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Bole sprints to win in Plouay

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Gerrans, Voeckler round out top three

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Grega Bole (Lampre - ISD) takes the win

Grega Bole (Lampre - ISD) takes the win (Image credit: Fabrice Lambert)
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Grega Bole (Lampre - ISD) takes the win in Plouay, France

Grega Bole (Lampre - ISD) takes the win in Plouay, France (Image credit: Fabrice Lambert)
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Yoann Offredo (FDJ)

Yoann Offredo (FDJ) (Image credit: Fabrice Lambert)
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Plouay hosted this stop on the WorldTour

Plouay hosted this stop on the WorldTour (Image credit: Fabrice Lambert)
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Racers in Plouay

Racers in Plouay (Image credit: Fabrice Lambert)
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Riders all lined up

Riders all lined up (Image credit: Fabrice Lambert)
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Racers fill the streets of Plouay

Racers fill the streets of Plouay (Image credit: Fabrice Lambert)
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Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto)

Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto) (Image credit: Fabrice Lambert)
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Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto) and a young supporter

Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto) and a young supporter (Image credit: Fabrice Lambert)
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The peloton passes through the finish line

The peloton passes through the finish line (Image credit: Fabrice Lambert)
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The podium

The podium (Image credit: Fabrice Lambert)
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Serguei Ivanov (Rus) Katusha Team)

Serguei Ivanov (Rus) Katusha Team) (Image credit: Fabrice Lambert)
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Simon Gerrans (Team Sky)

Simon Gerrans (Team Sky) (Image credit: Fabrice Lambert)
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Team Sky does some work

Team Sky does some work (Image credit: Fabrice Lambert)
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Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) on the podium

Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) on the podium (Image credit: Fabrice Lambert)
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Thomas Voeckler (Europcar)

Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) (Image credit: Fabrice Lambert)
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Thor Hushovd (Garmin Cervelo) talks to the media

Thor Hushovd (Garmin Cervelo) talks to the media (Image credit: Fabrice Lambert)
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Thor Hushovd is interviewed

Thor Hushovd is interviewed (Image credit: Fabrice Lambert)
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World Champion Thor Hushovd (Garmin Cervelo)

World Champion Thor Hushovd (Garmin Cervelo) (Image credit: Fabrice Lambert)
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Going through for the last lap

Going through for the last lap (Image credit: Fabrice Lambert)
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The Omega Pharma-Lotto team

The Omega Pharma-Lotto team (Image credit: Fabrice Lambert)
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Riders climb

Riders climb (Image credit: Fabrice Lambert)
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Arnaud Girard (FDJ) was the top Breton

Arnaud Girard (FDJ) was the top Breton (Image credit: Fabrice Lambert)
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Arnold Jeannesson and Arthur Vichot (FDJ)

Arnold Jeannesson and Arthur Vichot (FDJ) (Image credit: Fabrice Lambert)
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Christophe Riblon and Sebastien Hinault (AG2R La Mondiale)

Christophe Riblon and Sebastien Hinault (AG2R La Mondiale) (Image credit: Fabrice Lambert)
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The start

The start (Image credit: Fabrice Lambert)
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Gilbert, Voeckler and Rolland in the bunch

Gilbert, Voeckler and Rolland in the bunch (Image credit: Fabrice Lambert)
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Guillaume Levarlet (Saur - Sojasun) and Sebastien Duret (Bretagne - Schuller)

Guillaume Levarlet (Saur - Sojasun) and Sebastien Duret (Bretagne - Schuller) (Image credit: Fabrice Lambert)
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Australia's Jack Bobridge

Australia's Jack Bobridge (Image credit: Fabrice Lambert)
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Lampre works for Grega Bole

Lampre works for Grega Bole (Image credit: Fabrice Lambert)
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The peloton

The peloton (Image credit: Fabrice Lambert)
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Michal Kwiatkowski (Team RadioShack)

Michal Kwiatkowski (Team RadioShack) (Image credit: Fabrice Lambert)
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Sébastien Duret (Bretagne - Schuller) leads the break

Sébastien Duret (Bretagne - Schuller) leads the break (Image credit: Fabrice Lambert)
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Sébastien Duret (Bretagne - Schuller) and Cyril Gautier (Team Europcar)

Sébastien Duret (Bretagne - Schuller) and Cyril Gautier (Team Europcar) (Image credit: Fabrice Lambert)
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Marcello Pavarin (Vacansoleil-DCM)

Marcello Pavarin (Vacansoleil-DCM) (Image credit: Fabrice Lambert)
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Lars Boom (Rabobank)

Lars Boom (Rabobank) (Image credit: Fabrice Lambert)
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Grega Bole (Lampre - ISD) celebrates victory

Grega Bole (Lampre - ISD) celebrates victory (Image credit: Fabrice Lambert)
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A victorious Grega Bole (Lampre - ISD)

