Goss outsprints Farrar in Plouay
By Jean-François Quénet published
Second consecutive win for Australia at GP Ouest France
Australia’s Matthew Goss (HTC-Columbia) claimed his first ProTour win as he succeeded his compatriot Simon Gerrans as the winner of the GP Ouest-France. He outsprinted Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Transitions) and Yoann Offredo (FDJ) on the finishing line in Plouay and sent an interesting message to the selectors of the Australian team for the world championship to be held in Victoria six weeks from now.
“Today I’ve proven I can race on this kind of circuit,” Goss told Cyclingnews straight after the finish. “This was a very hard race on a typical world championship circuit. It’s good for my confidence. It’s nice to win after that distance on a hard course.”
The organisers of the GP Plouay got permission from the UCI to add one more lap to the event and make it 248 kilometres long but it didn’t prevent the race from ending in another bunch sprint after a standard boring scenario for a ProTour race.
The second attack that came soon after the start was made up of six riders: Benoît Vaugrenard (FDJ), Danny Pate (Garmin-Transitions), Ivan Rovny (RadioShack), Mickaël Delage (Omega Pharma-Lotto), Laurent Mangel (Saur-Sojasun) and Yukihiro Doi (Skil-Shimano), and they were quickly joined by Mathieu Drujon (Caisse d’Epargne) and Pablo Urtasun (Euskaltel). The eight-men breakaway got a maximum lead of 13.40 and the bunch was booed by the Breton public for not riding aggressively, although the event is longer as popular as it was before Plouay hosted the world championship ten years ago.
HTC-Columbia was probably the most active team when the time came to close the gap. “We did a bit of work early on,” Goss commented. “It was worth it.” Mangel was the only one of the breakaway riders to survive in the lead as a counter-attack caught them at the beginning of the final lap. Francesco Gavazzi and Daniele Pietropolli (Lampre), Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step), Greg van Avermaet (Omega Pharma-Lotto), Haimar Zubeldia (Euskaltel), Bjorn Leukemans and Wouter Poels (Vacansoleil) were the other riders to insist at the front. While they were caught by the bunch with six kilometres to go, Mangel stayed clear for one more kilometre.
Davide Appollonio (Cervélo) and Dan Martin (Garmin-Transitions), who recently won the last stage of the Tour du Limousin and the Tre Valle Varesine respectively, were the last men to attack before the final bunch sprint. “The hardest thing for me was to wait and not attack,” said Offredo who had been told that it would be useless to lose energy prior to the bunch sprint as he did one week ago in Hamburg. “I had seen in the final kilometres that a couple of sprinters were missing so I was hoping for a top ten but maybe not the top three,” the young Frenchman told Cyclingnews. “At the end I felt I was even able to pass Farrar.” The FDJ rider was happy to finish third.
Farrar admitted he was “a little bit disappointed with the second place”. “It would have been amazing to win two classics in a row,” said the American who stormed to victory in Hamburg one week ago. “The course here was on the limit for me. It was hard but I managed to survive. Matt Wilson and Murillo Fisher killed themselves for me. I was nervous and I went too early but Goss did a perfect sprint.”
At the start of the ProTour event, the Australian was worried because he had been sick after the Tour of Denmark where he got into the winning mood again after his great successes at the Giro d’Italia (stage 9) and Philadelphia. “The cold went to my chest and I had a cough,” he revealed. At the end, he improved his status inside the national team in the making for the World’s. As Robbie McEwen revealed that he won’t make the final cut, Australia seems to have some reason for opting for younger sprinters.
Interestingly, only two pro races are held in the province of Morbihan in Brittany, and Goss won in Plouay after fellow Australian Wesley Sulzberger claimed the GP Plumelec in May. “We have the province wrapped up,” Sulzberger quipped afterwards.
Plouay and the region of Brittany will bid for hosting the world championship again with 2014 the possible date.
