Schlagwort-Archive: Tro Bro Leon

Tro-Bro Léon – 204 Km

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1 NIZZOLO Giacomo ITA Israel-Premier Tech 04:50:52
2 DE LIE Arnaud BEL Lotto Dstny 00:00
3 EEKHOFF Nils NED Team DSM 00:00
4 FINÉ Eddy FRA Cofidis 00:00
5 TILLER Rasmus NOR Uno-X Pro Cycling Team 00:00
6 VENTURINI Clément FRA AG2R Citroën Team 00:00
7 PICHON Laurent FRA Team Arkéa-Samsic 00:00
8 VERMEERSCH Florian BEL Lotto Dstny 00:05
9 GACHIGNARD Thomas FRA St Michel-Mavic-Auber 93 00:05
10 WATSON Sam GBR Groupama-FDJ 00:05
11 TURGIS Anthony FRA TotalEnergies 00:12
12 ZINGLE Axel FRA Cofidis 00:36
13 KRISTOFF Alexander NOR Uno-X Pro Cycling Team 00:36
14 REYNDERS Jens BEL Israel-Premier Tech 00:36
15 VAN NIEKERK Morne RSA St Michel-Mavic-Auber 93 00:36
16 ASKEY Lewis GBR Groupama-FDJ 00:36
17 GUÉGAN Maël FRA CIC U Nantes Atlantique 00:36
18 PAGE Hugo FRA Intermarché-Circus-Wanty 00:36
19 LE GAC Olivier FRA Groupama-FDJ 00:36
20 VAN MOER Brent BEL Lotto Dstny 00:36

Lannilis, Sunday, May 7th 2023 – This Sunday, the Tro Bro Leon witnessed the consecration of a new master of the stony “ribinoù” tracks, namely Giacomo Nizzolo (Israel-Premier Tech), who brought the domination of Team Arkéa-Samsic to a close, after two consecutive victories. This master stroke was in fact a trial run: it was the first time he has taken part in the event in Finistère. Initially marked by a 150-km breakaway by Maël Guégan, Damien Girard and Morne Van Niekerk, this 39th edition was decided in the last 50 kilometres, as predicted by organiser Jean-Paul Mellouët. After attempts by Brittany natives Laurent Pichon and Olivier Le Gac, a five-man group managed brake free in the La Ferme section, 10 km from the finishing line, before being joined by two men, including Nizzolo, who then displayed his sprinting strength to become the second Italian winner of the event, four years after Andrea Vendrame. The race went down to the wire and he pipped favourite Arnaud de Lie (Lotto Dstny) and Nils Eekhoff (Team DSM) at the post. The first French rider, Isère native Eddy Finé (Cofidis), finished in 4th place.

The sky was overcast but the tarmac was dry when the 150 riders started out at 11.57 from Plouguerneau. After plenty of attempts, a first breakaway formed after 8 km. Morne Van Niekerk (St Michel-Mavic-Auber93) was accompanied by Frenchmen Maël Guégan (CIC U Nantes Atlantque) and Damien Girard (Nice Métropole Côte d’Azur). It was not the first time the South African has found himself in such a situation: he was already part of the first group of escapees last year, such boldness enabling him to finish in 8th place. The leading trio were followed a pack lying 30’’ behind before the peloton let them off the leash, trailing by two minutes on arrival in Lanarvily, where each winter the cyclo-cross dedicated to the memory of the late Jean Le Hir takes place, and by five minutes when the first of the 27 sections of ribinoù were reached, after 50 km.

De Lie unveils his ambitions
The Lotto Dstny riders slowly picked up the pace, a sign of the ambitions held by their leader Arnaud de Lie, who won the Grand Prix du Morbihan the day before and finished 4th last year. Out in front, the spoils were smartly shared, with Guégan taking the points for the first sprint (after 67 km), Girard for the first climb (after 73 km) and, later, Van Niekerk on the ribinoù. A crash gave several riders a close-up taste of the tarmac, including Matis Louvel (Arkéa-Samsic), before the third section of ribinoù, with the race ending prematurely for Jens Biermans (Arkéa-Samsic), Joris Delbove (St Michel-Mavis-Auber93) and Unai Iribar (Euskaltel-Euskadi).

