Bole sprints to win in Plouay

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Grega Bole (Lampre-ISD) sprang a surprise at the GP Ouest France-Plouay with a canny attack just over the top of the final ascent of the côte de Ty-Marrec with a little under 2km to go. Previous winners Simon Gerrans (Sky) and Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) came home second and third, respectively.

The Slovenian champion Bole timed his effort to perfection on the deceptive false flat over the top of the climb and he was impressive in holding off the pursuers behind in the finale. Gerrans led the initial chase in the company of Jeremie Galland (Saur-Sojasun), Bjorn Leukemans (Vacansoleil-DCM) and Joaquin Rojas (Movistar), and they were soon joined by Voeckler, who made an explosive burst under the red kite.

The Voeckler-Gerrans tandem fought grimly to peg back Bole in the finishing straight, but ultimately they were caught in the no-man’s land between the winner and the peloton behind, and had to settle for podium places, albeit in the same time as Bole.

“This is the most beautiful win of my career,” Bole said afterwards. “It’s my first win in a classic and it’s come at the end of a tough race and with a good attack. I’ve been going well since the Tour de France. In the last few races, I’ve always finished high up, and today I’ve finally succeeded in hitting the target.”

Thor Hushovd (Garmin-Cervélo) won the sprint for fourth place ahead of Italian talent Giacomo Nizzolo (Leopard Trek) and Rojas in front of a large and passionate crowd in Brittany.

The day’s early animators included Jack Bobridge (Garmin-Cervélo), who gained a lead of 11 minutes at one point in the company of Michaël Chérel (AG2R - La Mondiale), Guillaume Levarlet (Saur-Sojasun), Sébastien Duret (Bretagne-Schuller), Cyril Gautier (Europcar), Italiens Marcello Pavarin (Vacansoleil), Mauro Finetto (Liquigas-Cannondale) and Michal Kwiatowski (Radioshack).

That break was gradually reeled in, and on the final laps, all eyes were on Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto), as he was bidding for the win that would put him ahead of Cadel Evans at the top of the WorldTour rankings.

Although Gilbert was careful to mark a dangerous move by Gerrans in the closing stages, he was reluctant to commit to the attack, and the pair were quickly brought to heel by the peloton.

Instead, Breton fortune favoured the brave Bole, and the Slovenian’s victory was just reward for his opportunism and his strength.

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