The race formerly known as the GP Ouest France, formerly known as the Grand Prix de Plouay, gets underway Sunday in Brittany. Sprinters and escape artists alike will be optimistic about their chances in the always-unpredictable event, one of the last few opportunities to take a WorldTour one-day win this year.
The Route
Organizers made big changes to the route this year, but the Bretagne Classic-Ouest-France is likely to play it in familiar fashion. Even with over 200km over point-to-point racing on a newly designed route, the trek through northwestern France will still finish on the old Plouay circuit.
That means the final 13.9km will likely be the deciding factor in the race. The circuit kicks off with the short, not-that-challenging Cote de Lezot. From the top of the climb comes a descent to the foot of the Côte de Ty Marrec, the marquee climb of the race. It’s only about a kilometer in length but there are sections that jump over 10% in gradient. After hte riders crest the climb it’s less than 5km to finish, which is flat enough for a sprint if there’s a large enough group in the lead.
The Favorites
The parcours is balanced in such a way that it’s very hard to predict whether the victory will go to a late attacker or a sprinter. That makes the escape artists who can finish strong particularly deadly.
Greg Van Avermaet can win with a solo flier or out of a reduced group at the line, making him a very strong contender for the win. Assuming the motivation is still there after his big victory in Rio, he should have some form left over to fight in Plouay.
Peter Sagan also fits the bill. Form is a bit more of a question mark for Sagan, as he’s been in mountain bike mode for the last several weeks, but if he’s in racing shape this is a terrific profile for him.
Rui Costa is a potential attacker with a fast finish who has come close to winning this race in the past. His Lampre teammate Diego Ulissi could contend as well. Lotto-Soudal has even more options: Tim Wellens, Tony Gallopin, Jurgen Roelandts, and Tiesj Benoot are all legitimate contenders on this profile.
Edvald Boasson Hagen, 2014 winner Sylvain Chavanel, Ramunas Navardauskas, and Matteo Trentin are others who could win if things get interesting in the finale.
Alexander Kristoff, the defending champion, is one of several possible winners in a sprint—though he’s not my favorite given a lack of big-time results recently.
Nacer Bouhanni proved his form in Hamburg and has the climbing legs to survive on this parcours. He should be right up there in a bunch kick. Ditto for John Degenkolb, who looks to be back on track.
Giacomo Nizzolo always does well in Plouay and was in the mix in Hamburg. Arnaud Démare has had a quiet season since his Milano-Sanremo win but this is a good profile for him. Michael Matthews, JJ Lobato, Danny van Poppel, and Ben Swift could get involved as well.
VeloHuman Top 10 Race Favorites
Winner: Greg Van Avermaet Podium: Rui Costa, Nacer Bouhanni Other Top Contenders: John Degenkolb, Peter Sagan, Alexander Kristoff, Giacomo Nizzolo, Tony Gallopin, Michael Matthews, Arnaud Démare
Episode 53: Bretagne Classic-Ouest-France 2016 Pre-race Show
Known by most as simply “Plouay,” the freshly renamed Bretagne Classic-Ouest-France should still provide plenty of excitement. The Recon Ride previews the decidedly underrated French event.
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Dane Cash and Cosmo Catalano take a closer look at the route and the favorites for the Bretagne Classic-Ouest-France. The one-day race in Plouay may constantly change names, but that doesn’t make it any less entertaining as a late summer WorldTour showdown.
The WorldTour heads to the Brittany region this weekend for the GP Ouest France. The hilly circuit race is often known by its former name, the GP Plouay, or simply as “Plouay,” the small Breton town where the race starts and finishes (the most recent Recon Ride episode covers this topic, among many others, in depth). Though the event may garner a bit less attention than the concurrently-running Vuelta, it is almost always an exciting race that draws a very impressive startlist, in no small part thanks to its appeal as a stepping stone to Worlds.
The Route
The 229.1km GP Ouest-France takes on the same terrain many times over, via eight laps on a 26.9km circuit and then a single lap on a reduced circuit of 13.9 kilometers.
Each of the long laps opens with a climb of the Côte du Lezot, a little over a kilometer in length and with much of that distance at a gradient in the realm of 6%. From the top, it’s a descent followed by a long gentle ascent up to the Chapelle Sainte-Anne des Bois. After a flat section and then a quick downhill run, the pack will take on the Côte de Ty Marrec, only about a kilometer in length but with a long stretch in the middle nearing 10%.