Van Niekerk hunts the ribinoù points
A stone’s throw from the rocky outcrop of the Pointe Saint-Mathieu, and under the eager gaze of Brest native Valentin Madouas, who had come to watch, Van Niekerk held the lead at section No. 4, the first of the six included in the ribinoù classification (along with sections 7, 10, 15, 17 and 26). The riders then turned right to start their return towards Lannilis, along the seafront. The gap, which culminated at 6’15“, was down to five minutes halfway through the race (after 102 km of the 204 to be covered), with an average speed of 41 km/h.

The sprints for Guégan
Van Niekerk was again in front at the Eoliennes section (No. 7) whilst the peloton continued to close in (trailing by 3’15“). On passing through Brélès, 83 km from the finishing line, Guégan picked up five points more, ensuring victory in the sprint classification. As the rain started to fall, the leading trio’s lead dropped below three minutes, though the gap stabilised on this touristic route, where a few rays of sunshine lit up the spectacular coastal landscape around Landunvez.

The climbs for Girard
The peloton upped the pace markedly and only trailed by 1’05’’ on exiting section No. 10, which Van Niekerk was first to complete. The pack split in two and was made up of only approximately thirty riders when the leading trio were reeled in on the Loc Majan ascent, included in the best climber classification, 47 km from the finishing line. Girard, although caught by the peloton, still managed to complete the 11th section of ribinoù in the lead, before a final effort gave him victory in the best climber classification. On the first passage over the finishing line, the second pack, which was unable to catch the first one before the race’s conclusion, was already more than one minute behind.

Pichon and Le Gac delight the crowds
With two previous titles to boast, Arkéa-Samsic launched a major offensive on ribinoù section No. 20, 23 km from the finishing line. Elie Gesbert acted as a springboard to launch Laurent Pichon to the front, but the local rider, taking part in his 12th Tro Bro, was caught at the instigation of Norwegian champion Rasmus Tiller (Uno-X). The other darling of the crowds, Olivier Le Gac (Groupama-FDJ), found an opening with 15 km to go and led on the second passage over the finishing line, just five seconds ahead of the pack, which caught up with him on exiting ribinoù section No. 24.

Nizzolo has the last word
There were still about thirty riders able to dream of victory with 10 km left to cover. Arnaud de Lie accelerated in ribinoù section No. 26, called La Ferme. However, his attack was countered by one from former cyclo-cross specialist Eddy Finé (Cofidis) and Tiller, who gained a lead of several metres. The Belgian managed to catch back up with them accompanied by Clément Venturini (AG2R Citroen) and Nils Eekhoff (DSM). Pichon and Giacomo Nizzolo (Israël – Premier Tech) also joined the front group, before the final section. The rider from Brittany again tried his luck less than 3 km from the finishing line, but in vain, as Nizzolo triumphed with a sprint finish, just ahead of De Lie.

TRO BRO LEON 2023: HOFSTETTER, DEGENKOLB, KRISTOFF AND DE LIE TOP THE BILL

Eintagsrennen, Frühjahrskassiker, Strassenrennen, Vorschau, ,

Key information:
 The reigning champion, Hugo Hofstetter, is one of the favourites to win the 39th edition of the Tro Bro Leon, which will take place on Sunday, 7 May. The Alsatian rider is spearheading Arkéa–Samsic’s formidable line-up, which also features Luca Mozzato (runner-up last year) and Laurent Pichon (seventh).
 Their main challengers will be two titans of the cobbled classics, John Degenkolb and Alexander Kristoff, along with Arnaud De Lie, the rising star of bunch sprints who snatched fourth place last time.
 The 2014 winner, Adrien Petit (Intermarché–Circus–Wanty), back on the roads following a spell on the sidelines due to injury, is joining forces with the Belgian Baptiste Planckaert, who has finished the podium of the Breton race twice, but never on the top step.

The Tro Bro Leon could not come at a better time for the fans who have already started to pine for the cobblestones. Its famous unpaved roads, the ribinoù, will extend the magic of the spring classics with a dash of salty air on Sunday, 7 May. It is no coincidence to find two consummate cobble-gobblers in Brittany, to wit, John Degenkolb (winner of the 2015 Paris–Roubaix) and Alexander Kristoff (2015 Tour of Flanders). The former came close to another stunning feat in the Hell of the North (seventh), only to be denied by a nasty fall in the Carrefour de l’Arbre, while the Norwegian took fifteenth place.

