible team performance. A great sprint and a superb lead out. Winning such a race is not easy. They can be so proud of their achievement.”

Complete results:

150 riders entered, 9 did not start, 46 abandoned, 104 classified finishers.

247.75 kilometers raced at an average speed of 41.151 km/hr

1	MATTHEWS Michael	Team Sunweb	6hr 1min 14sec
2	MEZGEC Luka	Mitchelton-Scott	@ 1sec
3	SENECHAL Florian	Deceuninck-Quick Step	s.t.
4	DE GENDT Aime	Circus-Wanty Gobert	s.t.
5	FEDELI Alessandro	Nippo-Delko Provence	s.t.
6	SIMMONS Quinn	Trek-Segafredo	s.t.
7	EEKHOFF Nils	Team Sunweb	0:03
8	MCLAY Daniel	Arkea-Samsic	0:05
9	ROUX Anthony	Groupama-FDJ	s.t.
10	GARCIA Ivan	Bahrain-McLaren	s.t.
11	PHILIPSEN Jasper	UAE-Team Emirates	s.t.
12	GROSU Eduard-Michael	Nippo-Delko Provence	s.t.
13	VERMEERSCH Gianni	Alpecin-Fenix	s.t.
14	KIRSCH Alex	Trek-Segafredo	s.t.
15	VENDRAME Andrea	Ag2r La Mondiale	s.t.
16	BATTISTELLA Samuele	NTT Pro Cycling	s.t.
17	MORIN Emmanuel	Cofidis	s.t.
18	PASQUALON Andrea	Circus-Wanty Gobert	s.t.
19	HAAS Nathan	Cofidis	s.t.
20	SBARAGLI Kristian	Alpecin-Fenix	s.t.
21	MOZZATO Luca	B&B Hotels-Vital Concept	s.t.
22	GUGLIELMI Simon	Groupama-FDJ	s.t.
23	THWAITES Scott	Alpecin-Fenix	s.t.
24	BONNAMOUR Franck	Arkea-Samsic	s.t.
25	BAKELANTS Jan	Circus-Wanty Gobert	s.t.
26	GODON Dorian	Ag2r La Mondiale	s.t.
27	BIERMANS Jenthe	Israel Start-Up Nation	s.t.
28	VANMARCKE Sep	EF Pro Cycling	s.t.
29	GUERREIRO Ruben	EF Pro Cycling	s.t.
30	ARASHIRO Yukiya	Bahrain-McLaren	s.t.
31	LIENHARD Fabian	Groupama-FDJ	s.t.
32	LIGTHART Pim	Total Direct Energie	s.t.
33	ARMEE Sander	Lotto-Soudal	s.t.
34	CLAEYS Dimitri	Cofidis	s.t.
35	SMITH Dion	Mitchelton-Scott	s.t.
36	DELAPLACE Anthony	Arkea-Samsic	s.t.
37	GAILLARD Marlon	Total Direct Energie	s.t.
38	FERNANDEZ Delio	Nippo-Delko Provence	s.t.
39	PICHON Laurent	Arkea-Samsic	s.t.
40	DEWULF Stan	Lotto-Soudal	s.t.
41	HENAO Sergio	UAE-Team Emirates	s.t.
42	LE GAC Olivier	Groupama-FDJ	s.t.
43	VERMOTE Julien	Cofidis	s.t.
44	ARANBURU Alex	Astana	s.t.
45	BOIVIN Guillaume	Israel Start-Up Nation	0:27
46	SEIGLE Romain	Groupama-FDJ	0:43
47	STEIMLE Jannik	Deceuninck-Quick Step	0:57
48	GRMAY Tsgabu	Mitchelton-Scott	s.t.