The final lap of the GP Ouest-France hits both of the major climbs of the longer circuit, with less ground to cover between the two challenges.
The shortened final lap will still look quite familiar, but with much less distance between the two harder climbs. The less challenging trip to the the Chapelle Sainte-Anne des Bois will not be a part of the last lap, which cuts out almost half the distance of the full lap, thereby bringing the ascents of the Côte du Lezot and the Côte de Ty Marrec closer together. From the top of the Ty Marrec it’s a gentle downhill run of about 3km to the finish line.
The Contenders
The GP Ouest-France parcours is deftly balanced in such a way that it’s never quite clear until the final moments of the race whether a late attacker or the sprinters will reign supreme. The course isn’t so hard as to automatically drop the fast finishers from contention, but the Côte de Ty Marrec comes late enough (in a day that is long and challenging enough as it is) to give the aggressive riders a chance at jumping clear of the pack and holding out for victory. In any case, thanks to the flatter finish, a strong sprint is a pretty helpful asset—whether the race comes down to a bunch kick or a small group, anyone hoping to win this race would do well to have some speed.
Greg Van Avermaet has the endurance to come into the finale fresh, the climbing legs and explosiveness to make or join or late move, and the finishing kick to win a reduced sprint. This is a wide open race, but he’s got to be among the top favorites for his versatility. His top-end speed, in particular, has improved over the past few years, to the point where he’s capable of winning a sprint even against specialists on a good day. He’s also got excellent form, having landed 2nd overall in the Eneco Tour. BMC has plenty of other cards to play in this race as well, with talents aplenty to potentially launch constant attacks every time the opportunities present themselves. Philippe Gilbert looks strong right now and is an obvious candidate to go on the move on the climbs, Ben Hermans is on the form of his life and was 7th in this race last year, and Dylan Teuns and Silvan Dillier are even further options for the Belgian squad.
Should a larger group make it to the finish, two riders stand out above the rest as favorites. The first is the rider who won the bunch sprint behind the winning move in last year’s race. Alexander Kristoff can handle a tough course, he’s among the fastest riders on the startlist, and looks to be in good form right now. Giacomo Nizzolo, who was next in line behind Kristoff last year, hasn’t had much luck beating the Norwegian in the past, but this race is a major target for Nizzolo (something he talked about in more detail in the latest Recon Ride) and the potentially messy sprint finale suits him very well. He was runner-up in 2013 to Filippo Pozzato, and has improved his kick since then. Fabio Felline gives Trek a nice alternative.
Etixx-QuickStep, as might be expected for a one-day race, brings a squad full of contenders. Julian Alaphilippe made the Top 10 in 2014 and seems best suited, with strong climbing legs and a fast finish in a reduced kick. Tom Boonen will be the sprinter of choice if this comes down to a bunch gallop, not a bad option to fall back on seeing as he’s on blazing form right now. Tony Martin and Stijn Vandenbergh are others with a shot.
Not to be outdone in the Belgian WorldTour team department, Lotto-Soudal also has options. Tim Wellens, fresh over a convincing Eneco Tour win, may be the most obvious candidate. He certainly has the skillset to thrive here. However, his biggest career successes have come when he has been able to rely on the element of surprise—he’s won the Eneco Tour twice in a row now after showing little in the way of form coming into that race. Whether he can still thrive when all eyes are on him is another matter. If not, Jurgen Roelandts may be the best option: he has actually made the Top 10 in this race three years in a row, and has shown great form this season. Tony Gallopin is another card to play. Jens Debuscherre and Tiesj Benoot are others to watch.
LottoNL-Jumbo doesn’t have quite the team firepower as the aforementioned squads but Sep Vanmarcke is on blazing form and just the sort of rider who might be able to nab a win after a long day of up and down in Plouay. He’s not bad in a sprint, and he’s highly motivated to get something out of a 2015 that has been somewhat disappointing. Moreno Hofland is the main option for the team if the race comes down to a big bunch kick.
Rui Costa was runner-up in 2012 and certainly has the aggressive style to take a win in this race, though he might not be back to 100% after a difficult Tour de France. Diego Ulissi and Davide Cimolai make fine alternatives for Lampre-Merida.
