Bretagne Classic-Ouest France: Benoît Cosnefroy outsprints Julian Alaphilippe for career-topping win

Cosnefroy kicks past Alaphilippe after being outnumbered by Deceuninck-Quick-Step riders in escape group.

Photo: Luc Claessen/Getty Images

Benoît Cosnefroy (Ag2r-Citroën) kicked past Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) to win the Bretagne Classic-Ouest France on Sunday.

Cosnefroy had attacked out of the bunch with Alaphilippe and his Deceuninck-Quick-Step teammate Mikkel Honoré at 65km. The 25-year-old held strong under the pressure as the Quick-Step duo worked their numerical advantage through the final before outsprinting Alaphilippe for the biggest victory of his career to date.

Tour de France champion Tadej Pogačar (UAE-Team Emirates) had also been in the attack group with Cosnefroy, but was dropped at 45km to go in what was his first race since winning bronze at the Olympic Games.

 

Quinten Hermans (Intermarché-Wanty) and Alessandro de Marchi (Israel-Start-Up Nation) were early attackers in the WorldTour classic. The duo dropped breakaway partners Alexis Gougeard (Ag2r-Citroën) and Sébastien Grignard (Lotto Soudal) around midway trough the 251km trek through northern France and held a two-minute gap over the bunch, which was patrolled by Deceuninck-Quick-Step.

Alaphilippe made the selection in the peloton on a gravel climb at 65km to go. Pogačar was one of the first to respond along with Honoré and Cosnefroy but soon looked to be struggling and lost the wheels in a grinding uphill at 45km remaining.

Alaphilippe, Cosnefroy and Honoré rode clear, caught and dropped remaining breakaway rider Di Marchi, and nursed a delicate 45-second lead as the peloton made a desperate chase behind.

The trio’s chances were boosted when a flurry of attacks and counters in the bunch saw the chase begin to stutter and Deceuninck-Quick-Step marked out the threats.

Alaphilippe piled the pressure onto Cosnefroy in the final 15km as his young Quick-Step teammate Honoré appeared to be fading. Despite being outnumbered, the 25-year-old Cosnefroy held his nerve and went into the final 3km locked into the Quick-Step duo as they nursed a slim gap over the peloton.

Honoré lead out the sprint for his world champion teammate and Alaphilippe and Consefroy both peeled off the wheel together. The pair went elbow to elbow in a long dragging sprint, but Alaphilippe sat up early in the grinding uphill kick as Consnefroy edged clear to score his first WorldTour win.

