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May 7, 2023
Tro-Bro Leon 2023 – Plouguerneau – Lannilis : 204,1 km
As the peloton leaves the pavé behind and heads to Italy for the start of Grand Tour season,
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May 7, 2023
Tro-Bro Leon 2023 – Plouguerneau – Lannilis : 204,1 km
As the peloton leaves the pavé behind and heads to Italy for the start of Grand Tour season, one race in the west of France soldiers on in an attempt to keep the cobbled dream alive. With a combination of dirt roads, disused railway tracks and even a prized pig for the winner, this race has everything and more. It’s no wonder many fans have nicknamed it the ‘Hipster’s Paris-Roubaix.’ Tro-Bro Léon started its life in 1984 as an amateur race held over the gravelled backlanes and farmers’ tracks that weave an intricate web around the rolling hills of Finistère. In 2000 the race made the step up to professional level and in 2005 it finally established itself on the UCI Europe Tour, one of the many events that make up the French Road Cycling Cup. The route contains 24 sectors of what the locals call ‘ribinoù’, a Breton word for anything that is not tarmac, essentially. In this race that can mean anything from disused railway tracks to cobbled streets. These ribinoù add up to around 30km and often dictate the outcome of the race, just like the cobblestone sectors do.
Giacomo Nizzolo (Israel-Premier Tech) won a bunch sprint at Tro-Bro Léon in Lannilis and denied Arnaud De Lie (Lotto Dstny) a second consecutive victory. De LIe finished second just ahead of Nils Eekhoff (Team DSM).
With 10km to go, five riders hit the front and were then joined by two more 2.5km later for the decisive lead group – Nizzolo, De Lie and Eekhoff were joined by Rasmus Tiller (Uno-X Pro Cycling) and a trio of French riders, Clément Venturini (AG2R Citroën), Laurent Pinchon (Team Arkéa Samsic) and Eddy Finé (Cofidis ).
Arriving at the final gravel section with 700 metres remaining, Pinchon attacked first, countered by De Lie. But Nizzolo passed De Lie for the victory, his first win of the season and 30th of his career.
“Today was a very, very special race,”Nizzolo said. “I had to ride all day on the front, but the team worked to keep me in a good position until the race exploded with around seventy kilometers to go, and then there were only thirty of us. I was unlucky to get a puncture with thirty kilometers to go, so I had to make a big effort to get back, and then I was dropped in a decisive sector, but managed to come back again. I really had to suffer today to get the victory.”
The 203.1km Brittany race began under cloudy skies from Plouguerneau and road remained dry for the multiple unpaved sections, totaling 29km of the route, with the final unpaved surface at the finish line in Lannilis. Three riders took off for a 150-km breakaway – Morne Van Niekerk (St Michel-Mavic-Auber93), Maël Guégan (CIC U Nantes Atlantique) and Damien Girard (Nice Métropole Côte d’Azur).
After their parade ended, the attacks began. Close to 30 riders remained in the lead with 10km remaining. De Lie accelerated in gravel sector number 26, called La Ferme, followed immediately by Finé, and five others to set up the decisive sprint.
Results :
 won a bunch sprint at Tro-Bro Léon in Lannilis and denied Arnaud De Lie (Lotto Dstny) a second consecutive victory. De LIe finished second just ahead of Nils Eekhoff (Team DSM).
With 10km to go, five riders hit the front and were then joined by two more 2.5km later for the decisive lead group - Nizzolo, De Lie and Eekhoff were joined by Rasmus Tiller (Uno-X Pro Cycling) and a trio of French riders, Clément Venturini (AG2R Citroën), Laurent Pinchon (Team Arkéa Samsic) and Eddy Finé (Cofidis ).
Arriving at the final gravel section with 700 metres remaining, Pinchon attacked first, countered by De Lie. But Nizzolo passed De Lie for the victory, his first win of the season and 30th of his career.
“Today was a very, very special race,"Nizzolo said. "I had to ride all day on the front, but the team worked to keep me in a good position until the race exploded with around seventy kilometers to go, and then there were only thirty of us. I was unlucky to get a puncture with thirty kilometers to go, so I had to make a big effort to get back, and then I was dropped in a decisive sector, but managed to come back again. I really had to suffer today to get the victory."
The 203.1km Brittany race began under cloudy skies from Plouguerneau and road remained dry for the multiple unpaved sections, totaling 29km of the route, with the final unpaved surface at the finish line in Lannilis. Three riders took off for a 150-km breakaway - Morne Van Niekerk (St Michel-Mavic-Auber93), Maël Guégan (CIC U Nantes Atlantique) and Damien Girard (Nice Métropole Côte d'Azur).
After their parade ended, the attacks began. Close to 30 riders remained in the lead with 10km remaining. De Lie accelerated in gravel sector number 26, called La Ferme, followed immediately by Finé, and five others to set up the decisive sprint.
<strong>Results : </strong>
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