The start list is bursting with classics specialists, such as Anthony Turgis and Edvald Boasson Hagen from TotalEnergies and AG2R Citroën’s Belgian duo of Oliver Naesen and Stan Dewulf. At Lotto Dstny, Florian Vermeersch (second in Roubaix in 2021 and twelfth this year) will team up with the new sprint sensation, Arnaud De Lie, who impressed with fourth place in his debut last year.

Cofidis will be banking on the combination of the German powerhouse Max Walscheid, who also shone in Roubaix (eighth), and a promising rider from the Vosges, Axel Zingle (tenth in the Amstel Gold Race), whose mountain biking background will definitely be an asset on the trails of Finistère.

Two former winners, both French, are slated to take part. The defending champion, Hugo Hofstetter, will line up with his runner-up from last year’s race, decided in a sprint: the Italian speedster Luca Mozzato, who has since joined Arkéa–Samsic. The Breton outfit is going into the event with lofty ambitions, as its roster includes four of the top seven in the 2022 edition, with the Norman Matis Louvel (sixth) and the unlucky hero Laurent Pichon (seventh), whose fight for victory ended up not with a bang, but with a whimper, due to a puncture. Now, the man from Finistère hopes his twelfth participation will finally be the one after finishing nine times in the top 20 (fourth in 2016 and 2017).

The 2014 victor from the Nord department, Adrien Petit (Intermarché–Circus–Wanty) will share the spotlight with the Belgian Baptiste Planckaert, the only rider in the peloton to have finished twice on the podium of the Tro Bro Leon (second in 2019 and third in 2021) without ever taking the win. Fourth in 2021, the Breton Olivier Le Gac will guide the young guns of Groupama–FDJ, featuring the likes of Romain Gregoire (eighth in Strade Bianche), the Kiwi Laurence Pithie (the recent winner of Cholet–Pays de la Loire) and the Brit Samuel Watson, fifth last year.

22 teams, main contenders:
Netherlands
Team DSM: Degenkolb (GER) and Dainese (ITA)

Belgium
Lotto Dstny: De Lie, Van Moer and F. Vermeersch (BEL)
Intermarché–Circus–Wanty: Petit (FRA), N. Bonifazio (ITA) and Planckaert (BEL)
Bingoal–WB: Van Keirsbulck (BEL)
Team Flanders-Baloise: Van Poucke (BEL)

Spain
Burgos BH: Barthe (FRA), Bol (NED) and Madrazo (ESP)
Caja Rural–SEG: Aular (VEN) and Barrenetxea (ESP)
Equipo Kern Pharma: Pau Miquel (ESP)
Euskaltel–Euskadi: Iturria, Iribar and Martin (ESP)

United States
Human Powered Health: Haga (USA)

France
AG2R Citroën: Dewulf (BEL), Gautherat (FRA), Naesen (BEL) and Venturini (FRA)
Team Arkéa Samsic: Hofstetter, Louvel (FRA), Mozzato (ITA) and Pichon (FRA)
Groupama–FDJ: Gregoire (FRA), Pithie (NZL), Le Gac and Penhoet (FRA)
Cofidis: Zingle (FRA), Wallays (BEL) and Walscheid (GER)
TotalEnergies: Boasson Hagen (NOR), Turgis and Dujardin (FRA)
St. Michel–Mavic–Auber93: R. Barbier (FRA) and Van Niekerk (RSA)
CIC U Nantes Atlantique: P. Barbier and Morin (FRA)
Nice Métropole Côte d’Azur: Le Ny (FRA)

Israel
Israel–Premier Tech: Nizzolo (ITA) and Van Asbroeck (BEL)

Norway
Uno-X Pro Cycling Team: Kristoff (NOR)

New Zealand
Bolton Equities Black Spoke: Fouché and Jackson (NZL)

Switzerland
Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team: Calzoni (ITA)

More information about Tro Bro Leon on trobroleon.com

TRO BRO LEON 2023: A LAND AND SEA MENU

Eintagsrennen, Frühjahrskassiker, Vorschau, ,

Key points:
 The 39th edition of the Tro Bro Leon will be held on 7 May on a 203.1 km course starting and ending in Lannilis, with 28.9 km of ribinoù, the dirt and gravel roads that give the Breton race its special flavour.
 This escapade through the Pays de Leon, in the far south-west of the Finistère department, will take the field to Pointe Saint-Mathieu on a course with almost no respite from the wind.
 Any favourites and outsiders who withstand the fury of the elements will have to contend with the toughest of the tough on the final circuit around Lannilis, which has the „ribin du château“ as a sting in the tail.

