Matthews wins Bretagne Classic - Ouest-France
Sunweb rider outpaces Mezgec in reduced sprint
Michael Matthews (Sunweb) took a convincing win in the Bretagne Classic ahead of Luka Mezgec (Mitchelton-Scott) with Florian Sénéchal (Deceuninck - Quick Step) in third.
The race was peppered with attacks throughout the final 100km of racing but it came down to a cagy sprint finish from a small group after Matthew’s teammate Nils Eekhoff split the field with a strong surge before the line. The Dutch rider’s efforts almost proved too much after he went clear with Sénéchal, but he eased up just before the sprint to allow Matthews back into the fray.
In the sprint, there was little contest with Mezgec going early before Matthews came off his former teammate’s wheel and switched to the other side of the road.
"Luca had to go early in the sprint so I could wait. I just timed my sprint to perfection, I guess," Matthews said at the finish.
"After my crash in Milan-San Remo it was difficult for my head. I knew that I had really good shape but to come back here, for my second race after lockdown, I'm really happy."
Matthews was a thoroughly deserving winner. He used up as little energy as possible in the closing stages, and held off the temptation to jump into any of the dangerous attacks before the finish. His team, to their credit, were tactically astute with first-year pro Eekhoff lifting the pace in the finale before Matthews came through to take his first win since the Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec last September.
The 29-year-old can now add another WorldTour win to is growing palmares before he takes a break and returns for both Tirreno-Adriatico and then the Giro d'Italia.
How it unfolded
The main action began when Remi Cavagna (Deceuninck-QuickStep), Floris De Tier (Alpecin-Fenix), Joey Rosskopf (CCC Team), Will Clarke (Trek-Segafredo), Zhandos Bizhigitov (Astana), and Alexander Cataford (Israel Start-Up Nation) formed the early break and quickly established a three-minute lead over the peloton. The race had started under a cloud after the entire Bora-hansgrohe squad had pulled out after one of their riders tested positive for COVID-19. That didn’t hamper the action as EF Pro Cycling, and UAE Team Emirates held the break and slowly reduced the lead to under 1:20.
Cavagna, clearly the strongest, but also more concerned with the number of Watts he could produce, rather than the number of friends he could win in the peloton, attacked through the feedzone inside the last 80km with only Rosskopf and De Tier able or willing to mount any form of chase.
With 45km to go the Deceuninck rider was caught as the peloton saw wave after wave of attacks reduce the gap. A few kilometres later, Harm Vanhoucke (Lotto Soudal), Robert Stannard (Mitchelton-Scott) and Albert Torres (Movistar) made a move and the trio at least managed to create some daylight between themselves and the peloton. The group, however, were soon caught, with Olivier Le Gac (Groupama-FDJ) countering alongside Sergio Henao (UAE Team Emirates).
Once more the peloton brought the leading group back into their clutches, before another round of attacks reduced the main field to less than 45 riders. Scott Thwaites (Alpecin-Fenix) attacked with purpose with 13km to go but he was overhauled by Romain Seigle (Groupama-FDJ) and then Victor Lafay (Cofidis) as Henao and the rest of the UAE Team Emirates looked to set up their fast finisher, Jasper Philipsen.
Sénéchal attacked on the final climb but Sunweb still had the numbers to not just bring him back, but also eliminate most of Matthews’ opposition. They almost gave the win away in the finale but Matthews and Eekhoff combined to take the team’s first win since a stage in Paris-Nice, back in March.
