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.
Full Results
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grega Bole (Slo) Lampre - ISD | 6:32:40 |
| 2 | Simon Gerrans (Aus) Sky Procycling | |
| 3 | Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar | |
| 4 | Thor Hushovd (Nor) Team Garmin-Cervelo | |
| 5 | Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Leopard Trek | |
| 6 | Arnaud Gerard (Fra) FDJ | |
| 7 | Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Movistar Team | |
| 8 | Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Team RadioShack | |
| 9 | Julien Simon (Fra) Saur - Sojasun | |
| 10 | Yoann Offredo (Fra) FDJ | |
| 11 | Marco Marcato (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | |
| 12 | Jérémie Galland (Fra) Saur - Sojasun | |
| 13 | Simone Ponzi (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | |
| 14 | Wouter Mol (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | |
| 15 | Maarten Wynants (Bel) Rabobank Cycling Team | |
| 16 | Mirko Selvaggi (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | |
| 17 | Manuel Antonio Leal Cardoso (Por) Team RadioShack | |
| 18 | Simon Clarke (Aus) Pro Team Astana | |
| 19 | Robbie McEwen (Aus) Team RadioShack | |
| 20 | Jean-Luc Delpech (Fra) Bretagne - Schuller | |
| 21 | Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Saur - Sojasun | |
| 22 | Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne | |
| 23 | Pavel Brutt (Rus) Katusha Team | |
| 24 | Jon Izaguirre Insausti (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | |
| 25 | Romain Hardy (Fra) Bretagne - Schuller | |
| 26 | Lars Ytting Bak (Den) HTC-Highroad | |
| 27 | Danilo Hondo (Ger) Lampre - ISD | |
| 28 | Jan Ghyselinck (Bel) HTC-Highroad | |
| 29 | Tony Gallopin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne | |
| 30 | Koldo Fernandez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | |
| 31 | Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
| 32 | Borut Bozic (Slo) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | |
| 33 | Anthony Delaplace (Fra) Saur - Sojasun | |
| 34 | Bram Tankink (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | |
| 35 | Michael Schär (Swi) BMC Racing Team | |
| 36 | Dries Devenyns (Bel) Quickstep Cycling Team | |
| 37 | Blel Kadri (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
| 38 | Peio Bilbao (Spa) Orbea Continental | |
| 39 | Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Katusha Team | |
| 40 | Luis Pasamontes Rodriguez (Spa) Movistar Team | |
| 41 | Eric Berthou (Fra) Bretagne - Schuller | |
| 42 | Arnold Jeannesson (Fra) FDJ | |
| 43 | Johnny Hoogerland (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | |
| 44 | Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Liquigas-Cannondale | |
| 45 | Vincent Jerome (Fra) Team Europcar | |
| 46 | Rémi Cusin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne | |
| 47 | Jerome Coppel (Fra) Saur - Sojasun | |
| 48 | Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) Euskatel-Euskadi | |
| 49 | Frédéric Guesdon (Fra) FDJ | |
| 50 | Brice Feillu (Fra) Leopard Trek | |
| 51 | Rui Costa (Por) Movistar Team | |
| 52 | Tom Stamsnijder (Ned) Leopard Trek | |
| 53 | Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto | |
| 54 | Björn Leukemans (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | |
| 55 | Michel Kreder (Ned) Team Garmin-Cervelo | |
| 56 | Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Skil - Shimano | |
| 57 | Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto | |
| 58 | Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | |
| 59 | Kristijan Koren (Slo) Liquigas-Cannondale | |
| 60 | Leonardo Fabio Duque (Col) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne | |
| 61 | Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre - ISD | |
