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La Périgord Ladies 2020 Preview – Tips, Contenders, Profile

Coralie Demay wins La Périgord Ladies 2019

The second La Périgord Ladies race takes place on 15th August 2020. Last year’s race was dominated by FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine who finished with 3 riders in the top-5 places. Coralie Demay managed to escape the chasing pack and finished with a solo win of 45 seconds. Behind her, a group of 3 formed with WNT-Rotor rider Kathrin Hammes taking 2nd ahead of Demay’s teammate, Évita Muzic.

The parcours is fairly gentle to begin with. There are some rolling hills, including the Côte des Maisons which averages 3.7%. The final 30km of the race will see riders cresting the Côte de Bauchaud (average of 5.5% gradient) 4 times. The climb takes centre stage as part of a 5.7km finishing circuit which the riders complete 3 times. The last climb is only a few km from the finish, so will reward aggressive racing in attempts to reduce the bunch before the final sprint.

Recent Winners

2019 – Coralie Demay
2018 – Not Held
2017 – Not Held
2016 – Not Held
2015 – Not Held

Teams

  • Canyon-SRAM
  • FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope
  • Movistar
  • Aromitalia Basso
  • Bizkaia Durango
  • BePink
  • Charente-Maritime Women Cycling
  • Eneicat
  • Massi Tactic
  • Arkea
  • Chambery Cyclisme Competition
  • CC Le Boulou
  • Saint Michel Auber 93
  • Team Elles Pays de la Loire
  • UVCA Troyes
  • VC Morteau Montbenoit
  • Équipe de France

La Périgord Ladies 2020 Profile

La Périgord Ladies 2020 Favourites

The best place to start is with last year’s winner Coralie Demay. She won La Périgord Ladies for FDJ last season but has moved across to Charente-Maritime for 2020. Last year’s race is her only pro win and as more of a time triallist, the chances are she’ll force another selection. Demay’s also not raced in 2020 yet. Her team also have Séverine Eraud who will become a contender if the race ends in a bunch sprint. She was 7th earlier this season in the Vuelta CV Feminas. Manon Souyris is another teammate who could do well, she was 7th in last year’s race.

FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine has brought another stacked team to this race. Eugénie Duval is a solid sprint option, she scored a 10th place in the Clasica Femenina Navarra since racing resumed. She was 5th in last year’s race and often does well in home races at this level. Jade Wiel is another sprint option for the team. The current French National Champion, finished 11th in Clasica Femenina Navarra, just behind teammate Duval. And then just to be sure, FDJ has Clara Copponi for another sprinter. She has a chance of making the top-10 as well.

Eugénie Duval and Victorie Guilman

Victorie Guilman and Lauren Kitchen are more likely to be the long-range options for FDJ. Kitchen might be Plan B after breaking her collarbone recently in the Clasica Femenina Navarra. It’s only been around 3 weeks since she broke the bone, so could still be suffering. Guilman was 11th in this race last year and 4th in the subsequent La Picto-Charentaise too. She helps the team in bigger races and gets her time to shine at this level.

Movistar has brought along home rider Aude Biannic. She was 6th in Le Samyn des Dames and 10th in Omloop het Nieuwsblad too earlier this year. The small hills shouldn’t phase her and will put her in contention. Sheyla Gutierrez should be one of the favourites to win. A sprinter who can climb, she was 6th in the Clasica Femenina Navarra ahead of Duval and Wiel who are racing here. She often does well in the lumpy GP de Plumelec-Morbihan, finishing 3rd last year and winning it in 2015. If it comes down to an out and out sprint, Barbara Guarischi could be the best bet. She was 2nd in the early season Vuelta CV Feminas this year.

Aude Biannic

Canyon-SRAM have brought a strong team to the race. Lisa Klein is known for her time trialling but has used that ability to escape off the front of races. On a similar sort of course at Nokere Koerse, she was 2nd in 2019. Her post-lockdown form is unclear, just a couple of 40th places. Alice Barnes has only raced Omloop het Nieuwsblad so far in 2020, finishing 57th. Like Klein, she’s got a time triallist background but can also sprint. She’s capable of winning from a small group. Her sister Hannah Barnes has had a better 2020, she was 16th in Omloop het Nieuwsblad. After a quiet 2019 working for other riders, she’ll be looking to put in a strong showing at this 1.2 level race.

Bizkaia Durango have a good line-up. Italian Alice Maria Arzuffi is a rider who can get over climbs and finish with a good sprint too. She was 4th in the 2018 La Classique Morbihan, just ahead of Eugenie Duval. Her first races in 2020 were in the Femenina Navarra and Emakumeen Saria where she finished around 40th in both races. However those parcours weren’t to her liking. Lauren Dolan may find herself as the leader after finishing 9th in last year’s La Périgord Ladies race. She’s another rider with a sprint but she only finished 24th in her only race in 2020, back in the Vuelta CV Feminas.

Hannah Barnes

BePink will have their sprinter Melissa Van Neck who was 5th in a similar sort of race, last year’s GP de Fourmies. She struggles a little bit for top results in higher levels of racing but is capable of a strong finish here. Her young teammate Vania Canvelli was 23rd in the 2020 Strade Bianche recently. The climbs here won’t pose her any trouble after finishing near to Demi Vollering, Chantal van den Broek-Blaak and Eider Merino at Strade Bianche.

Gabrielle Pilote-Fortin was 15th in last year’s La Périgord Ladies whilst racing for WNT-Rotor. Now riding for Massi-Tactic, Pilote-Fortin could be their main option. Another rider who finished highly in last season’s race was the Latvian Lija Laizane. She races for the Spanish Eneicat team and was 19th last year.

Finally, Laura Asencio is a home sprint favourite, and was 13th in last year’s race. Her Ceratizit-WNT team aren’t racing in this year’s La Périgord Ladies but Ascencio will be racing for a France National Team instead. Her best result in 2020 is 5th at Vuelta CV Feminas.

La Périgord Ladies 2020 Outsiders

The 20 year old Silvia Zanardi is another sprint option for BePink, she announced herself at the start of 2020 with a 13th in the Tour Down Under and then 9th at the Vuelta CV Feminas. She’s one to watch if the races comes down to a bunch sprint. Arkea’s Lea Curinier is definitely one for the future. She was 8th in last year’s Junior World Championships, 4 places ahead of Anna Shackley who’s been signed for SD Worx next season. Curinier was 3rd in last year’s junior Alfredo Binda too, so the hills shouldn’t trouble her. Unfortunately the only race she’s done in 2020 was a DNF.

The reigning French national junior champion is Cedrine Kerbaol. She’ll be on Laura Ascencio’s France team for La Périgord Ladies. She finished just ahead of Jade Wiel in last season’s GP de Fourmies, so has already made an impact at this 1.2 race level. Another young rider on the France team is Jade Teolis. She’s just been signed by the Astana Women’s Team as a stagiare for the end of the 2020 season, so they have seen something they like in the young French rider. This will be her first non-junior race, so will be interesting to see how she gets on.

Jade Teolis
Jade Teolis

I tipped Barbara Fonseca as an outsider at Le Samyn des Dames earlier in the season, she then finished 40th. Normally at home in France, she finishes around 25th place – including 28th here last season. She races for the national St Michel – Auber93 team and can be considered a true wildcard. Another genuine wildcard is the 20 year old Zoé Delachaux, racing for VC Morteau Montbenoit. She was 23rd in last season’s La Périgord Ladies but might struggle with the stronger startlist this season. Still a rider to keep an eye on though.

Race Prediction

1st
Eugenie Duval
2nd
Sheyla Gutierrez
3rd
Lisa Klein