Pos. | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Michael Matthews (Aus) Team Sunweb | 6:01:14 |
2 | Luka Mezgec (Slo) Mitchelton-Scott | 0:00:01 |
3 | Florian Senechal (Fra) Deceuninck-Quickstep | |
4 | Aime De Gendt (Bel) Circus-Wanty Gobert | |
5 | Alessandro Fedeli (Ita) Nippo Delko Provence | |
6 | Quinn Simmons (USA) Trek-Segafredo | |
7 | Nils Eekhoff (Ned) Team Sunweb | 0:00:03 |
8 | Daniel McLay (GBr) Team Arkea-Samsic | 0:00:05 |
9 | Anthony Roux (Fra) Groupama-FDJ | |
10 | Ivan Garcia Cortina (Spa) Bahrain McLaren | |
11 | Jasper Philipsen (Bel) UAE Team Emirates | |
12 | Eduard-Michael Grosu (Rom) Nippo Delko Provence | |
13 | Gianni Vermeersch (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix | |
14 | Alex Kirsch (Lux) Trek-Segafredo | |
15 | Andrea Vendrame (Ita) AG2R la Mondiale | |
16 | Samuele Battistella (Ita) NTT Pro Cycling | |
17 | Emmanuel Morin (Fra) Cofidis | |
18 | Andrea Pasqualon (Ita) Circus - Wanty Gobert | |
19 | Nathan Haas (Aus) Cofidis | |
20 | Kristian Sbaragli (Ita) Alpecin-Fenix | |
21 | Luca Mozzato (Ita) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept | |
22 | Simon Guglielmi (Fra) Groupama-FDJ | |
23 | Scott Thwaites (GBr) Alpecin-Fenix | |
24 | Franck Bonnamour (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic | |
25 | Jan Bakelants (Bel) Circus-Wanty Gobert | |
26 | Dorian Godon (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale | |
27 | Jenthe Biermans (Bel) Israel Start-Up Nation | |
28 | Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) EF Pro Cycling | |
29 | Ruben Guerreiro (Por) EF Pro Cycling | |
30 | Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Bahrain McLaren | |
31 | Fabian Lienhard (Swi) Groupama-FDJ | |
32 | Pim Ligthart (Ned) Total Direct Energie | |
33 | Sander Armee (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
34 | Dimitri Claeys (Bel) Cofidis | |
35 | Dion Smith (NZl) Mitchelton-Scott | |
36 | Anthony Delaplace (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic | |
37 | Marlon Gaillard (Fra) Total Direct Energie | |
38 | Delio Fernandez Cruz (Spa) Nippo Delko Provence | |
39 | Laurent Pichon (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic | |
40 | Stan Dewulf (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
41 | Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Col) UAE Team Emirates | |
42 | Olivier Le Gac (Fra) Groupama-FDJ | |
43 | Julien Vermote (Bel) Cofidis | |
44 | Alex Aranburu Deba (Spa) Astana Pro Team | |
45 | Guillaume Boivin (Can) Israel Start-Up Nation | 0:00:27 |
46 | Romain Seigle (Fra) Groupama-FDJ | 0:00:43 |
47 | Jannik Steimle (Ger) Deceuninck-Quickstep | 0:00:57 |
48 | Tsgabu Gebremaryam Grmay (Eth) Mitchelton-Scott | |
49 | Mikkel Bjerg (Den) UAE Team Emirates | 0:01:14 |
50 | Reinardt Janse van Rensburg (RSA) NTT Pro Cycling | |
51 | Kévin Geniets (Lux) Groupama-FDJ | 0:01:20 |
52 | Victor Lafay (Fra) Cofidis | 0:02:27 |
53 | Nicholas Schultz (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott | 0:03:21 |
54 | Hideto Nakane (Jpn) Nippo Delko Provence | 0:03:48 |
55 | Michael Albasini (Swi) Mitchelton-Scott | 0:04:01 |
56 | Harm Vanhoucke (Bel) Lotto Soudal | 0:04:18 |
57 | Floris De Tier (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix | 0:04:38 |
58 | Rick Zabel (Ger) Israel Start-Up Nation | |
59 | Jonathan Dibben (GBr) Lotto Soudal | |
60 | Laurens De Vreese (Bel) Astana Pro Team | |
61 | Gijs Van Hoecke (Bel) CCC Team | |
62 | Rasmus Tiller (Nor) NTT Pro Cycling | |
63 | Julien Duval (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale | |
64 | Bert Van Lerberghe (Bel) Deceuninck-Quickstep | |
65 | Grega Bole (Slo) Bahrain McLaren | |
66 | Davide Martinelli (Ita) Astana Pro Team | |
67 | Alexander Kamp (Den) Trek-Segafredo | |
68 | Stefan De Bod (RSA) NTT Pro Cycling | |
69 | Reto Hollenstein (Swi) Israel Start-Up Nation | |
70 | Johan Jacobs (Swi) Movistar Team | |
71 | Luis Guillermo Mas Bonet (Spa) Movistar Team | |
72 | Brian Van Goethem (Ned) Lotto Soudal | |
73 | Lawrence Naesen (Bel) AG2R la Mondiale | |
74 | Albert Torres Barcelo (Spa) Movistar Team | |
75 | Luka Pibernik (Slo) Bahrain McLaren | 0:04:40 |
76 | Rémi Cavagna (Fra) Deceuninck-Quickstep | 0:06:40 |
77 | Iljo Keisse (Bel) Deceuninck-Quickstep | |
78 | Tosh Van der Sande (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
79 | Travis McCabe (USA) Israel Start-Up Nation | 0:07:11 |
80 | Robert Stannard (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott | 0:09:41 |
81 | Otto Vergaerde (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix | 0:10:10 |
82 | Mitchell Docker (Aus) EF Pro Cycling | |
83 | Stijn Steels (Bel) Deceuninck-Quickstep | |