Full Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Team HTC - Columbia | 6:37:53 |
2 | Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Transitions | |
3 | Yoann Offredo (Fra) Française Des Jeux | |
4 | Leonardo Fabio Duque (Col) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne | |
5 | Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne | |
6 | Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) BMC Racing Team | |
7 | Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Doimo | |
8 | Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini | |
9 | Marco Marcato (Ita) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team | |
10 | Romain Feillu (Fra) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team | |
11 | Davide Appollonio (Ita) Cervelo Test Team | |
12 | Michael Morkov (Den) Team Saxo Bank | |
13 | Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Française Des Jeux | |
14 | Grega Bole (Slo) Lampre-Farnese Vini | |
15 | Serguei Klimov (Rus) Team Katusha | |
16 | Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Quick Step | |
17 | Roy Sentjens (Bel) Team Milram | |
18 | Manuele Mori (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini | |
19 | Alessandro Ballan (Ita) BMC Racing Team | |
20 | Serge Pauwels (Bel) Sky Professional Cycling Team | |
21 | Jérémie Galland (Fra) Saur - Sojasun | |
22 | Guillaume Levarlet (Fra) Saur - Sojasun | |
23 | Josep Jufre Pou (Spa) Astana | |
24 | Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto | |
25 | Nikita Eskov (Rus) Team Katusha | |
26 | Tony Gallopin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne | |
27 | Francesco Reda (Ita) Quick Step | |
28 | Sébastien Hinault (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
29 | Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Rabobank | |
30 | Dmitriy Fofonov (Kaz) Astana | |
31 | Rémi Pauriol (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne | |
32 | Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Milram | |
33 | Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Quick Step | |
34 | Wouter Poels (Ned) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team | |
35 | Juan Jose Oroz Ugalde (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | |
36 | Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Team Milram | |
37 | Yannick Talabardon (Fra) Saur - Sojasun | |
38 | Martin Elmiger (Swi) AG2R La Mondiale | |
39 | Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Spa) Team Radioshack | |
40 | Tom Stamsnijder (Ned) Rabobank | |
41 | Gorazd Strangelj (Slo) Astana | |
42 | Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin - Transitions | |
43 | Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto | |
44 | Aleksandr Kuschynski (Blr) Liquigas-Doimo | |
45 | Mathieu Perget (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne | |
46 | Ermanno Capelli (Ita) Footon-Servetto | |
47 | Stefan Denifl (Aut) Cervelo Test Team | |
48 | Alexsandr Dyachenko (Kaz) Astana | |
49 | Anders Lund (Den) Team Saxo Bank | |
50 | Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Team HTC - Columbia | |
51 | Murilo Antonio Fischer (Bra) Garmin - Transitions | |
52 | Julien Simon (Fra) Saur - Sojasun | |
53 | Chris Sörensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank | |
54 | Ludovic Turpin (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
55 | Brian Vandborg (Den) Liquigas-Doimo | |
56 | Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) BBox Bouygues Telecom | |
57 | Karsten Kroon (Ned) BMC Racing Team | |
58 | Peter Velits (Svk) Team HTC - Columbia | |
59 | Nicolas Vogondy (Fra) BBox Bouygues Telecom | |
60 | Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini | |
61 | Björn Leukemans (Bel) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team | |
62 | Niki Terpstra (Ned) Team Milram | |
63 | Evgeny Petrov (Rus) Team Katusha | |
64 | Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin - Transitions | 0:00:09 |
65 | Markel Irizar Aranburu (Spa) Team Radioshack | 0:00:57 |