As with kouign-amann and, especially, the kig ha farz in the Pays de Leon, a winning recipe should never be changed, but it is perfectly fine to tinker with the amounts and origins of certain key ingredients. This is how Jean-Paul Mellouët, the chef at the helm of the Tro Bro Leon since its launch in 1984, sees it: „I have never cooked up the same course twice“, he explains at the unveiling of the menu that will be served to runners on 7 May. The race will still be centred on the town of Lannilis, but the first change for the 2023 edition has to do with the direction of the loop, with the field heading south at the beginning, then cutting through the middle of the mini-peninsula to reach its tip in Le Conquet, and tackling the return trip largely on coastal roads. „The course is a bit less steep than usual, but it is much more exposed to the wind, which will blow sideways if it comes from the west, as is often the case“, explains Mellouët, also raising the possibility of splits near the halfway point.
However, the dirt and gravel roads that put the riders‘ acrobatic skills to the test —27 in total— remain the calling card of the Tro Bro Leon. Coming into the decisive phase of the race, the peloton will tackle one of the five brand-new sectors on the menu: „The Saint-Mathieu lighthouse ribin is the longest on the course, at 2.3 kilometres. The exit of the sector is 115 km from the finish line, but an early selection is on the cards“. Much further down the road, the Meshuel ribin will turn the screws on the peloton and knock out many other pretenders before the final circuit. However, the final contenders will have to wait until the exit of the famous Keroüartz Castle ribin, stretching for 1,600 metres and culminating under the tunnel of ambition, to play their ace cards. „This is the make-or-break moment“, admits the cook and designer, always eager to watch the last tussles, in which the last men in contention for the win will clash with less than 7 kilometres to go.
© A.S.O.

Tro-Bro Léon – 208 Km

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1 HOFSTETTER Hugo FRA TEAM ARKÉA-SAMSIC 05:07:15
2 MOZZATO Luca ITA B&B HOTELS-KTM 00:00
3 SWIFT Connor GBR TEAM ARKÉA-SAMSIC 00:09
4 DE ROOIJ Jesse NED BIKE AID 00:30
5 WATSON Sam GBR GROUPAMA-FDJ 00:30
6 LOUVEL Matis FRA TEAM ARKÉA-SAMSIC 00:30
7 PICHON Laurent FRA TEAM ARKÉA-SAMSIC 00:30
8 VAN NIEKERK Morne RSA ST MICHEL-AUBER 93 00:30
9 DUJARDIN Sandy FRA TOTALENERGIES 00:30
10 LADAGNOUS Matthieu FRA GROUPAMA-FDJ 00:33
11 BEULLENS Cédric BEL LOTTO SOUDAL 00:35
12 KRON Andreas DEN LOTTO SOUDAL 01:12
13 VERMEERSCH Florian BEL LOTTO SOUDAL 01:16
14 DELETTRE Alexandre FRA COFIDIS 01:35
15 PLANCKAERT Baptiste BEL INTERMARCHÉ-WANTY-GOBERT 02:04

Lannilis, Sunday, May 15th 2022 – Rain played a significant role in the thirty-eighth edition of the Tro Bro Leon and the storyline of a nervous race, requiring riders to demonstrate their endurance, resistance, luck, clarity and agility. Hugo Hofstetter (Team Arkea Samsic) wins the race ahead of Luca Mozzato (B&B Hotels – KTM) and Connor Swift (Team Arkea Samsic).

The race started at 11.44 am with 22 teams and 152 riders, without former French champion Anthony Roux (Groupama-FDJ), who withdrew after a crash on Saturday in the Grand Prix du Morbihan. As the rain poured down, Marc Sarreau (AG2R-Citroën), Martin Urianstad (Uno-X Pro), Morné Van Niekerk (St-Michel – Auber 93) and Charles-Etienne Chrétien (Premier Tech U23) broke away as the peloton exited Porspoder (km 16). Their lead peaked at six minutes at the beginning of the first dirt sector (km 44) at the close of the opening hour.

