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GP de Plouay - CDM / GP Ouest France-Plouay 1.HC
France, August 24-25, 2002
GP Ouest France preview
By Chris Henry, Cyclingnews correspondent
One of the more popular races of the second half of the cycling season, the GP Ouest France, returns Sunday, August 25 to the roads of Western France. Attracting an estimated 200,000 spectators, the race takes place in the heart of cycling-mad Bretagne. Prize money for the men's race totals 21,483 Euro.
Twenty one teams will tackle 198km and 14 laps of the challenging circuit. In addition to hosting the World Championships in 2000, the Plouay circuit also provided the finish for stage 8 of this year's Tour de France, won on July 14th by Rabobank's Karsten Kroon.
Heading the list of race favorites for this year's GP Ouest France is a highly motivated Laurent Jalabert (CSC-Tiscali), winner of the recent Classica San Sebastian and Coppa Agostoni races, not to mention the polka dot jersey in the Tour de France. In his final season as a professional, Jalabert is undeniably on a roll, and has the form necessary to win on the tough Plouay course.
The race will also feature, among a host of talented contenders, defending champion Nico Mattan (Cofidis), Domo's Richard Virenque, Jalabert's CSC-Tiscali teammate and Tour of Denmark winner Jakob Piil, Lotto's Mario Aerts and Peter Van Petegem, Jean Delatour's Laurent Brochard and Patrice Halgand, Saeco's Igor Astarloa, and current World Cup leader Paolo Bettini of Mapei.
This year's events in Plouay span three days, with a cyclotourists ride on Friday, an amateurs race on Saturday morning, the seventh round of the women's World Cup on Saturday afternoon and the GP Ouest France on Sunday.
Women's World Cup Round 7: Plouay Grand Prix
The seventh round of the women's World Cup will take place August 24 in Plouay, in the Bretagne region of Western France. The famed Plouay circuit played host to the 2000 World Championships, and is also home to the annual GP Ouest-France men's race, held the day after this year's women's event. The 113km race begins at 14:45 local time, and will cover 8 laps of the 14km (approx.) circuit.
Defending Plouay and World Cup champion Anna Millward of the American Saturn team, forced to withdraw from the Grande Boucle Féminine due to a persistent leg injury, will not be contesting in Plouay.
Dutch rider Mirjam Melchers (Farm Frites-Hartol) currently leads the World Cup standings with 223 points, followed by Petra Rossner (Saturn) with 209 points.
