Team Jayco AlUla head to France for the one-day WorldTour men’s and women’s races, GP de Plouay – Lorient- Agglomération Trophée CERA (Saturday, 2nd September) and Bretagne Classic Ouest-France (Sunday, 3rd), with Australian riders Alex Manly and Michael Matthews leading the teams.
The women’s event, is in its 22nd edition, comes at 159km in length with nine classified punchy climbs to tackle. The squad is hoping to make it an aggressive race and expect it to finish with a natural selection as it often has in the past.
Alex Manly
“I am returning to racing after the World Championships in Glasgow and I’m really looking forward to racing with the girls in Plouay. It’s been a few years since I last raced there, but I have always enjoyed the race in the past, and would love for the team to have a good day.”
Megan Chard – Sport Director
“We want to really race aggressively in this race, it’s known to be quite hectic with the parcour of the race being a lot of small and twisty roads before coming into the circuit where we will have a few ‘kickers’ that will for sure favour a small bunch or a breakaway. We have a lot of options with this type of race, and we look to really try and jump at every opportunity that comes our way. It’s no surprise that we will support Alex in the sprint, but we have many options to play out in a race like this.“
For the men’s event on Sunday – the 87th edition of this French classic, coming in at 258km in length, Matthews will be the team’s protected leader having previously won the event back in 2020. With 18 classified climbs, the team knows it will be a hard day out in the saddle and with the narrow, twisty roads, there will be no easing up in the grand finale.
Michael Matthews
“I am feeling good and ready to return to racing after the World Championship in Glasgow to starting back at the Bretagne Classic is special for me as I won the race back in 2020. The course is one that I really like, the final is always so hard but fun to race and I think I have good condition and a team that will be able to support me in trying to win again.”
Andrew Smith – Sport Director
”Michael is a previous winner of the Bretagne Classic and we know he always has a chance of a result when he lines up. The challenging parcour with its typical Breton roads and even some gravel also suit his abilities. We have a strong team with some very experience riders here to support him.”
