Welcome to a cloudy day here in northwestern France for a hard day on the course in Plouay. Two very steep climbs feature on the route, with sections at over 10%. The toughest puncheurs will enjoy this ride, everyone else will just suffer their way through what will feel like an eternal day in the saddle.
One of today's big favourites, Sanchez, leads the peloton out of Plouay at the start, probably looking to stay out of trouble.
Just seconds into the actual race, it's Corti who kicks off the early action with an attack. No immediate response from any other rider.
The Italian clearly underestimated the difficulty of this course. After holding on to his attack for a long time, he starts to struggle on the first real climb of the day and is brought back by a slow-going peloton.
An easy period follows the catch, but after the top of the next climb, the attacks start to fly all over the place again. Beatse initiates this move, and gets company from Silva and once again an aggressive Corti.
Very surprisingly, Focused and Cerne are the ones chasing. Shouldn't they be happy that they have placed riders in the breakaway?
After some more unsuccessful attacks, a group eventually forms. Focused and Cerne both have two riders, even though they earlier looked like they didn't want any breakaway. Anyway, the names here are: Beatse Debusschere Silva Oliveira Westra Anguilet Corti Andersen Lund
The group doesn't gain any major advantage though, and many other teams are unhappy about not having any rider there. Most prominently T.CS Bank, who send no less than three of their riders in pursuit. Another Cerne rider, Carvalho, and Cominelli also joins this move.
The break splits and regroups a bit over the climb, but atop we once again have a group in the lead. All the riders from the earlier break are here, now also together with Krivoruchko and Aru.
Two more also join before the leading group becomes the day's primary breakaway. These two are Carvalho and Hnik.
Thirteen riders up front then. Cerne dominates the group with three riders, while Venchi and Focused both managed to place two here.
Back in the main field, it's Jayco-Red Bull who keeps control. Sanchez still keeps a strong position, possibly planning to attack early and joins his three team mates up front?
About halfway through the race, with 120 kilometers left, Rovny sets off in one of these long-range attacks we usually see someone try in the classics.
Bernucci sees this as a good idea too and pounces away after the Russian just a few minutes later, only to be chased down by...
... Delage, just moments later. Three strong puncheurs on the attack then, and a bit surprisingly, no chase from any team in the main field.
They reach the breakaway very quickly, and start to shatter the group in pieces immediately. Only Lund stays with them over the hills.
With their riders gone from the front group, Focused, Cerne and Venchi decides it's time to start closing the leaders down.
Lund had to fight hard just to follow the three late additions to the group, and after one lap he just can't take it anymore.
The peloton meanwhile gobbles up the rest of the early breakaway, causing several riders to lose some positions by getting stuck behind the caught, tired escapees on their way down.
Roux is one of those riders. After sitting in a position near the back of the group, he misses a split and gets dropped. Fortunately for him, his team mates pace him back into the group again.
Back at the front, our three leaders enter the final thirty kilometers, still with a very solid lead of over five minutes! The pace back in the main field is flaming, but they still don't gain anything on this very strong trio!
Also the favourites realize that the victory is slipping away from them. Therefore it's Dowsett who launches an attack atop the first of the two climbs with two laps to go. Lund is meanwhile swallowed up.
French favourite Roy is the first to react. He closes the gap to Dowsett with ease, while distancing the other favourites in the process.
But it's clear that the favourites wont reach all the way today. Rovny sees this as the perfect opportunity, and attacks his two companions just before the foot of the last climb on the penultimate lap.
Delage slowly but surely claws his way back to the Russian after climbing at his own pace. A pace that clearly Bernucci couldn't take, as he starts to lose contact.
It's all back together in the reduced main field, and Focused are giving it all in one last try to pull back some time for Roy. It's still Venchi and Cerne helping them with the pacing.
Bernucci just can't find anything more in his legs and therefore can't close the gap up to his two former companions. No victory for him today.
The favourites once again hit the main climb, and this time it's Calzati who accelerates. Kiryienka and Roy wont let him go though.
Sanchez realises that this might be the decisive move and doesn't wait long with a response. Claeys, Roux, Morizot and Dowsett follows the Spaniard like shadows.
Calzati still holds a small gap over the top. Behind him, lots of smaller groups trying to organize a chase.
Rovny
Delage
+ 20
Bernucci
+ 5'20
Calzati
+ 5'30
Sanchez
Roy
Kiryienka
+ 5'45
Claeys
Roux
+ 6'10
Pellizotti
Dowsett
Morizot
+ 6'30
Gerrans
Kelderman
Gil
It doesn't take long until all those small groups melt together into one. Kelderman falls off, but apart from him, all the favourites are back together. Roy isn't happy though and accelerates again over a small kickup.
Roux jumps after his countryman, but the rest of the group follows just seconds behind. Two climbs left to make a difference.
A third Frenchman, Calzati, pulls the other two back on the climb, creating some splits behind him. Still together though.
However, in the last meters of the climb, Roy increases the tempo again, shattering the group. Sanchez, Roux, Pellizotti and Calzati are the only ones who can follow.
At the same time, the battle for victory begins up front. Rovny hits the front at the foot of the final climb, to give it a last shot at dropping Delage.
Rovny has clearly overestimated his capacity by doing so much work in the leading group. Delage makes his pounce just as the road flattens out a bit, and immediately gains a few bike lengths. Does the Russian have anything to counter with?
Before we find out, we take a look down at the bottom of the climb. Those who got dropped on the previous climb still haven't managed to shut down the gap, and the groups are still separated by a few seconds.
Back to the front again! The first look gave us the idea - Rovny had nothing left. Great news for Delage and his Puma team, since it allows him to clinch a surprise victory in this race!
Among the favourites, it's just like on most of the other climbs Roy who leads the charge. This time he seems to have cracked the others, and gained himself some ground ahead of the sprint. Sanchez follows behind him.
In the meantime, Bernucci finishes third. He couldn't quite match his two breakaway companions, but still profited from this midway attack to score a nice result for his team. Well done to him for hanging on alone in the end.
Roy's gap seems a bit too large to shut down this time, but Sanchez is up on the pedals to at least try. The other three from the group also digs up what they've got left in the tank to join this acceleration.
Sanchez was strong in the final kilometer and gained ground on Roy, but not enough to come around for fourth place. The Frenchman clearly deserved to take it though, since he looked like the strongest man today.
Roux comes in for sixth a few meters behind, but still puts some distance between himself and Pellizotti, who overtakes Calzati for seventh place.
Claeys leads the next group over the line. Not the best performance from the Belgian here, but he beats Gerrans and Dowsett in this sprint at least. Kiryienka and Gil didn't have much to challenge with, but stays somewhat in contact.
Last man to catch the decisive move, Morizot, comes in a few minutes later. He gave his team leader Roy good assistance today and should be happy with the day, even though he was dropped by the group in front of him.
