Tro-Bro Léon: Nizzolo holds off De Lie for victory in Brittany race

Giacomo Nizzolo (Israel-Premier Tech) won a bunch sprint at Tro-Bro Léon in Lannilis and denied Arnaud De Lie (Lotto Dstny) a second consecutive victory. De LIe finished second just ahead of Nils Eekhoff (Team DSM).

With 10km to go, five riders hit the front and were then joined by two more 2.5km later for the decisive lead group - Nizzolo, De Lie and Eekhoff were joined by Rasmus Tiller (Uno-X Pro Cycling) and a trio of French riders, Clément Venturini (AG2R Citroën), Laurent Pinchon (Team Arkéa Samsic) and Eddy Finé (Cofidis ).

Arriving at the final gravel section with 700 metres remaining, Pinchon attacked first, countered by De Lie. But Nizzolo passed De Lie for the victory, his first win of the season and 30th of his career. 

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“Today was a very, very special race,"Nizzolo said. "I had to ride all day on the front, but the team worked to keep me in a good position until the race exploded with around seventy kilometers to go, and then there were only thirty of us. I was unlucky to get a puncture with thirty kilometers to go, so I had to make a big effort to get back, and then I was dropped in a decisive sector, but managed to come back again. I really had to suffer today to get the victory."

The 203.1km Brittany race began under cloudy skies from Plouguerneau and road remained dry for the multiple unpaved sections, totaling 29km of the route, with the final unpaved surface at the finish line in Lannilis. Three riders took off for a 150-km breakaway - Morne Van Niekerk (St Michel-Mavic-Auber93), Maël Guégan (CIC U Nantes Atlantique) and Damien Girard (Nice Métropole Côte d'Azur). 

After their parade ended, the attacks began. Close to 30 riders remained in the lead with 10km remaining. De Lie accelerated in gravel sector number 26, called La Ferme, followed immediately by Finé, and five others to set up the decisive sprint.

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