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GP Ouest France - Plouay, France

27 August, 217K

Tough French Worlds Tester

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2005 Results

Make no mistake, the GP Ouest France is a classic. Now in its 70th year it occupies a special place in the hearts of the cycling mad in western France, but also in the entire cycling world. There have been many French stars rise up to take the title over the past year and also such foreign stars as Kelly, Tchmil, Bartoli and last year, Hincapie.

For its 70th birthday, the GP Plouay kicks the parcours into overdrive. The race will take the same classic parcours, starting and ending in Plouay (western France), but insert an extra five kilometers, making each circuit 19.750K. As well as the usual Moulin, Lézot and Ty-Marrec climbs, the Kerihuel climb has been added to the "Jean-Yves Perron" circuit; a climb of 1600 meters at an average gradient of 6.8%. By the time the riders are on the final of 11 circuits their legs will be fried, and we should see an all-out hard-man win.

Give the proximity of the GP Ouest France to the World Championships (24 September in Salzburg), many riders will be out to prove their worth to their national selectors. So expect to see a true fist fight within the cycling strong nations like Belgium, Italy, France and Spain.

What riders will you want to watch? For starters, Viatcheslav Ekimov (Discovery Channel). The 40 year-old Russian will be contesting his last race of a 17-year career and he will want to go out on a bang. Then there are the BiciRace.com favorites: Alessandro Ballan (Lampre-Fondital), Filippo Pozzato (Quick-Step) and Stefano Garzelli (Liquigas). All three of these riders are trying to prove their worth to Italian national DS, Franco Ballerini, and are very capable of pulling off a Plouay coup. Then we would also suggest keeping an eye on Fränk Schleck (Team CSC), Daniele Bennati (Lampre-Fondital), Mirko Celestino (Milram) and Juan Antonio Flecha (Rabobank).

Past Winners (from 1980):