Marcel Kittel certainly deserves a mention as the fastest pure sprinter on the startlist, but it will be extremely difficult for him to make it all the way to the line given his general inability to handle uphill gradients. Sky’s duo of Elia Viviani and Ben Swift, FDJ’s Arnaud Démare, OGE’s Michael Albasini, Movistar’s JJ Lobato, Astana’s Borut Bozic, Europcar’s Bryan Coquard, and IAM Cycling’s Heinrich Haussler will be among the other fast finishers who will hope to hold out for a bunch kick.
Given the parcours and the race history, the list of outsiders who could have a chance with a late attack could encompass the entire roster of riders making the start, but to name just a few: Simon Yates, Ramunas Navardauskas, a strong AG2R tandem of Romain Bardet and Alexis Vuillermoz, Andrea Fedi, Tommy Voeckler, and Arthur Vichot are among the many riders who might be worth keeping an eye on when the peloton approaches the final climb of the Côte de Ty Marrec.
Lastly, VeloHuman’s Under-the-radar contender for the GP Ouest-France: Rasmus Guldhammer of Cult Energy. Guldhammer was 10th in the Vattenfall Cyclassics, showing off his sprinting ability against far more familiar quick men, but he’s also got the climbing chops to survive this parcours. In a reduced field, the former U23 Liège-Bastogne-Liège winner could put up a serious fight for the victory in Plouay.
VeloHuman Top 10 Race Favorites
Winner: Greg Van Avermaet Podium: Alexander Kristoff, Giacomo Nizzolo Other Top Contenders: Philippe Gilbert, Julian Alaphilippe, Tom Boonen, Jurgen Roelandts, Tim Wellens, Sep Vanmarcke, Arnaud Démare
Episode 24: GP Ouest-France 2015 Pre-race Show The Recon Ride takes on the GP Ouest-France, the always-exciting circuit race that starts and finishes in the small Breton town of Plouay, with some help from Giacomo Nizzolo.
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One of the more underrated events on the WorldTour calendar, Plouay’s GP Ouest-France usually offers plenty of thrills, with a parcours that makes it hard to predict whether the race will come down to a sprint or a late attack. Dane Cash of VeloHuman and Cosmo Catalano of Cyclocosm take a closer look at the route, the favorites, and the storylines ahead of the race, with a bit of extra insight from Trek’s Giacomo Nizzolo, runner-up in Plouay in 2013.
Also commonly known by its older name, the Grand Prix de Plouay (Plouay being the Breton town in which it starts and finishes), the GP Ouest-France is a long and hilly circuit race. 229.1 kilometers from start to finish, the 2014 edition involves eight laps around a 26.9 kilometer circuit, followed by a single, final lap of a reduced section (13.9 km) of the larger circuit to close things out.
The Route
The route will take the peloton on several repeated trips up and over some short but challenging climbs; almost immediately after the beginning of each full lap, the pack will hit the Côte du Lezot, a little over a kilometer in length and with much of that distance at a gradient in the realm of 6%. From the top, it’s a descent followed by a long gentle ascent up to the Chapelle Sainte-Anne des Bois and, roughly, the midpoint of the circuit. After a flat section and then a quick downhill run, the pack will take on the Côte de Ty Marrec, only about a kilometer in length but with a long stretch in the middle nearing 10%.
The main lap, 26.9 kilometers in length with a few uphill challenges along the way.
The final lap will still look quite familiar, but with a twist: the less challenging trip to the the Chapelle Sainte-Anne des Bois will not be a part of the last lap, which cuts out almost half the distance of the full lap, thereby squeezing the ascents of the Côte du Lezot and the Côte de Ty Marrec closer together on the course for the final go-round.
The final lap, with both of the day’s tough climbs and less time for recovery in between.
The profile makes this a very open race, where a sprint finish is possible, but also where the aggressive, punchy types could conceivably escape from the bunch, most likely on the final climb of the Ty Marrec, and grab the victory for themselves. The 2013 edition ended in a sprint that was not dramatically reduced in number of contenders, though the long day did take its toll, helping Filippo Pozzato to nab a victory over other riders who would typically be faster in a sprint. A group finish may very well happen again in 2014, but the slightly amended final lap could make things interesting, reducing the amount of time that those who struggle on the Côte du Lezot will have before the next ascent begins and putting even more pressure on the heavier purer sprinter-types. Winning this race will require either the ability to charge up the steep stuff to escape the pack, the speed to outsprint them in a sprint, or some combination of both, to survive any selection and then outmatch any other survivors at the line. Ardennes-style specialists and strong-climbing sprinters are all over the startlist, with some teams bringing multiple riders for the variety of possible scenarios.
