Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert starts the last month of the season with the twelfth and thirteenth races of the French Cup. Both La Route Adélie de Vitré (1.1, 1/10) on Friday and the Classique Loire Atlantique (1.1, 2/10) on Saturday are ridden on local circuits in Brittany.
Even though the loops around Vitré are rather flat, this classic through the Breton open fields can’t be considered as a pure sprinter’s race. A big lap of 20.5 kilometer has to be covered six times, followed by a smaller circuit of 9.5 kilometer which is repeated eight times. The finish after 197.8 kilometer is situated in the Rue de Brest, close to the train station.
Silver medallist at the U23 World Championships, Biniam Girmay Hailu, will lead the line up under the direction of Fédéric Amorison. Italian rider Lorenzo Rota, author of a double top 5 in the Tuscan diptych two weeks ago, joins the Eritrean rider. Jan Bakelants returns to competition since the Sazka Tour and is bringing his compatriot Loïc Vliegen. The French trio of Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert with Jérémy Belicaud, Théo Delacroix and trainee Maxime Jarnet completes the line up.
« My family will be there to watch me, so this will be a unique weekend! There aren't many opportunities to race in the west of France. I want to show them the attractive racing style of the team, because the local laps with short hills are in favor of an open race. But it is also possible that some teams control the race and organize a bunch sprint. This season I made a linear progression thanks to the numerous World Tour races on my calendar. Making a step forward enabled me to support our team leaders even better. It gives me great satisfaction to contribute to the team's success. Working for riders with the ability to win races motivates me a lot to excel, especially when the atmosphere is good! »
Line up:
Jan Bakelants
Jérémy Bellicaud
Théo Delacroix
Biniam Girmay Hailu
Maxime Jarnet
Lorenzo Rota
Loïc Vliegen
Sports Direction:
Frédéric Amorison