TotalEnergies takes matters into its hands.
It stopped raining briefly at Saint-Divy when the TotalEnergies team was the first to start the chase at Km 70. The gap progressively shrank, falling to 4:25s at the beginning of the sixth of the 29 dirt sectors (“ribinou”), where many riders who suffered punctures.
Marc Sarreau broke his rear wheel with 90 kilometres to go. But he regained his position in the leading group, whilst Anthony Turgis (TotalEnergies) accelerated hard on a series of dirt sectors that caused several punctures and crashes. The UAE-Team Emirates team paid a heavy price for their bad luck, with Mikkel Bjerg and Rui Oliveira retiring from the race.
On the seventh dirt sector, Anthony Turgis attacked and formed the lead group with defending Tro Bro Leon winner Connor Swift (Arkea-Samsic), Arnaud De Lie and Florian Vermeersch (Lotto-Soudal) before a peloton of some 60 riders formed again.
The race of the leading riders was still troubled by the punctures of Morné Van Niekerk and Martin Urianstad, with 71 kilometres to go. They regained their spots in the lead group before Marc Sarreau was dropped on the thirteenth dirt sector on the Kervidot climb.
Team TotalEnergies accelerated several times with Anthony Turgis and Niki Terpstra, whereas Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) was dropped and then retired. With 55 kilometres remaining, the breakaway held onto a 50- second lead from the peloton, led by Arkea-Samsic, which until then had avoided any bad luck.

Arkea-Samsic shows collective strength
Using their collective strength, the Breton team made a difference in the strategic “La Ferme” ribin. Clément Russo and Connor Swift took sixteen riders with them. After several accelerations, the defending winner of the Tro Bro Leon, Connor Swift accelerated with 26 kilometres to go. His teammate Laurent Pichon caught him three kilometres later in ribin 23 at Mescleguer, followed in the next dirt sector by 2021 Paris-Roubaix runner-up, Florian Verneersch (Lotto-Soudal), and Luca Mozzato (B&B Hotels-KTM). Stan De Wulf (AG2R-Citroën) was also in this group, but he crashed before the junction.

Hugo Hofstetter raises his arm, finally!
Fifteen kilometres from the finish, Baptiste Planckaert (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert), third in the 2021 Tro Bro Leon, tried to counter-attack with Hugo Hofstetter (Arkéa-Samsic) but suffered a puncture. Hofstetter re-joined the front of the race just as Florian Vermeersch got a flat tyre. The leading group then consisted of the three Arkea-Samsic riders and the Italian Mozzato.
On the second pass of the “La Ferme” ribin, Laurent Pichon fell victim to a puncture. He re-joined the race with the chasing group at 30 seconds.
The battle for the victory came down to Hofstetter, Mozzato and Connor Swift. The French rider won the sprint ahead of his Italian counterpart to take his first victory of the year. Up until today, he had finished on the podium seven times since the beginning of the season.

Top 10
1) Hugo Hofstetter (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic les 207,8 km, 5h07’15’’
2) Luca Mozzato (Ita) B&B Hotels-KTM +0’’
3) Connor Swift (G-B), Team Arkea-Samsic +9’’
4) Arnaud De Lie (Bel) Lotto-Soudal +30’’
5) Samuel Watson (G-B) Groupama-FDJ +30’’
6) Matis Louvel (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic +30’’
7) Laurent Pichon (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic +30’’
8) Morné Van Niekerk (Afs) St-Michel – Auber 93 +30’’
9) Stan Dewulf (Bel) AG2R-Citroën Team +30’’
10) Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) Groupama-FDJ +30’’

QUOTE OF THE WINNER

“Since the beginning of the season I was sure of my strengths. I knew it was a matter of time. Last year my team made the difference by toughening up the race in the same farm sector. This year we followed the same game plan. We knew where we were going. Our numerical superiority made the difference. In the final run, despite my cramps, I believed in myself and I did sprint for the win.”
@ASO

Tro-Bro Léon 2021

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Lannilis – Lannilis (207km) Unbefestigte Straßen
1 Connor Swift (Arkéa-Samsic) 5:18:38
2 Piet Allegaert (Cofidis) 0:00:00
3 Baptiste Planckaert (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert) 0:00:00
4 Olivier Le Gac (Groupama-FDJ) 0:00:00
5 Rasmus Tiller (Uno-X) 0:00:00
6 John Degenkolb (Lotto Soudal) 0:00:26
7 Oliver Naesen (AG2R Citroën) 0:00:26
8 Bram Welten (Arkéa-Samsic) 0:00:26
9 Christophe Laporte (Cofidis) 0:00:26
10 Kevin Geniets (Groupama-FDJ) 0:00:26