2021 Tro-Bro Léon (1.1), France
37th edition: Sunday, May 16, 2021
Tro-Bro Léon podium history | 2019 edition (2020 edition cancelled) | 2022 edition | Map & profile
Lannilis - Lannilis: 207 km
Connor Swift is the first of the muddy riders to cross the line.
Weather at the finish city of Lannilis at 1:45 PM, local time: 13C (56F), cloudy, with the wind from the west at 42 km/hr (26 mph). There is a 50% chance of rain.
The race: Here's the report from third-place Baptiste Planckaert's Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert team.
The Tro Bro Léon (1.Pro, 05/16) was back this Sunday, after a year of absence due to the pandemic. The 37th edition of the Breton classic crossed the surroundings of Lannilis, over a course of 207 kilometers. With the particularity of featuring 26 unpaved sectors, dirt roads called "ribins". In addition to these sections, the climbs of La Croix Neuve, Kervaro and Keravel Broënou, increased the difficulty of the event nicknamed the "Paris-Roubaix of the West".
Under pouring rain and a wind blowing in places up to 80 km/h, nine riders managed to create the first break of the day. The difficult conditions made the race particularly nervous and the breakaway could never enjoy a lead of more than two minutes. 100 kilometers from the finish, a crash sent many riders to the ground in front of the peloton, including Baptiste Planckaert, Ludwig De Winter and Théo Delacroix. Very quickly, fortunately, our three riders were able to go again and regain their positions in the pack.
After three hours of racing, an important selection had been made from behind, and it was a peloton of forty riders who approached the last 12 unpaved sectors, with the attackers sitting 35 seconds in front. At 51 kilometers from the finish, Kévin Van Melsen went in counter-attack, and after a magnificent effort he managed to joint the front of the race on his own. His superb display even allowed him to isolate himself with Brunel (FDJ), before the duo was joined by chasers a few kilometers later.
The decision was made in the last 20 kilometers when Planckaert, like Van Melsen, emerged alone from the peloton and managed to fill the 30 seconds which separated him from the head of the race, with headwind against him. There were four of them at the front, and soon they would be fighting for victory when they entered Lannilis. After countless efforts, Planckaert achieved an impressive final sprint, allowing him to finish third in the Breton classic.
Baptiste Planckaert:
“You can write it down: Tro Bro Léon is one of the most beautiful races of the year. Of course I am very happy with my third place, but if you end up finishing half a wheel from victory, you will always be a little disappointed. But this morning I had definitely signed up for a podium, you know. When almost every strong team was represented in the leading group, I knew the peloton would stop riding. I hoped to get a few riders with me, but when no one followed so I closed the gap with the front group on my own. When I joined them, we were riding towards the final tough gravel section and I tried to anticipate to ride it at my own pace. When I started sprinting I felt the fatigue in my legs after a tough race. My shape is good, but I’m not at my best yet. I could compensate that with my driving skills, experience and love for this race though! You have to be able to fight for your position here and that is one of my specialties!”
Jean-Marc Rossignon (sports director):
“The Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux boys did a great job today. Kévin Van Melsen broke the final open, he can be very proud of his race. Despite all his efforts he had done, he still crossed the finish line in the group that sprinted for sixth place. Then you're in no bad shape, if you ask me! I would also like to praise Baptiste Planckaert. He is third here and that is great anyway. But to do that after so many months without competition and with only Tour of Algarve and Circuit de Wallonie in your legs… then you are a big man. Partly thanks to his experience and excellent driving skills, the race suits him very well. He rode attentively and read the events during the race. If he continues like this, he will continue to achieve great things. He is a true enrichment for our team!”
