Classic Lorient Agglomération - Trophée Ceratizit 2024 History
The 2024 edition of the Classic Lorient Agglomération Trophée Ceratizit promises to be another thrilling chapter in the history of this prestigious French race. Known for its demanding course through the undulating Breton landscape, the race consistently challenges riders with its rolling terrain and tricky final kilometers, where the downhill section into a rising finish can trip up even the most seasoned sprinters.
The 2023 race was a perfect example of the event’s unpredictability. In a dramatic group sprint, Mischa Bredewold of SD Worx emerged victorious, outpacing strong contenders like Marta Lach and Sofia Bertizzolo. Bredewold’s win highlighted the importance of both climbing ability and a fast finish – a combination that has often proved decisive on this course.
As we look ahead to the 2024 edition, the question remains: who will have the right mix of power and timing to conquer the final ascent and sprint to victory? The history of this race shows that anything can happen, and the stage is set for another exciting battle on the roads of Brittany.
Previous Winners
2023
Mischa Bredewold
2022
Mavi Garcia
2021
Elisa Longo Borghini
Classic Lorient Agglomération - Trophée Ceratizit 2024 Profile
TV Coverage
Saturday 24th August 2024
Live on Discovery+/Eurosport/Max
13:10-16:10
All times in BST
Startlist: FirstCycling
Classic Lorient Agglomération - Trophée Ceratizit 2024 Contenders
SD Worx feels less nailed-on than usual with their line-up here to take victory. Mischa Bredewold was a relatively surprise winner her last year, the Dutch rider had gone well at the Europeans but wouldn’t have been a big favourite when the race was clearly set for a sprint finish. The fact she took the win at Plouay last year was just another reason to keep an eye on her and show what she is capable of. She’s the leader here this year and will look to retain the title. She gets support from Chantal van den Broek-Blaak, who is in theory still looking for a contract for next season. The working assumption is that she will renew with SD Worx but it’s not been made public yet. She has a 4th place from way back in 2011. Femke Gerritse will be worth keeping an eye on as well. She’s normally further down the pecking order but may have a similar opportunity to Bredewold’s win last season.
Elisa Longo Borghini won here in 2021, pretty much an outlier performance as the race often came down to a sprint finish and the Italian would get swamped. If she’s still in form from the Giro, she’s got the possibility of riding away from rivals and certainly giving teams another rider to think about instead of Elisa Balsamo. She’s very much the best sprinting option for Lidl-Trek and whilst she’s still regaining her form a little bit, you would mark her as the fastest-finishing rider at this year’s race. It’s also worth noting 3-time winner Lizzie Deignan, who finished 1st in 2015, 2017 and 2020 and will see this as very much her race. The Brit has been very much riding in a supportive role at the major Tours but her Tour of Britain form should see her get a decent result.
Fresh from breaking France’s duck at the Tour de France Femmes, Cédrine Kerbaol will be one of those riders to keep an eye on when they look like they’re getting a gap. 6th in GC at the TDFF is a huge result in its own right and shows that she also has some strong climbing legs to go with her large engine too. If Kerbaol can’t get away, then Marta Lach will be the sprinting option for Ceratizit-WNT. She was 2nd in last year’s race and has consistently shown throughout this season that she is useful in a sprint after hard racing.
Surprisingly, Soraya Paladin has never finished higher than 15th in the Classic Lorient Agglomération. The hilly terrain and fast finish feels like an ideal combination on paper for the Italian. She’s still yet to notch up a Women’s WorldTour win but this is the sort of race where it is possible. She gets support from Chloe Dygert who may find this too tough but will be a contender if she can make any final sprint that takes place. It’s a similar case for Maike van der Duin too. Certainly fast when there’s a flatter run-in this year, we have seen her climb reasonably well too in previous seasons. Between the trio, Canyon SRAM could find themselves a race win if the luck falls their way.
It will be interesting to see how Charlotte Kool fares here. She will have been buoyed by her pair of Tour de France Femmes stage wins, a huge confidence booster after a tough season. If she can show that she can climb here, it may be one of the first signs that she is about to embark on a Wiebes-esque transition to a sprinter who can win everywhere. She gets support from Franziska Koch who may get to do the attacking fun option with Pfeiffer Georgi out of action. Koch showed when she won the German nationals that she could get away and that she is able to finish off races too from a small group.
Another rider who stands a strong chance here is Arlenis Sierra. The Cuban was 22nd in her first participation last year as she gears up for a late-season charge. She will want the race to flirt between being too hard for most sprinters but also not too hard so that she gets dropped. Teammate Liane Lippert will help to put the pressure on, probably as an attacking option late on, but has never made the top-10 of the Classic Lorient Agglomération in 7 previous editions.
This race came in the middle of the strong block of races Christina Schweinberger had late last year, with 6th place secured by the Austrian. Results have been a little bit harder to come by this season, although not without high points still. After leaving the Tour de France Femmes early it’s tougher than normal to tip her to match last year’s result but she will be the fastest sprint option to use. Yara Kastelijn can be used to attack and see what happens. She wasn’t able to match her Tour de France Femmes stage win from last year but that’s because other riders were taking the limelight. A good climber, she can attack and force teams to chase.
