CCC Sprandi Polkowice has announced the selection for the upcoming UCI WorldTour one-day event, GP Ouest-France.
The race features eight 26,9-kilometer undulating circuits around Plouay, with steep but short climbs (max. 8-10%) and technical descents. The additional ninth lap is modified and shorter – 14 kilometers. On every circuit the riders will tackle Côte de Ty-Marrec, which is located only 4 kilometers before the finish line. This is where the classics riders may make their decisive move. In total there are 229 kilometers to cover.
On similar roads around Plouay, the world championships in 2000 were held. This is when Zbigniew Spruch took silver medal, and one of his teammates on the Polish National Team was CCC Sprandi Polkowice sporting director Piotr Wadecki.
In the previous years GP Ouest-France has either finished with a bunch sprint or a successful late attack. The gaps on the line between the leading group and the peloton were very narrow though. In 2011, the race was won by Grega Bole, who broke clear in the finale.
"Victory in Plouay is definitely the biggest success in my career. I felt very well that day and I pulled away on the last climb with 4-5 other riders. With 2 kilometers to go I took off by myself. The peloton was very close but I managed to hold off the chase and take the solo win. Back then the race was held on a slightly different course, in my opinion a little bit harder than now," Grega Bole recalls.
For CCC Sprandi Polkowice it will be seventh time this season, when the team is participating in the WorldTour event, after Milano-San Remo, Volta a Catalunya, Amstel Gold Race, Giro d’Italia, Tour de Suisse and Tour de Pologne.
Line-up for Le GP Ouest-France (30th of August, 1.UWT):
Grega Bole, Maciej Paterski, Davide Rebellin, Stefan Schumacher, Łukasz Owsian, Tomasz Kiendyś, Branislau Samoilau, Nikolay Mihaylov.
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