CANYON//SRAM Racing move to France this weekend where they line up in Saturday’s GP de Plouay Bretagne. The team’s roster for the next edition of the UCI Women’s WorldTour will be Tiffany Cromwell, Alena Amialiusik, Alexis Ryan, British champion Hannah Barnes, and three-time Italian champion Elena Cecchini.
The 121km course takes in four laps of a 26.9km circuit that includes three climbs each circuit. The first climb, Côte du Lezot is 1km long at 6% and although the second Chapelle Ste Anne des Bois climb is 6km long, it only has a gradual gradient. The third climb on the circuit is the most brutal, the Côte de Ty Marrec at 1.4km long with a maximum sting of 10%. The final circuit of the race takes in just the first and third climbs.
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Cromwell, who was second in the 2012 edition, previews the race in the Bretagne province. “It’s always a hard race because of the parcours. There are no flat roads and it’s always up and down. The climbs aren’t long but some are steep and they provide a lot of opportunities for teams to be aggressive."
Many riders in the peloton will be coming from competing at their season highlight of Rio Olympics, and Cromwell hints that this creates a mixed peloton. “Post Olympics there is always a different feeling in the peloton. Some are still riding on a high from Olympics, whilst others have lost their motivation and don’t have the same drive as the lead up into the Games. And then you have those who missed out that want to make up for it and take the opportunities of the mixed vibes and motivations in the peloton.”
“For me personally my focus is on the last part of this season and world championships. I’m rebuilding my form from the Giro Rosa, and I want to bring things up to speed to really tackle the worlds course in Doha, Qatar. With that I want to use the last races on my calendar to get some nice late season results too. It will be good to finish the season on a high for me personally and for our team.”
Racing starts at 13:40 CEST on Saturday 27 August. Follow the action on the team’s Twitter account @WMNcycling using #UCIWWT or #GPPlouay.
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