The Contenders
Simon Gerrans of Orica-GreenEdge is one of the most capable riders in a post-climb sprint in the entire peloton, and he showed in the Vattenfall Cyclassics, where he outsprinted Mark Cavendish and Marcel Kittel on his way to 3rd place, that he is on blazing form. He’s fast enough, especially when his opponents have begun to tire, that he’s even got a chance against the purer sprinters should a large group reach the line together, and he’s also capable of going on a solo strike if it looks to be the best move. As a true specialist for this exact sort of race, capable of winning in a number of ways, Simon Gerrans will be a top favorite. Teammate Jens Keukeleire is another excellent card to play on this rolling profile, having shown nice form with his first GC Top 10 in a WorldTour race at the recent Eneco Tour.
As an excellent escape artist, a strong climber, and a capable sprinter, BMC’s Greg Van Avermaet also has all the tools necessary to contend in this race, and his skillset was on full display in last year’s edition when he put in a late solo move and survived until he was well inside the final kilometer. A tougher finale this year may be all he needs to turn that near miss into a victory. Of all the riders in this race capable of sticking an attack, Van Avermaet, who showed his good form with an Eneco Tour victory this month, seems among the likeliest to succeed, but he can’t be counted out in a reduced bunch sprint either. Young Silvan Dillier, 9th in the Vattenfall Cyclassics, is having a great year and could be another card for BMC to play in Plouay.
Katusha’s Alexander Kristoff comes into the race riding high, having the best season of his career and fresh off his recent win at the Vattenfall Cyclassics. Always a strong sprinter with a knack for the bunch gallops coming after longer days in the saddle, Kristoff has taken his game to a new level this year, climbing particularly well and holding up over some extremely lengthy one-day races to put in top results. He doesn’t have the same uphill ability as Simon Gerrans, but if the punchier types aren’t able to make this race selective enough to drop him, they’ll have a hard time outsprinting him at the end of the day (and so will any other sprinting specialist who manages to survive). Given the difficulty of the parcours, it’s not a given the Kristoff will stick with the lead group to the end to contest victory, but if he is there for a bunch kick, it will be hard to look past anyone else. Luca Paolini will be with him, and the Italian veteran has proven a valuable second throughout the year.
Giacomo Nizzolo of Trek Factory racing is another top sprinter in attendance who could contend for victory if he can stay in good position over the last few ascents. Nizzolo came agonizingly close to winning the GP Ouest-France in 2013; he was well ahead of every other sprinter in the race with the finish line only a hundred meters away before Pippo Pozzato, who had waited much longer to start his sprint, passed him in the final few meters. As Nizzolo told VeloHuman this week, he’s extremely motivated to take the win in Plouay this year, and coming off of a runner-up performance in the Vattenfall Cyclassics, he is on sharp form. He’s one of the few riders in this race who has the top-end speed to challenge Kristoff should it come down to bunch sprint. Trek is fully committed to his chances, and Stijn Devolder and Danilo Hondo make up a strong support squad.
Giant-Shimano has the talented Luka Mezgec for a potential group finish. It won’t be easy to keep the young fast man at the front of affairs, but if he’s there, he’ll be a strong contender as one of the top-tier sprinters in the race, with some strong leadout riders for support.
Lotto Belisol has quite hand of cards to play, and it would be a big surprise if they didn’t have at least one rider in the Top 10 at the end of the day. Jurgen Roelandts is strong in a fast finish after a long day in the saddle; he was 4th here last year. Tony Gallopin has been away from competition for a few weeks, but he is a speedy finisher with a particular talent for getting into late moves. Tim Wellens showed immense strength in winning the Eneco Tour this year and he could get aggressive in the last lap. Jelle Vanendert is a specialist on the classics-style climbs who could try to get into a move over the Ty Marrec. It’s very hard to pick any one rider out of this group as the likeliest to succeed, but whatever happens, Lotto has several elite options for this GP Ouest-France.
OPQS is another well-staffed squad with plenty of options. Gianni Meersman is probably their best, on good form and particularly dangerous in a reduced sprint, with Matteo Trentin as a great alternative in that scenario should Meersman miss out, but Jan Bakelants is in good shape as well, and he’ll be among the top candidates to break clear of the pack in the last lap. Michal Kwiatkowski is on unknown form after a long break from racing, but he deserves a mention in any hilly one-day race, given a skillset perfectly tailored to the Plouay parcours.
