The 12th edition of GP Plouay is upon us. A race that was on the calendar for the first nine years of the MG, took a break for seven years, and is now back for the third straight year! This race has always been a favourite for the flat beasts, with the occasional sprinter bucking the trend to claim the top prize.
With that said let's look at some of the favourites for this season's race:
Top Sprinters
Last name
First name
FLT
STA
RES
SPR
ACC
Walscheid
Maximilian
73
71
74
79
79
Van der Lijke
Nick
70
68
66
79
74
Plowright
Jensen
74
70
73
78
76
Kiskonen
Siim
74
77
77
77
77
Norbert
Andrew
75
75
77
77
75
Major
Jay
74
74
70
77
78
Liepins
Emils
72
71
66
77
77
Tivani
German Nicolas
70
68
78
77
78
Alaphilippe
Julian
71
73
68
76
76
Sinclair
Shaquille
70
69
70
76
75
Walscheid and Van der Lijke are the top favourites among the sprinters, but the competition is close with the likes of Plowright, Kiskonen and Norbert biting at their wheels. Those behind are fast, but lack a little in the support stats.
Top Roleurs
Last name
First name
FLT
STA
RES
SPR
ACC
Renard
Alexis
77
70
76
71
71
Belevics
Arturs
76
73
72
63
66
Eekhoff
Nils
75
76
77
70
71
Norbert
Andrew
75
75
77
77
75
Venturini
Clement
75
74
74
75
77
Noppe
Christophe
75
74
73
75
73
Eaton
Daniel
75
74
76
62
68
Nielsen
Joanis Albert
75
71
75
73
71
Renard is the strongest on the flats, with Belevics and Eekhoff also strong in those profiles. Sinclair, Venturini and Noppe combine their good flat skills with equally decent sprinting abilities, which could make the difference when it matters.
Goal race as always, and as we failed to get a sprinter, we went the rouleur option. Hopping Renard can use the final hill maybe, or at least try something.
“...the secret of the Great Stories is that they have no secrets. The Great Stories are the ones you have heard and want to hear again. The ones you can enter anywhere and inhabit comfortably."
A. Roy
Decided to go for a puncheur approach here - perhaps missed a trick not sending English for a potential attack, or in fact Perera for a sprint, but feels like too much of a lottery to bring a pure sprinter like him.
We did absolutely nothing here last year with Vendrame as our leader, but this time around Sagan and Gladysh should hopefully be able to make it a hard race and get us a result.
Thank you for the preview Abhi, hoping a couple of our four chances (Venturini, Alaphilippe, Dewulf and Van Tricht) can get into the top 25, and if we’re being a bit greedy, maybe one in the top 10. Looks like a relatively modest startlist so we’re hopeful.
Love this race, Hecht misses the preview but has proven the real threat so far this season. We were pretty lucky to get both him and Eekhoff in a winning late attack in Frankfurt Eschborn so probably greedy to hope for that again, on the other had if we do get it hopefully we can do better than 7th and 12th
Tivani has done really well here the past two seasons and we need him to finally sprint for a real result this time. Think he's got a real shot for a victory if things go right