A victorious Grega Bole (Lampre - ISD) (Image credit: Fabrice Lambert)
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Grega Bole (Lampre - ISD) rolls across the line

Grega Bole (Lampre - ISD) rolls across the line (Image credit: Fabrice Lambert)

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) TeamResult
1Grega Bole (Slo) Lampre - ISD6:32:40
2Simon Gerrans (Aus) Sky Procycling
3Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar
4Thor Hushovd (Nor) Team Garmin-Cervelo
5Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Leopard Trek
6Arnaud Gerard (Fra) FDJ
7Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Movistar Team
8Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Team RadioShack
9Julien Simon (Fra) Saur - Sojasun
10Yoann Offredo (Fra) FDJ
11Marco Marcato (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
12Jérémie Galland (Fra) Saur - Sojasun
13Simone Ponzi (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
14Wouter Mol (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
15Maarten Wynants (Bel) Rabobank Cycling Team
16Mirko Selvaggi (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
17Manuel Antonio Leal Cardoso (Por) Team RadioShack
18Simon Clarke (Aus) Pro Team Astana
19Robbie McEwen (Aus) Team RadioShack
20Jean-Luc Delpech (Fra) Bretagne - Schuller
21Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Saur - Sojasun
22Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne
23Pavel Brutt (Rus) Katusha Team
24Jon Izaguirre Insausti (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
25Romain Hardy (Fra) Bretagne - Schuller
26Lars Ytting Bak (Den) HTC-Highroad
27Danilo Hondo (Ger) Lampre - ISD
28Jan Ghyselinck (Bel) HTC-Highroad
29Tony Gallopin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne
30Koldo Fernandez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
31Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
32Borut Bozic (Slo) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
33Anthony Delaplace (Fra) Saur - Sojasun
34Bram Tankink (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
35Michael Schär (Swi) BMC Racing Team
36Dries Devenyns (Bel) Quickstep Cycling Team
37Blel Kadri (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
38Peio Bilbao (Spa) Orbea Continental
39Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Katusha Team
40Luis Pasamontes Rodriguez (Spa) Movistar Team
41Eric Berthou (Fra) Bretagne - Schuller
42Arnold Jeannesson (Fra) FDJ
43Johnny Hoogerland (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
44Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Liquigas-Cannondale
45Vincent Jerome (Fra) Team Europcar
46Rémi Cusin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne
47Jerome Coppel (Fra) Saur - Sojasun
48Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) Euskatel-Euskadi
49Frédéric Guesdon (Fra) FDJ
50Brice Feillu (Fra) Leopard Trek
51Rui Costa (Por) Movistar Team
52Tom Stamsnijder (Ned) Leopard Trek
53Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto
54Björn Leukemans (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
55Michel Kreder (Ned) Team Garmin-Cervelo
56Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Skil - Shimano
57Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto
58Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
59Kristijan Koren (Slo) Liquigas-Cannondale
60Leonardo Fabio Duque (Col) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne
61Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre - ISD
62Rémy Di Gregorio (Fra) Pro Team Astana
63Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ
64Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) FDJ
65Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
66Anthony Geslin (Fra) FDJ
67Jean-Marc Bideau (Fra) Bretagne - Schuller
68Giampaolo Caruso (Ita) Katusha Team
69Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Saxo Bank Sungard
70Gorazd Stangelj (Slo) Pro Team Astana
71Lars Boom (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
72Michael Rogers (Aus) Sky Procycling0:00:08
73Grégory Rast (Swi) Team RadioShack0:00:10
74Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Team Garmin-Cervelo
75Geraint Thomas (GBr) Sky Procycling0:00:12
76Daniele Pietropolli (Ita) Lampre - ISD0:00:20
77Greg Henderson (NZl) Sky Procycling0:00:47
78Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Leopard Trek0:01:00
79Robert Hunter (RSA) Team RadioShack0:01:02
80Paolo Longo Borghini (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
81Jos Van Emden (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
82Julien Vermote (Bel) Quickstep Cycling Team
83Maciej Paterski (Pol) Liquigas-Cannondale
84Maxime Vantomme (Bel) Katusha Team
85Luke Roberts (Aus) Saxo Bank Sungard
86Dmitriy Fofonov (Kaz) Pro Team Astana
87Enrique Sanz (Spa) Movistar Team
88Rubén Plaza Molina (Spa) Movistar Team
89Guillaume Levarlet (Fra) Saur - Sojasun
90Amaël Moinard (Fra) BMC Racing Team
91Sébastien Hinault (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale0:01:46