Sky brings a strong one-two punch in Ben Swift and 2012 winner Edvald Boasson Hagen. Swift has the ability to hang on over some tough climbs to fight it out in the sprint. After a strong RideLondon, he didn’t perform up to his expectations in last week’s Vattenfall Cyclassics, but he told VH on Friday that he is feeling good at the moment, and that his rough day on the bike in Hamburg may have simply been a bit of training fatigue after a hard midweek block. This parcours certainly suits him. Edvald Boasson Hagen hasn’t shown the sprinting ability this year that he once displayed, but he’s still dangerous on a hilly parcours that could very well split up the pack.
AG2R has last year’s 3rd place finisher Samuel Dumoulin for a potential sprint, and they also have Blel Kadri, Romain Bardet and Christophe Riblon if they want to take an aggressive approach. Europcar has a very strong long-distance specialist in Cyril Gautier, and a top-notch sprinter in Bryan Coquard. Garmin-Sharp also has one strong rider for a sprint in Tyler Farrar and a few others who could look to get aggressive in classics specialist Sebastian Langeveld and in the versatile Tom Jelte-Slagter, a late addition to the startlist who is on uncertain form, but who does have the skillset to put in an excellent result on a profile like this if he’s in good shape. Astana could back Borut Bozic or Francesco Gavazzi in a bunch kick, or they could try to send Enrico Gasparotto, Andriy Grivko, or Maxim Iglinskiy up the road.
Sylvain Chavanel is a rider who could be very dangerous if he can escape from the pack, and he is most definitely on good form after winning the Tour du Poitou-Charentes this week. IAM Cycling also has Heinrich Haussler if this ends in a bunch gallop. Lampre-Merida’s young sprinting talent Davide Cimolai was an impressive 7th in Hamburg last week, and could be looking to get involved in a potential sprint here. Rui Costa is also on the startlist and obviously a dangerous rider on this profile, but he hasn’t raced since withdrawing from the Tour. Cannondale’s Elia Viviani landed a Top 10 in this race last year and if he can make it to the line, he’s shown nice form recently; versatile Marco Marcato will be a nice alternative. Movistar could try to set up a strong JJ Lobato for the sprint, with Fran Ventoso as a nice alternative. Romain Feillu of Bretagne – Séché Environnement has finished in the Top 10 in this race twice and could be another outside contender in a sprint. Matti Breschel of Tinkoff-Saxo is another who could be in the mix in a fast finish. Bardiani-CSF has options with the very speedy Nicola Ruffoni, the speedy and also strong-climbing Enrico Battaglin and Sonny Colbrelli, and the always-dangerous-from-afar Stefano Pirazzi. Fellow Pro Continental Italian outfit Neri Sottoli has Simone Ponzi, who excels in the hilly circuit races, and Mauro Finetto, a good sprinter who can handle a few bumps. FDJ’s Arthur Vichot will like this rolling profile. Belkin has a strong squad with Lars Petter Nordhaug, Barry Markus, and Lars Boom all making the start. Julien Simon of Cofidis specializes in profiles like this and could be an outsider in a reduced sprint. Wanty – Groupe Gobert has talented veteran Bjorn Leukemans and in-form Jean-Pierre Drucker as cards to play.
VeloHuman Top 10 Favorites
Winner: Simon Gerrans Podium: Greg Van Avermaet, Alexander Kristoff Other Top Contenders: Giacomo Nizzolo, Gianni Meersman, Ben Swift, Luka Mezgec, Sylvain Chavanel, Tim Wellens, Tony Gallopin
Be sure to follow @VeloHuman on Twitter for live commentary and analysis of the race.
After ending his 2013 campaign early to undergo surgery to fix a painful shoulder injury, Team Sky’s Ben Swift is back to his best in 2014. Following a strong spring and early summer, he took a break from racing, and then returned to competition at the beginning of this month with a few goals for the late-season calendar in mind. With one of those goals, Plouay’s GP Ouest-France, only two days away, he talked to VeloHuman about his season so far, his current form, and his expectations for the next few weeks of racing.
Swift started the year off very well; among several strong results, he contested a sprint finish after nearly 300 kilometers to land a podium place in Milano-Sanremo, and took a win at the Vuelta al País Vasco in a stage with some serious climbing challenges before the finish. With those results, Swift showed that he had not just recovered, but that he was feeling quite good and continuing to develop an already versatile skillset. For Swift, the success was directly attributable to his newly repaired shoulder, which has also given him a major morale boost.
