One of the most respected one-day races in the women’s calendar is the Classic Lorient Agglomération – Trophée CERATIZIT. Older fans of women’s cycling might know it at the GP de Plouay, or even just by Plouay. The rolling terrain always helps to break the elastic with solo or small break winners just as likely as a sprint finish.
he 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.
In contrast, the 2022 edition saw a sprint-a-deux between Mavi Garcia and Amber Kraak to decide the outcome with a charging peloton full of sprinters only 5 seconds behind them. Mavi Garcia outfoxed Kraak that day in what remains the last Women’s WorldTour win for the Spanish rider. Elisa Longo Borghini won solo by 12 seconds in 2021, with the 2020 edition playing out similarly to 2022 as Lizzie Deignan and Lizzy Banks battled it out on a wet day. Deignan won to take her 3rd victory in Plouay. 2023’s bunch sprint was the first since Amy Pieters beat Marianne Vos in 2018 – showing just how unpredictable the end of the race here can be.
Live Coverage
Live on Discovery+/Eurosport/Max
13:10-16:10
All times in BST
