GP Ouest-France

Ventoso takes 8th after turbulent sprint as Visconti tries to avoid bunch kick with strong attacks. Pozzato (LAM) overcomes chaos to win

Contrary to what happened in 2012, when the late attack by Rui Costa took him into second behind Edvald Boasson Hagen (SKY), the 2013 GP Ouest-France was decided into a bunch sprint after nine laps (243km) of a demanding circuit in Brittany’s Plouay. Movistar Team was one of the biggest animators in the race with the two attacks from Italian Giovanni Visconti, who tried to create chaos into the peloton along Wellens (LTB) and Koren (CAN). The attempt was chased down only at the start of the Côte de Ty-Marrec, 5k from the finish.

Fran Ventoso and José Joaquín Rojas got well through the climb and the Murcian tried to help the Cantabrian after good cooperation from the Blues in the finale, but the former Spanish road champion had to make several moves against dropped riders, losing momentum and finishing in 9th place behind Filippo Pozzato (LAM). Plouay -which saw Amador and Dowsett withdrawing, with the Costa Rican crashing out with no consequences while the Briton was still battling a cold- is the end of a long European tournée for Movistar Team, continuing its alternate calendar to the Vuelta with the Brussels Cycling Classic (Saturday 7th) and Paris-Fourmies (Sunday 8th).