Another attacking option is the Olympic champion Kristen Faulkner, with the American previously getting onto the podium in this race back in 2021. That year she was a fast finisher against other, in theory, faster names but they were all racing for 2nd behind Longo Borghini that year. Expect to see her either go long or counter-attack a move that will be tough to close. Teammate Letizia Borghesi can cover the sprint. She’s not outright the fastest rider but is more than capable of taking a top-10 on this kind of finish.
It’s a first participation for Victoire Berteau at Classic Lorient Agglomération who had a relatively quiet Tour de France Femmes all in all. At her best, as we saw around April/May time, the French rider has a huge engine that takes some closing. If she gets a gap then she has the potential to put real pressure on her rivals.
As usual, it’s tough to pick which specific rider will do best for Uno-X on a hilly, sprinty course. Maria Giulia Confalonieri feels like a good shout and took 8th here in 2020 and is generally a consistent top-20 finisher at this race. Another rider with a quiet Tour de France Femmes, she was 3rd at Thüringen Ladies Tour beforehand and 6th at Kreize Breizh Elites in the lead-up.
Ruby Roseman-Gannon seemed to find trouble on the opening stages of the Tour de France Femmes with a few crashes but persevered until the tough climbing got going on the 7th stage. She was 4th here last year and her profile suits this kind of race with its hills and sprint to the line. She ticked off her first Women’s WorldTour win this year and could make it another one here. It’s a strong support team with Ingvild Gaskjenn also suited, especially after her Amstel Gold Race podium this year. She hasn’t matched that result really since about May but could be gearing up for a strong end to the year. Silke Smulders is also one to watch and she is starting to consistently rack up some strong results this year. She could make the top-10 with a bit of luck. Letizia Paternoster feels like the purest sprint option here and will be back on the road for the first time since nearly taking a win at the Tour of Britain back in early June. We’ll see if she has her hill legs back post-Olympics track cycling.
Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio would be a favourite with 3 previous top-10s over the years but had to bail on the Tour de France Femmes before it began after racing the Olympics with a back brace. We’ll see if she makes the start of this one but it’s also a period of seeing what she can do after her serious injury too. Kim Le Court suffered during the Tour de France Femmes and wasn’t able to show the best she could do after illness. Hopefully, if she has recovered, the Mauritian will be able to attack this race. It seems like one for her with the hilly parcours and fast finish but is dependent on whether she is back to 100%. Ally Wollaston is an interesting one as well. The Kiwi has spent most of the season gearing up for the track racing at the Olympics (where she took a silver and a bronze medal) so it feels like we’ve not seen her ride that much. Despite that, she still has 3 victories and maybe stands a chance of contesting this one too. She could be a sneaky podium bet.
This is a bit of a home farewell for Audrey Cordon-Ragot, the Breton will be racing on home Breton roads for possibly the last time. She has a good set of results without a truly high placing, 2022 was her only top-10 result with 10th but she was flirting with reaching it again last year with 12th place. The sprint is no doubt her undoing but the will to ride for a result here will be strong. Ruth Edwards might also be worthy of consideration with a 9th place a few years ago and a couple of strong results this season. She might be able to sneak away as a non-top rider who is still capable of being very tough to catch.
FDJ-Suez should be backing Gladys Verhulst-Wild who will be fast in the final sprint here. She missed out last year but before then had finished 2nd in 2021 and 5th in 2022. If the race proves to not be too hard, too early, then the French rider will be looking to finish fast for what would be a big deal first Women’s WorldTour win. Teammate Amber Kraak is a useful foil too after finishing 2nd in 2022. She can attack, solo or in a group, and prove very difficult to close down. Similar to how she won her stage in the UAE Tour earlier this season. If it all comes down to it as well then she has a reasonable kick too.
Classic Lorient Agglomération - Trophée Ceratizit 2024 Outsiders
This has really been a race that has worked for Victorie Guilman in previous years. Some of that is down to domestique work whilst at FDJ and probably other opportunities but this year, Guilman is potentially racing for a contract with her team possibly set to fold. She was consistent at the Tour de France Femmes with 35th in GC and has been capable of scoring useful results all year, including 6th at the Tour of Britain.
Emilia Fahlin hasn’t raced here in a few years but is still a fast sprinting option on her day. The Swede was 9th and 12th on the opening Tour de France Femmes stages to remind us of that and has a chance to do something similar here in Plouay. Michaela Drummond feels a more confident shout as she can climb that bit better. The Kiwi took a pair of wins at the Volta a Portugal and 7th at Kreizh Breizh Elites before the Tour de France Femmes. Maeva Squiban also showed her form with a 2nd place on the tough 7th Stage of the Tour and will want to impress again on her home Breton roads here too.
Anne Knijnenburg will be one to watch for VolkerWessels. She’s on the comeback trail but already has a win this year at the Cyclis Classic and a few other top-10s. Eline Jansen is on the early startlist and I would tip her but she’s actually racing the Tour de l’Avenir this week. So maybe there’s a chance for the likes of Anneke Dijkstra and Quinty Schoens to get an opportunity to show they can do at the top level of racing.
Top 3 Prediction
- Elisa Balsamo
- Gladys Verhulst-Wild
- Mischa Bredewold
