Matti Breschel is set to lead Tinkoff-Saxo in the French World Tour one-day race GP Ouest-France Plouay marked by an always hectic finale suited for fast finishers and puncheurs. Tinkoff-Saxo aims for a spot on the Breton podium Sunday, as a powerful line-up provides backing for Breschel in the unpredictable race.
 
Raced concurrently with the eclipsing Vuelta a España, GP Plouay marks the second of two French World Tour one-day races on the calendar. The Breton race is held one week after the sprinter’s race of Vattenfall Cyclassics and continues the series of autumn classics. According to Sean Yates, Tinkoff-Saxo sports director, the team will field a strong line-up headed by Matti Breschel in search for a podium place.
 
“Matti has good form and our goal is a top three. Perhaps the race will come down to a sprint, something Matti is well capable of and he also showed that recently in Vattenfall, where he held his own against top sprinters with lead-out trains. But the race is fairly lumpy with a short but steep climb that we will do nine times. Matti can also go uphill but we got guys like Juul-Jensen and Valgren as well. In general, we line up at GP Plouay with a strong squad but we will have to stay attentive as the race has several opportunistic scenarios”, says Sean Yates.

To support team captain Matti Breschel, Tinkoff-Saxo sends Michael Valgren, Michael Rogers, Christopher Juul-Jensen, Matteo Tosatto, Nikolay Trusov, Michael Kolar and Manuele Boaro.
 
Matti Breschel last saw action at the Vattenfall Cyclassics, where he finished 7thagainst pure sprinters to continue a string of strong results. Breschel notes that he eyes opportunities at the GP Plouay.
 
“The route is very similar to that of the 2000 World Championships and although the race is in a fairly remote region, the GP Plouay is marked by a certain World’s feeling with many thousands of passionate spectators along the circuit. I want to do well here - it’s no secret that the last five kilometers will be decisive with a climb and a hectic finish. It’s not a race for the pure sprinters, but there’s a big chance that the race will be decided in a decimated group sprint. I will have to be ready there, while we have strong guys to cover the earlier moves as well”, comments Matti Breschel.

GP Ouest-France Plouay is held on a hilly 27km course totaling 229km of undulating racing marked by the often numerous attacks that turn the race into an unpredictable affair, where both strong sprinters and puncheurs can turn the tide and come out victorious.
 
“It suits both the fast men like Alexander Kristoff that can hang on and the more punchy riders, who will most likely have a dig on the final time up the climb with 5km to go. The climb starts with a 500m steeper section, which then meets up with the main road and turns into a false flat for another 500m. The pack will be lined out with everybody hanging on for dear life. It’s up to Valgren and Juul-Jensen to take the chance, while keeping an eye on Breschel, who shall be there in the finale”, explains Sean Yates before finishing:
 
“There are no real favorites other than Kristoff and it will be interesting to see, which teams will take the front to control the events. Of course we will see a break that can go a long way and if we have no one in it, we will have to take our fair share to ensure a stage finish, where our three-four guys in the finale can take a chance or set up the sprint for Matti”.