Hirschi shows his smarts: UAE leader times it perfectly and wins solo at Bretagne Classic

Marc Hirschi has won the Bretagne Classic 2024. The Swiss rider from UAE Team Emirates proved to be the strongest in an exciting finale after a perfectly timed attack in a chaotic finish. Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step) finished second, with Magnus Cort (Uno-X Pro Cycling) in third.

The Bretagne Classic, the French 1.UWT race also known as the Bretagne Classic - Ouest-France or the GP (Grand Prix) Plouay, is a classic event traditionally held in Brittany, a region in the far west of France. It's also a very long race, always covering at least 250 kilometers, as befits a true classic.

A strong field lined up at the start in Plouay, which also served as the finish line, including riders like Nys, Arnaud De Lie, Maxim Van Gils, Julian Alaphilippe, Pello Bilbao, and Tom Pidcock. However, Nys was the top favorite, especially given his recent three victories in Poland.

Early in the race, two riders made a break. Christopher Juul-Jensen (Jayco-AlUla) and Silvan Dillier (Alpecin-Deceuninck) escaped together and quickly built up a lead of twelve minutes. The peloton clearly had confidence that the situation would be under control, especially with Lidl-Trek's German-American team taking on nearly all of the work at the front to support Nys.

Twelve minutes was a significant lead for Juul-Jensen and Dillier. However, they could not enjoy it for long, as the peloton, led by Lidl-Trek, caught them about 55 kilometers from the finish—right in the crucial hilly section. This marked the beginning of counterattacks, which came in great numbers. French champion Paul Lapeira (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) made an attempt, but it led to nothing. Jonas Abrahamsen, the strong Norwegian from Uno-X, found more success and managed to establish a significant gap on his own.

Chaotic finale with numerous attacks

He was joined by Mads Würtz Schmidt (Israel-Premier Tech), but they were also quickly caught. De Lie’s team kept everything tightly controlled, aiming for either a sprint or a managed finale. They succeeded to a degree: despite ongoing attacks from riders like Alaphilippe, Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek), and Ben Turner (INEOS Grenadiers), the peloton remained relatively intact.

Alaphilippe wasn’t going to let things go easily; he was very active in the finale. Several attacks from the Frenchman eventually caused a split. Most of the favorites were at the front: De Lie, Lapeira, Nys, Bilbao, and Marc Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates) were among the group of around twenty riders. The lack of organization led to a lot of chaos, causing everything to come back together. It was never dull: there was an attack every kilometer.

Among the breakaway attempts, Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ) timed his move the best. The young Frenchman made his escape at the top of a short climb and quickly gained a lead. Bauke Mollema (Lidl-Trek) took the front of the peloton to keep Grégoire in sight. However, the attacks kept coming, and Grégoire’s break was over as the riders hit the final circuit. That was when De Lie made his move. He surged with devastating force, and only Ilan van Wilder (Soudal Quick-Step) could keep up.

Favorites attack but await the absolute finale

De Lie’s timing proved to be off, as the peloton caught up on the subsequent gently descending section. New attacks from Alaphilippe and Lapeira came to nothing, and thus a large group entered the final ten kilometers. On the Bosse du Lezot, the last climb of the day, it was Benoot (Visma | Lease a Bike) who increased the pace. About ten riders remained, including Nys, De Lie, Hirschi, Van Wilder, and Axel Laurance (Alpecin-Deceuninck). Hirschi then surged ahead and quickly established a significant gap. Despite a chase being organized behind, the riders were tired and the descending sections played to Hirschi’s advantage. The Swiss rider crossed the line solo, although the peloton closed in towards the end.

Results Bretagne Classic 2024

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