Bretagne Classic 2026 preview | Rouleurs in top form should have the edge over the sprinters

The spring classics are already behind us, and it will still be a while before the autumn classics in Italy roll around. Clásica de San Sebastián provided a small interlude, but the one-day action continues on Sunday in France. The Bretagne Classic, a grueling and thrilling WorldTour race, lies ahead. IDL Pro Cycling previews the important French one day classic.

The Bretagne Classic has been around since 1931, but the race was revived a year after World War II. At that time, it was still known as the Circuit de Plouay, but starting with the 30th edition in 1966, the race continued as the GP Ouest France - Plouay. It wasn’t until 2016 that the name Bretagne Classic was adopted.

During the race’s first sixty years, it was mainly the French who dominated the Bretagne Classic, but gradually it took on an international character. The list of winners includes names such as Sean Kelly, Franck Vandenbroucke, and Vincenzo Nibali, but more recently, riders like Michael Matthews, Marc Hirschi, Wout van Aert, and Arnaud De Lie have won the race.

2025 Arnaud De Lie
2024 Marc Hirschi
2023 Valentin Madouas
2022 Wout van Aert
2021 Benoit Cosnefroy
2020 Michael Matthews
2019 Sep Vanmarcke
2018 Oliver Naesen
2017 Elia Viviani
2016 Oliver Naesen

This year, the Bretagne Classic has gone all out with an almost entirely new course. Last year, the race started in Plouay and followed a large loop west of the city; this year, the route heads west. There are new climbs on the route, but let’s be honest: everywhere in Brittany, the road goes up and down. So you know what to expect.

But instead of 260 kilometers, the organizers have opted for “only” 228 kilometers. The first real climb is the Côte de Bon Repos, a 1.4-kilometer stretch with an 8 percent gradient—the northernmost point of the race. Then the peloton heads south again and slightly further east. The road will constantly go up and down, but never for very long.

The Côte de Lezot leads to the Côte de Marta. The latter hill is the final climb before the local circuit begins. And that local circuit in Plouay isn’t the same as last year either. Before, the Lezot was the decisive factor; now, things are just a little different.

With just over fifty kilometers to go, the final loop begins. The Côte de Ty Marrec is the first climb on this loop (1.4 km at 5.1 percent), after which the race continues on to Lezot (1.2 km at 4.5 percent). These aren’t particularly grueling climbs, but the Ty Marrec does feature gradients of up to 10 percent. The final summit of that climb is five kilometers from the finish line, but the course continues to wind up and down for a while afterward.

If there’s a sprint, it will take place on the Avenue des Champions du Monde, the familiar finish line of the GP Plouay. The road slopes slightly upward there, which can make for a tough finish for all the tired riders.

The weather in Brittany can always be a letdown. Sometimes it’s lovely, sometimes it’s drizzly. It doesn’t look great right now either: it’ll be 21 degrees, but rain is expected, especially in the afternoon and evening. There’s also a strong southwesterly wind. So, not ideal sailing weather.

The new course means fewer kilometers, but a similar amount of elevation gain. Will the sprinters have a chance? Arnaud De Lie (Lotto-Intermarché) won last year, but whether he can survive remains to be seen. Top sprinters like Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step), Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech), and Biniam Girmay (NSN) will also have a tough time in the Breton hills.

Other fast riders hoping to stay in the breakaway include Pavel Bittner (Picnic PostNL), Madis Mihkels (EF Education-EasyPost), and Laurence Pithie (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe). There are also fast riders who are slightly better climbers, such as Rick Pluimers (Tudor), Jenno Berckmoes (Lotto-Intermarché), Noa Isidore (Decathlon CMA CGM), Jasper Stuyven (Soudal Quick-Step), Lukas Kubis, and Clément Venturini (Unibet Rose Rockets).

But there are plenty of riders who want—or are able—to prevent a sprint. Some are former winners, such as Michael Matthews (Jayco AlUla) and Oliver Naesen (Decathlon CMA CGM). The latter team also has Paul Lapeira in its ranks. Lidl-Trek is counting primarily on Mathias Vacek’s skills, while Alpecin-Premier Tech has Tibor Del Grosso in addition to sprinter Philipsen.

EF Education-EasyPost will field Neilson Powless, Alex Baudin, and Michael Valgren, as well as Marijn van den Berg. Movistar has named Natnael Tesfatsion as its team leader, while Groupama-FDJ has assigned a protective role to Romain Grégoire. Tudor saw Marc Hirschi improve during the Deutschland Tour and hopes he can repeat his feat from 2024.

UAE Team Emirates-XRG is fielding a team full of mavericks and contenders. Jan Christen and Benoit Cosnefroy appear to be the team leaders—the latter, a Frenchman, has already won the race once. But António Morgado and Igor Arrieta also have a shot on a course like this.

Pinarello - Q36.5 is fielding a maverick team and counting on Quinten Hermans, Fred Wright, and Aimé De Gendt. Hugo Page appears to be the rider in top form for Cofidis, while Visma | Lease a Bike has Louis Barré. The Frenchman won a stage in the Tour of Poland and the Deutschland Tour. Unibet Rose Rockets has riders such as Lander Loockx and the Kopecky brothers, Matyas and Tomas.

Top Favorites: Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech) and Louis Barré (Visma | Lease a Bike)
Dark horses: Arnaud De Lie (Lotto-Intermarché), Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step), Benoit Cosnefroy, Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), and Marc Hirschi (Tudor)
Long shots: Biniam Girmay (NSN), Laurence Pithie (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Rick Pluimers (Tudor), Michael Matthews (Jayco AlUla), Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ), Paul Lapeira (Decathlon CMA CGM), Jenno Berckmoes (Lotto-Intermarché), Noa Isidore (Decathlon CMA CGM), Clément Venturini (Unibet Rose Rockets), Neilson Powless, Alex Baudin (EF Education-EasyPost), Natnael Tesfatsion (Movistar), Quinten Hermans (Pinarello - Q36.5), Jasper Stuyven (Soudal Quick-Step), Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek), and Tibor Del Grosso (Alpecin-Premier Tech)

The Bretagne Classic won't be on TV, but it will be available online. The race will be streamed on HBO Max starting at 3:10 p.m CET.