Preview: Bretagne Classic. Pogacar and van Aert go head to head on Breton hills with plenty classics specialists alongside

The Bretagne Classic, on the 28th of August, has for many years been a key step towards the World championships, as it brings the peloton into nortwestern France for one of the longest races in the calendar, which is highly suited to the classics specialists in the explosive roads around Plouay.

There will be 256 kilometers on the menu which will make for a very complicated race towards the end – where this year, the action will be densely packed. There are 3000 meters of climbing to tackle, with a small hilltop right at the start, and a few gravel sectors with 80 and 54 kilometers to go which will see some tense moments and likely some early attacks as the narrow roads and explosive terrain can cause tension. This year however most of the race’s difficulties are packed into the last 30 kilometers.

These will be highly difficult, with several small hilltops, fast sections and narrow roads to tackle. Marta (900 meters; 8.3%; 27.5Km to go) will be the hardest and the first of the ascents. There will be a small plateau and descent before Longeo (1.5Km; 5.7%; 19Km to go) which sees gradients up to 15% and is the longest of the ascents, a small plateau will follow and then there’ll be a sharp ramp at Kenlucas (400 meters; 5.5%; 15Km to go) which will be aswell the final climb of the day, and the riders will be able to see the finale perfectly as they cross the line with only 12 kilometers to go.

The race won’t end there however as quickly the riders will face Rostervel (1.2Km; 4.6%; 9Km to go), a straightforward climb out of Plouay, but then the riders descent back into the into town and climb out via Le Lezot (900 meters; 4.6%; 4.5Km to go) and Kenlucas (400 meters; 5.5%; 3.5Km to go) for a final time, before the fast run-in to the line where the sprint will feature some smooth gradients.

The final startlist features names such as: Benoît Cosnefroy, Mauro Schmid, Zdenek Stybar, Jhonatan Narváez, Elia Viviani, Warren Barguil, David Gaudu, Arnaud Démare, Stefan Küng, Valentin Madouas, Giacomo Nizzolo, Dylan Teuns, Jakob Fuglsang, Peter Sagan, Anthony Turgis, Alex Aranburu, Magnus Cort Nielsen, Stefan Bissegger, Damiano Caruso, Jan Tratnik, Michael Matthews, Soren Kragh Andersen, Tadej Pogacar, Guillaume Martin, Axel Zingle, Benjamin Thomas, Wout van Aert, Biniam Girmay, Victor Campenaerts, Arnaud De Lie and Filippo Zana.

CyclingUpToDate prediction:
**** Wout van Aert
*** Tadej Pogacar, Michael Matthews
** Biniam Girmay, Arnaud De Lie, Jhonatan Narváez
* Alex Aranburu, Benoît Cosnefroy, Arnaud Démare, Magnus Cort Nielsen

The hilly terrain favours Wout van Aert, who will want to take a stance against the competition and prove his form ahead of the World championships.