84 | Romain Le Roux (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic | |
85 | Evaldas Siskevicius (Ltu) Nippo Delko Provence | 0:13:39 |
86 | William Clarke (Aus) Trek-Segafredo | 0:14:06 |
87 | Charles Quarterman (GBr) Trek-Segafredo | |
88 | Nico Denz (Ger) Team Sunweb | |
89 | Tom-Jelte Slagter (Ned) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept | |
90 | Frederik Backaert (Bel) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept | |
91 | Hernando Bohorquez Sanchez (Col) Astana Pro Team | |
92 | Daniil Fominykh (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | |
93 | Joseph Rosskopf (USA) CCC Team | |
94 | Remy Mertz (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
95 | Biniam Girmay Hailu (Eri) Nippo Delko Provence | |
96 | Alexander Cataford (Can) Israel Start-Up Nation | |
97 | Sebastian Mora Vedri (Spa) Movistar Team | |
98 | Kevin Inkelaar (Ned) Bahrain McLaren | |
99 | Iñigo Elosegui Momeñe (Spa) Movistar Team | |
100 | Gabriel Cullaigh (GBr) Movistar Team | |
101 | Yevgeniy Gidich (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | |
102 | Sean Bennett (USA) EF Pro Cycling | |
103 | Callum Scotson (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott | |
104 | Arnaud Courteille (Fra) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept | |
DNF | Logan Owen (USA) EF Pro Cycling | |
DNF | Tom Scully (NZl) EF Pro Cycling | |
DNF | Zhandos Bizhigitov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | |
DNF | Alexis Gougeard (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale | |
DNF | Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) AG2R la Mondiale | |
DNF | Quentin Jauregui (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale | |
DNF | Patrick Bevin (NZl) CCC Team | |
DNF | Josef Cerny (Cze) CCC Team | |
DNF | Jonas Koch (Ger) CCC Team | |
DNF | William Barta (USA) CCC Team | |
DNF | Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) CCC Team | |
DNF | Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Bahrain McLaren | |
DNF | Santiago Buitrago Sanchez (Col) Bahrain McLaren | |
DNS | Cesare Benedetti (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
DNS | Marcus Burghardt (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
DNS | Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
DNS | Patrick Gamper (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
DNS | Oscar Gatto (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
DNS | Jay Mc Carthy (Aus) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
DNS | Ide Schelling (Ned) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
DNF | Nicholas Dlamini (RSA) NTT Pro Cycling | |
DNF | Michael Carbel Svendgaard (Den) NTT Pro Cycling | |
DNS | Matteo Sobrero (Ita) NTT Pro Cycling | |
DNF | Rui Costa (Por) UAE Team Emirates | |
DNF | Ivo Oliveira (Por) UAE Team Emirates | |
DNF | Fernando Gaviria Rendon (Col) UAE Team Emirates | |
DNF | Maximiliano Ariel Richeze (Arg) UAE Team Emirates | |
DNF | Sergio Samitier Samitier (Spa) Movistar Team | |
DNF | Alvaro Jose Hodeg Chagui (Col) Deceuninck-Quickstep | |
DNF | Romain Cardis (Fra) Total Direct Energie | |
DNF | Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Total Direct Energie | |
DNF | Jeremy Cabot (Fra) Total Direct Energie | |
DNF | Simon Sellier (Fra) Total Direct Energie | |
DNF | Dries De Bondt (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix | |
DNF | Philipp Walsleben (Ger) Alpecin-Fenix | |
DNF | Maxime Cam (Fra) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept | |
DNF | Adrien Garel (Fra) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept | |
DNF | Julien Morice (Fra) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept | |
DNF | Alexys Brunel (Fra) Groupama-FDJ | |
DNF | Romain Hardy (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic | |
DNF | Kevin Ledanois (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic | |
DNF | Piet Allegaert (Bel) Cofidis | |
DNF | Mathias Le Turnier (Fra) Cofidis | |
DNF | Felix Gall (Aut) Team Sunweb | |
DNS | Max Kanter (Ger) Team Sunweb | |
DNF | Jasha Sütterlin (Ger) Team Sunweb | |
DNF | Ilan Van Wilder (Bel) Team Sunweb | |
DNF | Emils Liepins (Lat) Trek-Segafredo | |
DNF | Matteo Moschetti (Ita) Trek-Segafredo | |
DNF | Fabien Doubey (Fra) Circus-Wanty Gobert | |
DNF | Loïc Vliegen (Bel) Circus-Wanty Gobert | |
DNF | Boy Van Poppel (Ned) Circus-Wanty Gobert | |
DNF | Danny Van Poppel (Ned) Circus-Wanty Gobert | |
DNF | Romain Combaud (Fra) Nippo Delko Provence | |
DNF | Guy Sagiv (Isr) Israel Start-Up Nation |
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Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.
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