Bretagne Classic CIC preview - Can Lotto help Arnaud De Lie continue his winning ways?

Any Grand Tour casts the rest of the calendar into the shade, and the Bretagne Classic CIC’s overlap with the Vuelta a España often leaves the French race undeservedly overlooked. This year marks the 89th edition of the event still widely known as the GP Plouay, the highest-ranked race in Brittany – one of cycling’s true heartlands.

The far north-west of France may be hard to reach, but fans flock to the roadside for a full weekend of racing that spans Paracycling, junior men and women, a UCI 1.2 men’s event, and WorldTour races for both men and women.

The atmosphere, combined with one of the toughest courses on the calendar, consistently draws the best classics riders. In recent years winners have ranged from Vincenzo Nibali to Elia Viviani, though the race’s palmarès remains firmly dominated by the specialists of the one-day game.

After winning both the final stage and the overall at the Renewi Tour last weekend, Arnaud De Lie (Lotto) starts the race in excellent form. It has not been an easy season, with a spring campaign to forget, but he has gradually rebuilt himself, taking much of the spring off before finishing inside the top 10 on five Tour de France stages, including the finale on the new Montmartre circuit.

He could well have won the Bemer Cyclassics in Hamburg had the peloton not misjudged the chase of the day’s breakaway, leaving him to settle for second place. At the Renewi Tour everything came together. He was runner-up on the opening day’s bunch sprint and again in Geraardsbergen, finishing behind Mathieu van der Poel on the slopes of the Kapel Muur.

The final day in Leuven was a masterclass. Often isolated, he measured his effort carefully and gambled on all or nothing, delivering a brilliantly executed sprint that secured both the stage and the overall victory. De Lie is clearly a rider in great form and with renewed confidence, but his lack of support at decisive moments is an issue others will not face this weekend.

UAE Team Emirates-XRG arrive with a typically powerful squad. Tim Wellens, third overall at the Renewi Tour and a stage winner at this year’s Tour, is their most experienced classics rider and has four top 10 finishes at Plouay. In Isaac Del Toro, Jhonatan Narváez, Brandon McNulty and others, they also have riders capable of winning from almost any scenario.

Marc Hirschi won the race for UAE last year, but is still searching for his first victory since moving to Tudor Pro Cycling. The punchy nature of the course clearly suits him, and in Julian Alaphilippe he has an equally capable ally, but neither has yet rediscovered the level of their earlier seasons.

Lidl-Trek now travel with a strong squad wherever they go, and that is especially true for this year’s Plouay. Jonathan Milan, Thibau Nys and Jasper Stuyven give them a range of options in a race that is always unpredictable.

The same applies to Visma | Lease a Bike, but with Wout van Aert absent they will look to Olav Kooij if it comes to a sprint, or to the resurgent pair of Christophe Laporte and Cian Uijtdebroeks.

Soudal-Quickstep’s structural reset will only take effect next year, but in Paul Magnier they already have a rider who seems destined to find himself in winning positions. Whether he has the patience to convert one remains the question.

Lotto will line up with De Lie as their clear leader, but given the strength of rival squads they will need to race cleverly and hope for a touch of luck if he is to deliver.

At 263km the Bretagne Classic is among the longest races on the calendar, rivaling even the Monuments. It is longer than Paris-Roubaix, Il Lombardia and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and only five kilometres shorter than Flanders. With 4,352 metres of climbing it surpasses many of them in difficulty. It is, by any measure, a tough day out.

Where the women’s race loops south and east, the men tackle a long and winding route to the north-west, into the lumpiest part of Brittany, almost reaching the country’s furthest tip. Just before Châteaulin they turn back towards Plouay, rejoining the final circuit at the point where they left it and crossing the finish line with one 11.8km lap still to ride.

The race has always finished on a circuit, but the lap has evolved in recent years. The steep, narrow Ty Marrec climb has been removed, leaving a more sanitised version of the loop. It remains rolling, however, with the last climb situated four kilometres from the finish, ensuring a fascinating finale.