After a break of almost two months during the period of summer stage races, the prestigious Coupe de France is back on Sunday with the 11th of the 15 race that make up the series. The hilly La Polynormande is traditionally a chance for riders to make use of the good post-Tour condition and for riders to kick start the second part of their season in successful manner.

From an international point of view, the French cycling calendar is mostly about stage races. Paris-Nice, Criterium du Dauphiné and the Tour de France stand out as three of the biggest races in the world and the country also plays hosts to several regional tours that attract international fields. Paris-Roubaix and Paris-Tours stand out as the two major one-day races but apart from that, the multi-day event take most of the focus.

However, for many local teams and professional continental teams, the Coupe de France which is a series of one-day races is a hugely prestigious competition which is a big goal for many French riders. It has traditionally been a place for the best French riders to show themselves and for young riders to prove their potential in international fields. The lumpy courses make the races hard to predict and very aggressive and often they can be won by non-specialists on pure force.

The series usually takes a break whenever there’s a big international stage race on the calendar and so most of the races are held in April where most of the international focus in on the classics. The series has been put on hold since the Boucles de l’Aulne at the end of May, giving room for the many stage races that traditionally dominate the months of June and July.

With the Tour de France done and dusted, the series is ready to start again and it is the hilly Polynormande that acts as a precursor for what is to come in a busy month of September. The race comes as a standalone event one week after the Tour before the series again takes a long break until the GP de Fourmies – arguably the biggest race in the series – takes place on September 4.Coming at this point of the year, it is a great chance for some of the best French riders to benefit a bit from the good condition they have built during three weeks of hard racing in France and for others, it is one of the first races after a summer break.

La Polynormande was created in 1980 to give new impetus a three-day race for amateurs. It was turned into a professional post-Tour criterium that was won by big starts like Thevent, Hinault, Madiot, Fignon, Chavanel and Bernaudeau. It changed again in 2003 when it became a real one-day race and was added to the Coupe de France calendar. Since the current system was introduced in 2005, it has been a 1.1 race on the UCI Europe Tour.

The course doesn’t have any big climbs as the main features are the short Cote de la Pigeonniere and the uphill finish. However, that has apparently been enough to frustrate the sprinters as only two editions – the 2012 and 2009 races – have been decided in bunch sprints since the race was given its current one-day status in 2013. Instead, it has been dominated by strongmen who can attack in the hard terrain and very often the race has been decided in sprints from small group of 2-6 riders or it has been won by a lone attacker.

Last year 6 riders decided the race and it was Oliver Naesen who took a breakthrough win by beating the Europcar pair of Fabrice Jeandesboz and Antoine Duchesne.

The course

The race will be held on the well-known 157km course that has been used for several years. From the start in Avranches the riders will cover 131 to the finish in Saint-Martin-de-Landelles where they will tackle the key climb of Cote de la Pigeonniere for the first time after 24.5km of racing. Then they will do 11 laps of a 12.5km circuit that includes the climb 6.5km from the finish. From there, the road is slightly descending until just 2km remain where the riders hit the final rise to the finish.

The favourites

All Coupe de France races are difficult to predict as they are very aggressive and much more difficult to control than the bigger international races. However, La Polynormande is probably the most difficult as the difficult course for strongmen and usual lack of top-level sprinters mean that the race has usually been won from a breakaway.

This year Nacer Bouhanni makes his comeback after his altercation and he goes into the race as the overwhelming favourite in case of a sprint finish. This means that it is hard to imagine than the other teams will be aiming for a sprint and most teams want to blow the race to pieces. History shows that it takes a very strong team to bring things back together and even though it will be a pleasant, sunny day, we doubt that it will be a sprint. Of course much will depend on the composition of the break and whether there will be any alliances for Cofidis but we will put our money on a breakaway to make it.

This suits Alexis Gougeard perfectly. The Frenchman has already won Classique Loire Atlantique twice and the Boucles de l’Aulne once by attacking in this kind of terrain. The Frenchman is brutally strong and ended the Tour de France in excellent condition. He has had an injury-marred start to the season and wasn’t at his best in the first part of the Tour but he was flying in the Alps. He rode well in stage 20 in the high mountains where he should usually come up short.