| 62 | Rémy Di Gregorio (Fra) Pro Team Astana | |
| 63 | Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ | |
| 64 | Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) FDJ | |
| 65 | Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale | |
| 66 | Anthony Geslin (Fra) FDJ | |
| 67 | Jean-Marc Bideau (Fra) Bretagne - Schuller | |
| 68 | Giampaolo Caruso (Ita) Katusha Team | |
| 69 | Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Saxo Bank Sungard | |
| 70 | Gorazd Stangelj (Slo) Pro Team Astana | |
| 71 | Lars Boom (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | |
| 72 | Michael Rogers (Aus) Sky Procycling | 0:00:08 |
| 73 | Grégory Rast (Swi) Team RadioShack | 0:00:10 |
| 74 | Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Team Garmin-Cervelo | |
| 75 | Geraint Thomas (GBr) Sky Procycling | 0:00:12 |
| 76 | Daniele Pietropolli (Ita) Lampre - ISD | 0:00:20 |
| 77 | Greg Henderson (NZl) Sky Procycling | 0:00:47 |
| 78 | Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Leopard Trek | 0:01:00 |
| 79 | Robert Hunter (RSA) Team RadioShack | 0:01:02 |
| 80 | Paolo Longo Borghini (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | |
| 81 | Jos Van Emden (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | |
| 82 | Julien Vermote (Bel) Quickstep Cycling Team | |
| 83 | Maciej Paterski (Pol) Liquigas-Cannondale | |
| 84 | Maxime Vantomme (Bel) Katusha Team | |
| 85 | Luke Roberts (Aus) Saxo Bank Sungard | |
| 86 | Dmitriy Fofonov (Kaz) Pro Team Astana | |
| 87 | Enrique Sanz (Spa) Movistar Team | |
| 88 | Rubén Plaza Molina (Spa) Movistar Team | |
| 89 | Guillaume Levarlet (Fra) Saur - Sojasun | |
| 90 | Amaël Moinard (Fra) BMC Racing Team | |
| 91 | Sébastien Hinault (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:01:46 |
| 92 | Yann Huguet (Fra) Skil - Shimano | |
| 93 | Mark Renshaw (Aus) HTC-Highroad | 0:01:53 |
| 94 | Renaud Dion (Fra) Bretagne - Schuller | |
| 95 | Dominic Klemme (Ger) Leopard Trek | 0:01:55 |
| 96 | Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Team RadioShack | 0:02:13 |
| 97 | Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Team RadioShack | |
| 98 | Mauro Finetto (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | |
| 99 | Yevgeniy Nepomnyachshiy (Kaz) Pro Team Astana | |
| 100 | Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling | |
| 101 | Stéphane Poulhies (Fra) Saur - Sojasun | |
| 102 | Danilo Wyss (Swi) BMC Racing Team | |
| 103 | Gabriel Rasch (Nor) Team Garmin-Cervelo | |
| 104 | Matthew Wilson (Aus) Team Garmin-Cervelo | |
| 105 | Nikolay Trusov (Rus) Katusha Team | |
| 106 | Franck Bouyer (Fra) Team Europcar | |
| 107 | Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Quickstep Cycling Team | |
| 108 | Arthur Vichot (Fra) FDJ | |
| 109 | Kasper Klostergaard Larsen (Den) Saxo Bank Sungard | |
| 110 | Joost Posthuma (Ned) Leopard Trek | 0:02:31 |
| 111 | Martin Pedersen (Den) Leopard Trek | |
| 112 | Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Team Europcar | |
| 113 | Matteo Trentin (Ita) Quickstep Cycling team | 0:03:30 |
| 114 | Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto | |
| 115 | Laurent Pichon (Fra) Bretagne - Schuller | 0:03:57 |
| 116 | Baden Cooke (Aus) Saxo Bank Sungard | |
| 117 | Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar | |
| 118 | Simon Spilak (Slo) Lampre - ISD | |
| 119 | Niki Terpstra (Ned) Quickstep Cycling Team | 0:06:27 |
| 120 | Gatis Smukulis (Lat) HTC-Highroad | 0:06:29 |
| 121 | Damien Gaudin (Fra) Team Europcar | |
| 122 | Cyril Gautier (Fra) Team Europcar | |
| 123 | Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | 0:07:43 |
| 124 | Iván Velasco Murillo (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | |
| 125 | Yuriy Krivtsov (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