49	BJERG Mikkel	UAE-Team Emirates	1:14
50	VAN RENSBURG Reinardt	NTT Pro Cycling	s.t.
51	GENIETS Kevin	Groupama-FDJ	1:20
52	LAFAY Victor	Cofidis	2:27
53	SCHULTZ Nick	Mitchelton-Scott	3:21
54	NAKANE Hideto	Nippo-Delko Provence	3:48
55	ALBASINI Michael	Mitchelton-Scott	4:01
56	VANHOUCKE Harm	Lotto-Soudal	4:18
57	DE TIER Floris	Alpecin-Fenix	4:38
58	ZABEL Rick	Israel Start-Up Nation	s.t.
59	DIBBEN Jonathan	Lotto-Soudal	s.t.
60	DE VREESE Laurens	Astana	s.t.
61	VAN HOECKE Gijs	CCC Team	s.t.
62	TILLER Rasmus	NTT Pro Cycling	s.t.
63	DUVAL Julien	Ag2r La Mondiale	s.t.
64	VAN LERBERGHE Bert	Deceuninck-Quick Step	s.t.
65	BOLE Grega	Bahrain-McLaren	s.t.
66	MARTINELLI Davide	Astana	s.t.
67	KAMP Alexander	Trek-Segafredo	s.t.
68	DE BOD Stefan	NTT Pro Cycling	s.t.
69	HOLLENSTEIN Reto	Israel Start-Up Nation	s.t.
70	JACOBS Johan	Movistar	s.t.
71	MAS Lluis	Movistar	s.t.
72	VAN GOETHEM Brian	Lotto-Soudal	s.t.
73	NAESEN Lawrence	Ag2r La Mondiale	s.t.
74	TORRES Albert	Movistar	s.t.
75	PIBERNIK Luka	Bahrain-McLaren	4:40
76	CAVAGNA Remi	Deceuninck-Quick Step	6:40
77	KEISSE Iljo	Deceuninck-Quick Step	s.t.
78	VAN DER SANDE Tosh	Lotto-Soudal	s.t.
79	MCCABE Travis	Israel Start-Up Nation	7:11
80	STANNARD Robert	Mitchelton-Scott	9:41
81	VERGAERDE Otto	Alpecin-Fenix	10:10
82	DOCKER Mitchell	EF Pro Cycling	s.t.
83	STEELS Stijn	Deceuninck-Quick Step	s.t.
84	LE ROUX Romain	Arkea-Samsic	s.t.
85	SISKEVICIUS Evaldas	Nippo-Delko Provence	13:39
86	CLARKE Will	Trek-Segafredo	14:06
87	QUARTERMAN Charlie	Trek-Segafredo	s.t.
88	DENZ Nico	Team Sunweb	s.t.
89	SLAGTER Tom-Jelte	B&B Hotels-Vital Concept	s.t.
90	BACKAERT Frederik	B&B Hotels-Vital Concept	s.t.
91	BOHORQUEZ Hernando	Astana	s.t.
92	FOMINYKH Daniil	Astana	s.t.
93	ROSSKOPF Joey	CCC Team	s.t.
94	MERTZ Remy	Lotto-Soudal	s.t.
95	GHIRMAY Biniam	Nippo-Delko Provence	s.t.
96	CATAFORD Alexander	Israel Start-Up Nation	s.t.
97	MORA Sebastian	Movistar	s.t.
98	INKELAAR Kevin	Bahrain-McLaren	s.t.
99	ELOSEGUI Inigo	Movistar	s.t.
100	CULLAIGH Gabriel	Movistar	s.t.
101	GIDICH Yevgeniy	Astana	s.t.
102	BENNETT Sean	EF Pro Cycling	s.t.
103	SCOTSON Callum	Mitchelton-Scott	s.t.
104	COURTEILLE Arnaud	B&B Hotels-Vital Concept	s.t.

