Today Rui Costa returned to competition following his premature withdrawal from the Tour de France when he lined up in the GP Plouay. Even though he failed to defend his Lampre-Merida team's title in the race, he showed a competitive level as he continues to build form for his rainbow jersey defence.

Lampre-Merida won the GP Plouay in 2011 and 2013 and with Rui Costa on the roster, they had hoped to take a third win in the 2014 edition of the race. Despite an aggressive performance that saw Kirstijan Durasek join a 7-rider group on the final laps, the team left the race empty-handed.

The race marked Rui Costa's return to competition after a bout of bronchitis forced him out of the Tour de France and even though he failed to play a key role in the race, Lampre-Merida were pleased with his level.

"The most interesting actions took place in the final part of the race and we could be in each of them," sports director Orlando Maini explained. Unfortunately, we missed the winning one, so we obtained nothing in the race. Durasek was part of an action that good a good margin and Mori and Rui Costa responded to attacks in the finale.

"We appreciated Rui Costa's performance: this was his first race since his withdrawal from the Tour de France, but he demonstrated that he's competitive and willing to be a protagonist in the final part of the season."