Bretagne Classic - Ouest-France Results

Stage
RankNameTeamTime
1COSNEFROY BenoîtAG2R Citroën Team5:59:56
2ALAPHILIPPE JulianDeceuninck - Quick Step0:00
3HONORÉ Mikkel FrølichDeceuninck - Quick Step0:03
4HAYTER EthanINEOS Grenadiers0:13
5SWIFT ConnorTeam Arkéa Samsic0:13
6BONNAMOUR FranckB&B Hotels p/b KTM0:13
7STUYVEN JasperTrek - Segafredo0:13
8MADOUAS ValentinGroupama - FDJ0:13
9PACHER QuentinB&B Hotels p/b KTM0:16
10NIZZOLO GiacomoTeam Qhubeka NextHash0:17
11HOFSTETTER HugoIsrael Start-Up Nation0:17
12BALLERINI DavideDeceuninck - Quick Step0:17
13ALEOTTI GiovanniBORA - hansgrohe0:17
14PARET-PEINTRE AurélienAG2R Citroën Team0:17
15SIMON JulienTotalEnergies0:17
16GODON DorianAG2R Citroën Team0:17
17PICHON LaurentTeam Arkéa Samsic0:17
18SERRANO GonzaloMovistar Team0:17
19HERMANS BenIsrael Start-Up Nation0:17
20BARGUIL WarrenTeam Arkéa Samsic0:17
21CHEVALIER MaximeB&B Hotels p/b KTM0:17
22VALGREN MichaelEF Education - Nippo0:17
23WILLIAMS StephenBahrain - Victorious0:17
24BURGAUDEAU MathieuTotalEnergies0:17
25KANGERT TanelTeam BikeExchange0:17
26HINDLEY JaiTeam DSM0:17
27CATTANEO MattiaDeceuninck - Quick Step0:17
28FERASSE ThibaultB&B Hotels p/b KTM0:17
29BARBERO CarlosTeam Qhubeka NextHash0:22
30VENDRAME AndreaAG2R Citroën Team0:53
31BOASSON HAGEN EdvaldTotalEnergies0:53
32TRARIEUX JulienDELKO0:53
33GOLDSTEIN OmerIsrael Start-Up Nation0:53
34ULISSI DiegoUAE Team Emirates0:53
35PÉRICHON Pierre-LucCofidis0:53
36KONRAD PatrickBORA - hansgrohe0:53
37HARDY RomainTeam Arkéa Samsic0:53
38GREGAARD JonasAstana - Premier Tech0:53
39GONZÁLEZ AbnerMovistar Team0:53
40MARTIN DanIsrael Start-Up Nation0:53
41SKJELMOSE MattiasTrek - Segafredo0:53
42DONOVAN MarkTeam DSM0:53
43WARBASSE LarryAG2R Citroën Team0:53
44HIGUITA SergioEF Education - Nippo0:53
45LÓPEZ-CÓZAR Juan AntonioBurgos - BH1:09
46GESBERT ÉlieTeam Arkéa Samsic1:47
47EENKHOORN PascalTeam Jumbo-Visma2:03
48GAUDU DavidGroupama - FDJ2:25
49ROWE LukeINEOS Grenadiers2:25
50DÍAZ José ManuelDELKO2:58
51TURGIS AnthonyTotalEnergies3:39
52RUBIO EinerMovistar Team3:39
53GESCHKE SimonCofidis3:45
54BARTHE CyrilB&B Hotels p/b KTM3:45
55DE MARCHI AlessandroIsrael Start-Up Nation4:27
56CLARKE SimonTeam Qhubeka NextHash4:39
57DECLERCQ TimDeceuninck - Quick Step4:53
58PLANCKAERT BaptisteIntermarché - Wanty - Gobert Matériaux4:53
59GOOSSENS KobeLotto Soudal4:53
60FEDELI AlessandroDELKO4:53
61VINGEGAARD JonasTeam Jumbo-Visma4:53
62SERRY PieterDeceuninck - Quick Step6:30
63PEÑALVER ManuelBurgos - BH6:30
64FUENTES ÁngelBurgos - BH6:30
65GRMAY TsgabuTeam BikeExchange6:30
66BENNETT SeanTeam Qhubeka NextHash6:30
67KUDUS MerhawiAstana - Premier Tech6:30
68SEIGLE RomainGroupama - FDJ6:30
69BELLICAUD JeremyIntermarché - Wanty - Gobert Matériaux6:30
70DELETTRE AlexandreDELKO6:30
71BOOKWALTER BrentTeam BikeExchange6:30
72SCHMID MauroTeam Qhubeka NextHash6:30
73GUGLIELMI SimonGroupama - FDJ6:30
74DEKKER DavidTeam Jumbo-Visma6:30
75BERNARD JulienTrek - Segafredo6:30
76EEKHOFF NilsTeam DSM6:30
77LEDANOIS KévinTeam Arkéa Samsic6:30
78LEKNESSUND AndreasTeam DSM6:30
79FERNÁNDEZ DelioDELKO10:43
80DOULL OwainINEOS Grenadiers10:43
81SWIFT BenINEOS Grenadiers10:43
82AYUSO JuanUAE Team Emirates10:43
83COMBAUD RomainTeam DSM10:43
84CULLAIGH GabrielMovistar Team10:43
85CHAMPION ThomasCofidis10:43
86AMADOR AndreyINEOS Grenadiers10:43
87COLLEONI KevinTeam BikeExchange10:43
88SAMITIER SergioMovistar Team13:04
89LEEMREIZE GijsTeam Jumbo-Visma13:04
90MARCZYŃSKI TomaszLotto Soudal13:04
91CONCA FilippoLotto Soudal13:04
92CANTÓN IsaacBurgos - BH13:04
93TERPSTRA NikiTotalEnergies13:04
94EG NiklasTrek - Segafredo13:04
95APARICIO MarioBurgos - BH13:04
96GALL FelixTeam DSM13:04
97PERRY BenjaminAstana - Premier Tech13:04

Results provided by ProCyclingStats.

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