| 126 | Miguel Minguez Ayala (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | |
| 127 | Maxim Gourov (Kaz) Pro Team Astana | |
| 128 | Steve Morabito (Swi) BMC Racing Team | |
| 129 | Perrig Quemeneur (Fra) Team Europcar | |
| 130 | Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | |
| 131 | Jesse Sergent (NZl) Team RadioShack | |
| 132 | Feng Han (Chn) Skil - Shimano | |
| 133 | Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Katusha Team | |
| 134 | Michael Matthews (Aus) Rabobank Cycling Team | |
| 135 | David Loosli (Swi) Lampre - ISD | |
| 136 | Adriano Malori (Ita) Lampre - ISD | |
| 137 | Jean-Eudes Demaret (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne | |
| 138 | Anthony Ravard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
| 139 | Lucas Sebastian Haedo (Arg) Saxo Bank Sungard | |
| 140 | Jesus Herrada Lopez (Spa) Movistar Team | |
| 141 | Adrien Petit (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne | |
| 142 | Tristan Valentin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne | 0:09:34 |
| 143 | Thomas Damuseau (Fra) Skil - Shimano | |
| 144 | William Clarke (Aus) Leopard Trek | 0:10:24 |
| 145 | Martijn Maaskant (Bel) Team Garmin-Cervelo | 0:11:28 |
| 146 | Andreas Stauff (Ger) Quickstep Cycling Team | |
| 147 | Assan Bazayev (Kaz) Pro Team Astana | |
| 148 | Robin Chaigneau (Ned) Skil - Shimano | 0:12:40 |
| 149 | Bart De Clercq (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto | |
| 150 | Yannick Eijssen (Bel) BMC Racing Team | |
| 151 | Marcello Pavarin (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | |
| DNF | Matthew Brammeier (Irl) HTC-Highroad | |
| DNF | Jack Bobridge (Aus) Team Garmin-Cervelo | |
| DNF | Roger Hammond (GBr) Team Garmin-Cervelo | |
| DNF | Diego Ulissi (Ita) Lampre - ISD | |
| DNF | Sergey Renev (Kaz) Pro Team Astana | |
| DNF | Mikael Cherel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
| DNF | Martin Elmiger (Swi) AG2R La Mondiale | |
| DNF | José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Spa) Movistar Team | |
| DNF | Francisco José Ventoso Alberdi (Spa) Movistar Team | |
| DNF | Klaas Lodewyck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto | |
| DNF | Maarten Neyens (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto | |
| DNF | Oscar Pujol Muñoz (Spa) Omega Pharma-Lotto | |
| DNF | Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) Omega Pharma-Lotto | |
| DNF | Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing Team | |
| DNF | John Murphy (USA) BMC Racing Team | |
| DNF | Serguei Ivanov (Rus) Katusha Team | |
| DNF | Petr Ignatenko (Rus) Katusha Team | |
| DNF | Romain Sicard (Fra) Euskaltel-Euskadi | |
| DNF | Rick Flens (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | |
| DNF | Coen Vermeltfoort (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | |
| DNF | Russell Downing (GBr) Sky Procycling | |
| DNF | Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Sky Procycling | |
| DNF | Ben Swift (GBr) Sky Procycling | |
| DNF | Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | |
| DNF | Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Quickstep Cycling Team | |
| DNF | Addy Engels (Ned) Quickstep Cycling Team | |
| DNF | Rob Ruijgh (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | |
| DNF | Jonathan Bellis (GBr) Saxo Bank Sungard | |
| DNF | Manuele Boaro (Ita) Saxo Bank Sungard | |
| DNF | Florian Guillou (Fra) Bretagne - Schuller | |
| DNF | Sébastien Duret (Fra) Bretagne - Schuller | |
| DNF | Romain Zingle (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne | |
| DNF | Fabrice Jeandesboz (Fra) Saur - Sojasun | |
| DNF | Mitchell Docker (Aus) Skil - Shimano | |
| DNF | Roger Kluge (Ger) Skil - Shimano | |
| DNS | Alex Rasmussen (Den) HTC-Highroad |
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