Complete results:
207 kilometers raced at an average speed of 38.979 km/hr
| 1 | SWIFT Connor | Arkéa-Samsic | 5hr 18min 38sec |
| 2 | ALLEGAERT Piet | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 3 | PLANCKAERT Baptiste | Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert | s.t. |
| 4 | LE GAC Olivier | Groupama-FDJ | s.t. |
| 5 | TILLER Rasmus | Uno-X | s.t. |
| 6 | DEGENKOLB John | Lotto Soudal | @ 26sec |
| 7 | NAESEN Oliver | Ag2r-Citroën | s.t. |
| 8 | WELTEN Bram | Arkéa-Samsic | s.t. |
| 9 | LAPORTE Christophe | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 10 | GENIETS Kevin | Groupama-FDJ | s.t. |
| 11 | GILBERT Philippe | Lotto Soudal | s.t. |
| 12 | LEVEAU Jérémy | Xelliss-Roubaix Lille Métropole | s.t. |
| 13 | THOMAS Benjamin | Groupama-FDJ | s.t. |
| 14 | RUSSO Clément | Arkéa-Samsic | s.t. |
| 15 | CARDIS Romain | St Michel-Auber 93 | s.t. |
| 16 | FERRON Valentin | Total Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 17 | PLANCKAERT Edward | Alpecin-Fenix | s.t. |
| 18 | ERIKSSON Lucas | Team Riwal | s.t. |
| 19 | EL FARES Julien | EF Education-Nippo | s.t. |
| 20 | BOUTS Jordy | Beat Cycling | s.t. |
| 21 | PICHON Laurent | Arkéa-Samsic | s.t. |
| 22 | DE WITTE Mathias | Xelliss-Roubaix Lille Métropole | s.t. |
| 23 | VAN MELSEN Kévin | Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert | s.t. |
| 24 | RAUGEL Antoine | Groupama-FDJ | s.t. |
| 25 | CABOT Jérémy | Total Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 26 | VERMEERSCH Florian | Lotto Soudal | s.t. |
| 27 | BACKAERT Frederik | B&B Hotels | s.t. |
| 28 | HESTERS Jules | Beat Cycling | s.t. |
| 29 | WALLAYS Jelle | Cofidis | 0:42 |
| 30 | HIVERT Jonathan | B&B Hotels | 0:45 |
| 31 | BUDDING Martijn | Beat Cycling | 1:45 |
| 32 | SKAARSETH Anders | Uno-X | s.t. |
| 33 | URRUTY Maxime | Xelliss-Roubaix Lille Métropole | s.t. |
| 34 | DE PLUS Jasper | Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert | s.t. |
| 35 | WIRTGEN Tom | Bingoal-WB | s.t. |
| 36 | GENIEZ Alexandre | Total Direct Energie | 1:47 |
| 37 | FUENTES Ángel | Burgos-BH | s.t. |
| 38 | DAVY Clément | Groupama-FDJ | 1:49 |
| 39 | DOCKER Mitchell | EF Education-Nippo | s.t. |
| 40 | DE BACKER Bert | B&B Hotels | s.t. |
| 41 | FINETTO Mauro | Team Delko | 2:04 |
| 42 | HAVIK Piotr | Beat Cycling | s.t. |
| 43 | OSORIO Juan | Burgos-BH | 2:11 |
| 44 | TRARIEUX Julien | Team Delko | s.t. |
| 45 | MEISEN Marcel | Alpecin-Fenix | 2:19 |
| 46 | MOZZATO Luca | B&B Hotels | 2:27 |
| 47 | MORICE Julien | B&B Hotels | 2:38 |
| 48 | TOUZE Damien | Ag2r-Citroën | 3:05 |
| 49 | SISKEVICIUS Evaldas | Team Delko | 3:43 |
| 50 | SWEENY Harry | Lotto Soudal | 3:45 |
| 51 | TAMINIAUX Lionel | Alpecin-Fenix | 4:33 |
| 52 | SUTER Joel | Bingoal-WB | s.t. |
| 53 | OWEN Logan | EF Education-Nippo | s.t. |
| 54 | VAN HOECKE Gijs | Ag2r-Citroën | 4:44 |
| 55 | BOHLI Tom | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 56 | GOIKOETXEA Peio | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 5:16 |
| 57 | DEWULF Stan | Ag2r-Citroën | 5:48 |
| 58 | ROBEET Ludovic | Bingoal-WB | 5:54 |
| 59 | BUGTER Luuc | Beat Cycling | 6:48 |
| 60 | KING Ben | Rally Cycling | s.t. |
| 61 | RESELL Erik | Uno-X | s.t. |
| 62 | DRUCKER Jempy | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 63 | VAN DER SANDE Tosh | Lotto Soudal | s.t. |
| 64 | KONGSTAD Tobias | Team Riwal | 8:40 |
| 65 | VAN NIEKERK Morne | St Michel-Auber 93 | s.t. |
| 66 | BOL Jetse | Burgos-BH | s.t. |
| 67 | DE KLEIJN Arvid | Rally Cycling | s.t. |
| 68 | PAILLOT Yoann | St Michel-Auber 93 | s.t. |
| 69 | COTE Pier-André | Rally Cycling | s.t. |
| 70 | DELACROIX Theo | Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert | s.t. |
| 71 | DE VOS Adam | Rally Cycling | s.t. |
| 72 | BRUNEL Alexys | Groupama-FDJ | s.t. |
| 73 | ASKEY Lewis | Groupama-FDJ | s.t. |
| 74 | DAL-CIN Matteo | Rally Cycling | 9:48 |
| 75 | RUIZ Ibon | Kern Pharma | s.t. |
| 76 | DE WINTER Ludwig | Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert | 9:49 |
| 77 | LOPEZ Diego | Kern Pharma | s.t. |
| 78 | GAILLARD Marlon | Total Direct Energie | s.t. |
| 79 | DE VREESE Laurens | Alpecin-Fenix | 9:52 |
| 80 | VAN GENECHTEN Jonas | B&B Hotels | s.t. |
| 81 | KOWALSKI Dylan | Xelliss-Roubaix Lille Métropole | s.t. |
| 82 | ARISTI Mikel | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 9:58 |
| 83 | ORTS Felipe | Burgos-BH | 14:29 |
| 84 | ANGULO Antonio | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 14:58 |
| 85 | NOVIKOV Savva | Kern Pharma | s.t. |
| 86 | SKAARSETH Iver | Uno-X | 15:56 |