We have little doubt that Gougeard will be trying to blow the race to pieces and the Frenchman is likely to be in the break. He is not fast in a sprint but with this kind of tough circuit and uphill finish, it is all about the legs. At last year’s Vuelta, Gougeard made a difference in similar terrain and proved that he is unstoppable when he is close to 100%. Gougeard is our favourite to win this kind of hard race.

Of course Nacer Bouhanni is one of the big favourites. The Frenchman is by far the fastest in this race which really suits him. He is strong on short climbs and likes this kind of uphill sprint. He may not be in his best form yet as he hasn’t raced for more than a month due to a hand injury but he shouldn’t be too bad. The main challenge will be for Cofidis to control the race. If it comes down to a sprint, Bouhanni should win the race.

Ag2r have more cards to play. Samuel Dumoulin is very strong on short climbs and unlike Gougeard, he is fast in a sprint. He was really flying in June but was not in the same kind of form at the end of the Tour. Much will depend on how he has digested the three-week race but if he has finished well, this is a race that suits him. He can wait for a sprint where he has an outside chance but his best opportunity is to go on the attack and use his sprint in a small group.

Dimitry Clayes had a fantastic 2015 season which earned him a contract with Wanty. He had a tough start to the season but rode very well at the Tour of Flanders where he finished in the top 10. Now he has returned to form as he showed by beating Gianni Meersman in a reduced sprint on stage 3 of the Tour de Wallonie. This is the kind of race that he likes. He won’t have a real chance in a sprint but he is a great candidate for a breakaway as he can both escape on the climbs and finish it off from a small group.

Baptiste Planckaert has had a fantastic season with numerous victories and he is a strong candidate for the overall Coupe de France win. He is known as a sprinter but he can go on the attack too as he proved in Wallonia where he was in the break in the final two stages and won the mountains jersey. He likes an uphill sprint so he will be the biggest rival for Bouhanni in a sprint finish but he can also be a contender in a tough race. He may not be strong enough to be with the best so he may prefer to ask his team to work for a sprint. On the other hand, he has to focus on the overall standings and so it may be a good option to attack even if he knows that he won’t be able to win.

Rudy Barbier also excels in uphill sprints and he has been very strong this year. He has been up there in most of the French sprint races and this is the kind of finish he prefers. He is not as strong as Planckaert so his only real chance is to wait for a sprint. He needs an easier race to excel but he has the speed to challenge the fastest.

Cofidis will be working for a sprint but if the race is hard to control, they may prefer to send Florian Senechal off in an attack. The classics specialist was flying in Wallonia and really proved that he has returned to form. This is the kind of terrain that he really likes and he has a fast sprint to finish it off.

Fortuneo-Vital Concept are here with Jonathan Hivert who has finally found some form after an injury-marred season. With a third place in the hard third stage in Wallonie, he has proved that he is good and he likes this terrain. He is a great puncheur but he is not fast enough to win a sprint. He has to attack and he could very well be the fastest rider in a group that makes it to the finish. Anthony Delaplace is another very strong rider for this terrain. He is not as fast as Hivert but he finished the Tour well.

FDJ have Lorrenzo Manzin for a sprint but the race will probably be a bit too hard for him and he is unlikely to beat Bouhanni. Instead, Laurent Pichon is probably their best card. He has had a great year and is a strong rider in lumpy terrain and he has a fast sprint.

Romain Feilu is no longer as fast as he once was but he is still strong in an uphill sprint. It won’t be easy for him to beat Bouhanni but it’s a finish that suits him well. As opposed to this, Aidis Kruopis is one of the very fastest in this race but it is probably too hard for him.

Finally, we will point to Dries De Bondt and Gaetan Bille. Both are strong on short climbs and fast in a sprint. De Bondt took a breakthrough win at Halle-Ingooigem and Bille is returning to form after an injury-marred spring. Both are among the riders that can win from a breakaway.

***** Alexis Gougeard

**** Nacer Bouhanni, Samuel Dumoulin

*** Dimitri Claeys, Baptiste Planckaert Rudy Barbier, Florian Senechal

** Jonathan Hivert, Laurent Pichon, Anthony Delapace, Dries De Bondt, Lorreno Manzin, Romain Feillu, Aidis Kruopis, Antonio Parrinello

* Guillaume Levarlet, Frederik Backaert, Yoann Offredo, Pierrick Fedrigo, Maxime Vantomme, Marco Minnaard, Romain Hardy, Yannick Martinez, Antoine Warnier, Leonardo Duque, Ryan Anderson