92Yann Huguet (Fra) Skil - Shimano
93Mark Renshaw (Aus) HTC-Highroad0:01:53
94Renaud Dion (Fra) Bretagne - Schuller
95Dominic Klemme (Ger) Leopard Trek0:01:55
96Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Team RadioShack0:02:13
97Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Team RadioShack
98Mauro Finetto (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
99Yevgeniy Nepomnyachshiy (Kaz) Pro Team Astana
100Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling
101Stéphane Poulhies (Fra) Saur - Sojasun
102Danilo Wyss (Swi) BMC Racing Team
103Gabriel Rasch (Nor) Team Garmin-Cervelo
104Matthew Wilson (Aus) Team Garmin-Cervelo
105Nikolay Trusov (Rus) Katusha Team
106Franck Bouyer (Fra) Team Europcar
107Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Quickstep Cycling Team
108Arthur Vichot (Fra) FDJ
109Kasper Klostergaard Larsen (Den) Saxo Bank Sungard
110Joost Posthuma (Ned) Leopard Trek0:02:31
111Martin Pedersen (Den) Leopard Trek
112Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Team Europcar
113Matteo Trentin (Ita) Quickstep Cycling team0:03:30
114Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto
115Laurent Pichon (Fra) Bretagne - Schuller0:03:57
116Baden Cooke (Aus) Saxo Bank Sungard
117Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar
118Simon Spilak (Slo) Lampre - ISD
119Niki Terpstra (Ned) Quickstep Cycling Team0:06:27
120Gatis Smukulis (Lat) HTC-Highroad0:06:29
121Damien Gaudin (Fra) Team Europcar
122Cyril Gautier (Fra) Team Europcar
123Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi0:07:43
124Iván Velasco Murillo (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
125Yuriy Krivtsov (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
126Miguel Minguez Ayala (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
127Maxim Gourov (Kaz) Pro Team Astana
128Steve Morabito (Swi) BMC Racing Team
129Perrig Quemeneur (Fra) Team Europcar
130Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
131Jesse Sergent (NZl) Team RadioShack
132Feng Han (Chn) Skil - Shimano
133Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Katusha Team
134Michael Matthews (Aus) Rabobank Cycling Team
135David Loosli (Swi) Lampre - ISD
136Adriano Malori (Ita) Lampre - ISD
137Jean-Eudes Demaret (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne
138Anthony Ravard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
139Lucas Sebastian Haedo (Arg) Saxo Bank Sungard
140Jesus Herrada Lopez (Spa) Movistar Team
141Adrien Petit (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne
142Tristan Valentin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne0:09:34
143Thomas Damuseau (Fra) Skil - Shimano
144William Clarke (Aus) Leopard Trek0:10:24
145Martijn Maaskant (Bel) Team Garmin-Cervelo0:11:28
146Andreas Stauff (Ger) Quickstep Cycling Team
147Assan Bazayev (Kaz) Pro Team Astana
148Robin Chaigneau (Ned) Skil - Shimano0:12:40
149Bart De Clercq (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto
150Yannick Eijssen (Bel) BMC Racing Team
151Marcello Pavarin (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
DNFMatthew Brammeier (Irl) HTC-Highroad
DNFJack Bobridge (Aus) Team Garmin-Cervelo
DNFRoger Hammond (GBr) Team Garmin-Cervelo
DNFDiego Ulissi (Ita) Lampre - ISD
DNFSergey Renev (Kaz) Pro Team Astana
DNFMikael Cherel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
DNFMartin Elmiger (Swi) AG2R La Mondiale
DNFJosé Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Spa) Movistar Team
DNFFrancisco José Ventoso Alberdi (Spa) Movistar Team
DNFKlaas Lodewyck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto
DNFMaarten Neyens (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto
DNFOscar Pujol Muñoz (Spa) Omega Pharma-Lotto
DNFJussi Veikkanen (Fin) Omega Pharma-Lotto
DNFMarcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing Team
DNFJohn Murphy (USA) BMC Racing Team
DNFSerguei Ivanov (Rus) Katusha Team
DNFPetr Ignatenko (Rus) Katusha Team
DNFRomain Sicard (Fra) Euskaltel-Euskadi
DNFRick Flens (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
DNFCoen Vermeltfoort (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
DNFRussell Downing (GBr) Sky Procycling
DNFJuan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Sky Procycling
DNFBen Swift (GBr) Sky Procycling
DNFAlessandro Vanotti (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
DNFGerald Ciolek (Ger) Quickstep Cycling Team
DNFAddy Engels (Ned) Quickstep Cycling Team
DNFRob Ruijgh (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
DNFJonathan Bellis (GBr) Saxo Bank Sungard
DNFManuele Boaro (Ita) Saxo Bank Sungard
DNFFlorian Guillou (Fra) Bretagne - Schuller
DNFSébastien Duret (Fra) Bretagne - Schuller
DNFRomain Zingle (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne
DNFFabrice Jeandesboz (Fra) Saur - Sojasun
DNFMitchell Docker (Aus) Skil - Shimano
DNFRoger Kluge (Ger) Skil - Shimano
DNSAlex Rasmussen (Den) HTC-Highroad

 

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