“Last year and the years before, having that injury, you just can’t get the training that you need,” he explained to VH. “Morale’s not good and every time it hurts . . . you just can’t get the work done and you end up just getting yourself into a hole. So we made the call at the end of last year to finish really early and just get it fixed, and give myself a lot of time, and it seems to have worked. And once you get that confidence back really, I think that was another big thing, to prove not only to myself, but to everybody, that I could be at that level again, where I showed that I could be. So it was good to get that confidence back and that morale back.”
Swift put in more race mileage in May and June, riding in the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de Suisse and then landing a runner-up performance at the British National Championship Road Race. After Nationals, he took some time off to rest and recover for a few late-season goals. His return since then has had ups and downs: crashes marred his first race back, the Tour de Pologne, but days after leaving Poland he landed a 2nd-place finish in the RideLondon Classic. Last weekend’s Vattenfall Cyclassics in Hamburg was his next target, but Swift wasn’t able to put in the performance he’d hoped for. Despite that, he is currently optimistic about his upcoming objectives.
“Tour of Poland . . . obviously that didn’t go too well, two crashes and a puncture. But I came good again in the RideLondon. And then I had a really heavy training block after RideLondon and before Hamburg. I was obviously expecting a lot more for myself in Hamburg, but I’m hoping it was just a bad day,” he said. “I haven’t had too many bad days this year. That was one of the first ones where I’ve been a protected rider and just had nothing. It was like, do one effort and that was it, I’m fatigued. So hopefully it was just a bit of training fatigue. I had a nice week in Nice this week with my soigneur, so hopefully in Plouay we can turn things around. But in the long term I’m not too worried. It would be nice to get a good result in Plouay and show that the legs are coming back but if not, I’ll just keep going easy and try to make the most out of Tour of Britain.”
Sunday’s GP Ouest-France in Plouay does have the sort of profile that would seem to suit the talents of Swift and his teammates, which has him feeling good about the opportunity to try for a top result.
“We’ve got Edvald [Boasson Hagen] starting to improve a hell of a lot now. He’s come into some really good form, so I can see it being myself and Edvald being sort of joint leaders for it. They’re quite interesting races these two, Hamburg and Plouay. You’ve got a lot of people that are quite fatigued from the Tour and some that are starting to wind down for the season, so you’ve got a real mix of riders. It’s just about making the most of these opportunities, and I think that with Edvald and the rest of the guys, we’ve got a strong team and I think there’s a lot of motivation inside the team,” he said.
Though the startlist is not yet set in stone, Swift identified Simon Gerrans and Alexander Kristoff as likely rivals and riders worth watching at the GP Ouest-France. After his trip to Plouay, Swift has his sights set on the Tour of Britain, a race in which he’s already taken a stage victory (back in 2009).
“Hopefuly I’ll go into it fresh. I’ll be chasing stage wins, that’s for sure, I’ll try and make it at least one stage win there, and then it’s the final push for the World Championships,” he said.
Hilly but with a flat finish, the profile for the World Championship Road Race in Ponferrada, Spain certainly looks like one that might fit Swift’s skillset. Having done some recon of the course already, he does see opportunity, but acknowledges that it will be a hard race to predict.
“It’s quite an interesting [parcours]. I think it’s open to a lot of scenarios really. It just depends on the race, how it develops as it goes along. I don’t think the climbs are that hard on their own but when they’re combined, then towards the end of the race it’s going to be a bit of a different story. So it’s going to be interesting, and it’s all about saving as much energy as possible, I reckon,” he said.
He is particularly excited about the growing number of British riders who could find this type of challenge to their liking.
“If I saw this sort of profile in a stage race, I’d be really excited for it. It’s something that, I think, as a nation, we haven’t really had any out-and-out riders for it. But obviously this year, we’ve had the Yateses [twins Adam and Simon Yates] step up really well. Pete Kennaugh, it’s a perfect course for him. I think we’ll have a lot of cards to play,” Swift said.
The World Championships may yet be a few weeks off, but with 229 kilometers of racing and plenty of climbs along the way, Sunday’s GP Ouest-France will offer an indication of where Swift is in terms of form. If he’s able to return to return to the level that saw him landing consistently impressive results in the spring and early summer, he’ll have a few good opportunities to add to his palmarès before the season comes to a close.
