2020 Bretagne Classic Ouest-France
(World Tour)
84th edition: Tuesday, August 25, 2020
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 |
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 |