Start list with back numbers, August 24, 2020:

	EF PRO CYCLING
1	VANMARCKE Sep
2	BENNETT Sean
3	DOCKER Mitchell
4	GUERREIRO Ruben
5	OWEN Logan
7	SCULLY Thomas
	ASTANA
11	ARANBURU Alex
12	BIZHIGITOV Zhandos
13	DE VREESE Laurens
14	BOHORQUEZ Hernando
15	FOMINYKH Daniil
16	GIDICH Yevgeniy
17	MARTINELLI Davide
	LOTTO SOUDAL
21	ARMEE Sander
22	DEWULF Stan
23	DIBBEN Jonathan
24	VAN DER SANDE Tosh
25	VAN GOETHEM Brian
26	MERTZ Remy
27	VANHOUCKE Harm
	AG2R LA MONDIALE
31	GOUGEARD Alexis
32	DUVAL Julien
33	GODON Dorian
34	NAESEN Lawrence
35	VANDENBERGH Stijn
36	VENDRAME Andrea
37	JAUREGUI Quentin
	CCC TEAM
51	BEVIN Patrick
52	CERNY Josef
53	KOCH Jonas
54	ROSSKOPF Joey
55	BARTA William
56	VAN HOECKE Gijs
57	VAN KEIRSBULCK Guillaume
	BAHRAIN-MCLAREN
61	ARASHIRO Yukiya
62	BATTAGLIN Enrico
63	BOLE Grega
64	BUITRAGO Santiago
65	GARCIA Ivan
66	PIBERNIK Luka
67	INKELAAR Kevin
	BORA-HANSGROHE Entire team withdrew from the race
71	BENEDETTI Cesare
72	BURGHARDT Marcus
73	DRUCKER Jean Pierre
74	GAMPER Patrick
75	GATTO Oscar
76	MCCARTHY Jay
77	SCHELLING Ide
	NTT PRO CYCLING
81	DLAMINI Nicholas
82	BATTISTELLA Samuele
83	DE BOD Stefan
84	SVENDGAARD Michael
85	SOBRERO Matteo
86	VAN RENSBURG Reinardt
87	TILLER Rasmus
	UAE-TEAM EMIRATES
91	FARIA Rui
92	OLIVEIRA Ivo
93	GAVIRIA Fernando
94	HENAO Sergio
95	PHILIPSEN Jasper
96	RICHEZE Ariel
97	BJERG Mikkel
	MOVISTAR
101	CULLAIGH Gabriel
102	ELOSEGUI Inigo
103	JACOBS Johan
104	MAS Lluis
105	MORA Sebastian
106	SAMITIER Sergio
107	TORRES Albert
	DECEUNINCK-QUICK STEP
111	CAVAGNA Remi
112	HODEG Alvaro
113	KEISSE Iljo
114	SENECHAL Florian
115	STEELS Stijn
116	STEIMLE Jannik
117	VAN LERBERGHE Bert
	MITCHELTON-SCOTT
121	GRMAY Tsgabu
122	MEZGEC Luka
123	SCHULTZ Nicholas
124	SCOTSON Callum
125	SMITH Dion
126	STANNARD Robert
127	ALBASINI Michael
	TOTAL DIRECT ENERGIE
132	CARDIS Romain
133	GAILLARD Marlon
134	HIVERT Jonathan
135	LIGTHART Pim
136	CABOT Jeremy
137	SELLIER Simon
	ALPECIN-FENIX
141	DE BONDT Dries
142	DE TIER Floris
143	SBARAGLI Kristian
144	VERGAERDE Otto
145	VERMEERSCH Gianni
146	WALSLEBEN Philipp
147	THWAITES Scott
	B&B HOTELS-VITAL CONCEPT
151	CAM Maxime
152	COURTEILLE Arnaud
153	GAREL Adrien
154	BACKAERT Frederik
155	MORICE Julien
156	MOZZATO Luca
157	SLAGTER Tom-Jelte
	GROUPAMA-FDJ
171	BRUNEL Alexys
172	GENIETS Kevin
173	GUGLIELMI Simon
174	LE GAC Olivier
175	ROUX Anthony
176	SEIGLE Romain
177	LIENHARD Fabian
	ARKEA-SAMSIC
181	PICHON Laurent
182	BONNAMOUR Franck
183	HARDY Romain
184	LE ROUX Romain
185	DELAPLACE Anthony
186	LEDANOIS Kevin
187	MCLAY Daniel
	COFIDIS
191	ALLEGAERT Piet
192	CLAEYS Dimitri
193	HAAS Nathan
194	LE TURNIER Mathias
195	MORIN Emmanuel
196	LAFAY Victor
197	VERMOTE Julien
	TEAM SUNWEB
201	DENZ Nico
202	EEKHOFF Nils
203	GALL Felix
204	KANTER Max
205	MATTHEWS Michael
206	SUTTERLIN Jasha
207	VAN WILDER Ilan
	TREK-SEGAFREDO
211	CLARKE William
212	KAMP Alexander
213	KIRSCH Alex
214	LIEPINS Emils
215	MOSCHETTI Matteo
216	QUARTERMAN Charlie
217	SIMMONS Quinn
	CIRCUS-WANTY GOBERT
221	BAKELANTS Jan
222	DE GENDT Aime
223	DOUBEY Fabien
224	VLIEGEN Loic
225	PASQUALON Andrea
226	VAN POPPEL Boy
227	VAN POPPEL Danny
	NIPPO-DELKO PROVENCE
231	FEDELI Alessandro
232	COMBAUD Romain
233	GIRMAY Biniam
234	FERNANDEZ Delio
235	NAKANE Hideto
236	SISKEVICIUS Evaldas
237	GROSU Eduard
	ISRAEL START-UP NATION
241	BIERMANS Jenthe
242	BOIVIN Guillaume
243	CATAFORD Alexander
244	HOLLENSTEIN Reto
245	MCCABE Travis
246	SAGIV Guy
247	ZABEL Rick