66 | André Steensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank | |
67 | Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Team HTC - Columbia | |
68 | Gert Dockx (Bel) Team HTC - Columbia | |
69 | Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) BBox Bouygues Telecom | |
70 | Gustav Larsson (Swe) Team Saxo Bank | |
71 | Laszlo Bodrogi (Fra) Team Katusha | |
72 | Russel Downing (GBr) Sky Professional Cycling Team | |
73 | Koldo Fernandez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | |
74 | Edward King (USA) Cervelo Test Team | |
75 | Xavier Florencio Cabre (Spa) Cervelo Test Team | |
76 | Martin Kohler (Swi) BMC Racing Team | |
77 | Pierre Rolland (Fra) BBox Bouygues Telecom | |
78 | Cyril Gautier (Fra) BBox Bouygues Telecom | |
79 | Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Team Katusha | |
80 | Nick Nuyens (Bel) Rabobank | |
81 | Fabio Felline (Ita) Footon-Servetto | |
82 | Benat Intxausti Elorriaga (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | |
83 | Egor Silin (Rus) Team Katusha | |
84 | Frederick Wilmann (Nor) Skil - Shimano | 1:24:00 |
85 | Christophe Moreau (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne | 0:01:40 |
86 | Roman Kireyev (Kaz) Astana | |
87 | Martin Velits (Svk) Team HTC - Columbia | |
88 | Markus Fothen (Ger) Team Milram | |
89 | Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale | |
90 | Arnold Jeannesson (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne | |
91 | Francisco Perez Sanchez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne | |
92 | Matteo Carrara (Ita) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team | |
93 | Thierry Hupond (Fra) Skil - Shimano | |
94 | Morris Possoni (Ita) Sky Professional Cycling Team | |
95 | Dario Cataldo (Ita) Quick Step | |
96 | Arnaud Coyot (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne | |
97 | Luca Mazzanti (Ita) Team Katusha | |
98 | Sergey Renev (Kaz) Astana | |
99 | Anthony Geslin (Fra) Française Des Jeux | |
100 | Maxime Bouet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
101 | Simon Gerrans (Aus) Sky Professional Cycling Team | |
102 | Laurent Lefevre (Fra) BBox Bouygues Telecom | |
103 | Christophe Kern (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne | |
104 | Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
105 | Cyril Dessel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
106 | Kristijan Koren (Slo) Liquigas-Doimo | |
107 | Mauricio Ardila Cano (Col) Rabobank | |
108 | Diego Ulissi (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini | |
109 | Addy Engels (Ned) Quick Step | |
110 | Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Rabobank | |
111 | Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo | |
112 | Daniele Pietropolli (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini | |
113 | Daniele Righi (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini | |
114 | Daniel Lloyd (GBr) Cervelo Test Team | |
115 | Johnny Hoogerland (Ned) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team | |
116 | Stephen Cummings (GBr) Sky Professional Cycling Team | |
117 | Sandy Casar (Fra) Française Des Jeux | |
118 | Rémi Cusin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne | |
119 | Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Professional Cycling Team | |
120 | Jérome Coppel (Fra) Saur - Sojasun | 0:02:13 |
121 | Anthony Roux (Fra) Française Des Jeux | |
122 | Pierre Cazaux (Fra) Française Des Jeux | 0:02:44 |
123 | Laurent Mangel (Fra) Saur - Sojasun | 0:03:08 |
124 | Jose Alberto Benitez Roman (Spa) Footon-Servetto | 0:03:27 |
125 | Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Rabobank | 0:03:51 |
126 | Sébastien Chavanel (Fra) Française Des Jeux | 0:04:03 |
127 | Arnaud Labbe (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne | |
128 | Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
129 | Rob Ruygh (Ned) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team | 0:04:19 |
130 | Javier Fran Aramendia Lorente (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | |
131 | Andrey Zeits (Kaz) Astana | 0:05:19 |
132 | Brice Feillu (Fra) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team | |
133 | Manuel Cardoso (Por) Footon-Servetto | |
134 | Daniel Sesma (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | 0:06:24 |
135 | Pablo Urtasun Perez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | |
136 | Sébastien Turgot (Fra) BBox Bouygues Telecom | |
137 | Ivan Rovny (Rus) Team Radioshack | 0:07:40 |
138 | Jan Bakelants (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto | 0:08:08 |
139 | Floris Goesinnen (Ned) Skil - Shimano | |
140 | Mitchell Docker (Aus) Skil - Shimano | 0:08:35 |
141 | Simon Zahner (Swi) BMC Racing Team | 0:09:20 |
142 | Sébastien Minard (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne | |
143 | Marco Corti (Ita) Footon-Servetto | |
144 | Matthew Busche (USA) Team Radioshack | |
145 | Geoffroy Lequatre (Fra) Team Radioshack | |
146 | Danny Pate (USA) Garmin - Transitions | |
147 | Florian Stalder (Swi) BMC Racing Team | 0:10:41 |
148 | Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Saur - Sojasun | |
149 | Mathieu Drujon (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne | |
150 | Ivan Santaromita (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo | |
151 | Danilo Wyss (Swi) BMC Racing Team | |
152 | Paul Voss (Ger) Team Milram | |
153 | Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto | |
154 | Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) Omega Pharma-Lotto | |
155 | Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) Française Des Jeux | |
156 | Mickael Delage (Fra) Omega Pharma-Lotto | |
157 | Alexandre Geniez (Fra) Skil - Shimano | 0:15:06 |
DNF | Sylvain Calzati (Fra) Sky Professional Cycling Team | |
DNF | Nicolas Portal (Fra) Sky Professional Cycling Team | |
DNF | Anthony Charteau (Fra) BBox Bouygues Telecom | |
DNF | Dmitry Kozontchuk (Rus) Rabobank | |
DNF | Dennis Van Winden (Ned) Rabobank | |
DNF | Alfredo Balloni (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini | |
DNF | Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne | |
DNF | Kevin Ista (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne | |
DNF | Mykhaylo Khalilov (Ukr) Katusha | |
DNF | Alan Perez Lezaun (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | |
DNF | Amets Txurruka (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | |
DNF | Luke Roberts (Aus) Team Milram | |
DNF | Adam Hansen (Aus) Team HTC - Columbia | |
DNF | Vicente Reynes Mimo (Spa) Team HTC - Columbia | |
DNF | Michel Kreder (Ned) Garmin - Transitions | |
DNF | Ricardo Van Der Velde (Ned) Garmin - Transitions | |
DNF | Matthew Wilson (Aus) Garmin - Transitions | |
DNF | Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo | |
DNF | Mauro Finetto (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo | |
DNF | Mauro Facci (Ita) Quick Step | |
DNF | Davide Malacarne (Ita) Quick Step | |
DNF | Thomas Vedel Kvist (Den) Quick Step | |
DNF | Noe Gianetti (Swi) Footon-Servetto | |
DNF | David Vitoria (Swi) Footon-Servetto | |
DNF | Daryl Impey (RSA) Team Radioshack | |
DNF | Sergio Miguel Moreira Paulinho (Por) Team Radioshack | |
DNF | Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Team Radioshack | |
DNF | Baden Cooke (Aus) Team Saxo Bank | |
DNF | Jonas Aaen Jörgensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank | |
DNF | Jonathan Bellis (GBr) Team Saxo Bank | |
DNF | Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Omega Pharma-Lotto | |
DNF | Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Omega Pharma-Lotto | |
DNF | Chris Butler (USA) BMC Racing Team | |
DNF | Joaquin Novoa Menedez (Spa) Cervelo Test Team | |
DNF | Martin Reimer (Ger) Cervelo Test Team | |
DNF | Dominique Rollin (Can) Cervelo Test Team | |
DNF | Fabrice Jeandesboz (Fra) Saur - Sojasun | |
DNF | David Deroo (Fra) Skil - Shimano | |
DNF | Feng Han (Chn) Skil - Shimano | |
DNF | Yukihiro Doi (Jpn) Skil - Shimano |

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