At the moment the man to beat: Powerful De Lie too fast for Kooij in Bretagne Classic

The Bretagne Classic has a classic course, which is traditionally ridden first by the women. On Saturday, Mischa Bredewold was the best in a rainy Brittany, and on Sunday it was the men's turn. Defending champion Marc Hirschi (Tudor) was there. Still, competition came from the UAE Team Emirates (Isaac Del Toro, Tim Wellens, and others), Lidl-Trek (Thibau Nys), and Soudal Quick-Step (Paul Magnier).

Before the favorites took their turn, the breakaway riders had a chance to do their thing. Five men managed to make the difference: the Euskaltel duo Iker Mintegi and Andoni López were joined by Óscar Rodríguez (INEOS Grenadiers), Silvan Dillier (Alpecin-Deceuninck), and Lewis Askey (Groupama-FDJ). In the flat opening phase, they rode together for about 4 minutes. However, when the hilly middle section had to be tackled, the five quickly saw their lead diminish.

With 100 kilometers to go, the breakaway riders were caught, and the final phase began very early. Del Toro accelerated and was followed by Cian Uijtdebroeks (Visma | Lease a Bike). Del Toro's teammate Brandon McNulty then tried his luck, but Lotto took control and kept the group together. With 75 kilometers to go, it was Kasper Asgreen (EF Education - EasyPost) who had more success and quickly gained more than a minute on the resting peloton.

It even became 2 minutes at one point, but then Lotto set a fast pace again, causing the Dane to lose more and more ground. An attack by Nicolas Prodhomme (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) was neutralized: the pace was fast in the pack. With 34 kilometers to go, the lone breakaway rider was caught, and the final stage could really begin. And once again, it was UAE that kicked things off.

Jan Christen was the first to attack: the young Swiss rider pushed hard and thinned out the peloton considerably. It made for a nervous phase, which eight riders managed to take advantage of, but a group with McNulty was later caught again. Valentin Madouas was luckier: the Frenchman from Groupama-FDJ managed to get away and open up a gap with the peloton. However, it was not a big one.

An attack by Maxim Van Gils (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) was devastating: the Belgian almost pulled ahead in one fell swoop, but Louis Barré (Intermarché-Wanty) and McNulty managed to follow. On the final climb, it was Barré who kept pushing: on the Côte du Lézot, he opened up a gap with his three fellow breakaway riders. He was unleashed, but the peloton was also getting going.

Meanwhile, Barré slowed down, allowing the other breakaway riders to catch up. But the peloton loomed in the background: it was a nerve-wracking finale. In the final kilometer, the four were caught, followed by a sprint. Olav Kooij started early, but De Lie came out of the wheel and managed to win again.