Key information:
- The 40th edition of the Tro Bro Leon, taking place on Sunday, 5 May, in Lannilis, will feature an intriguing confrontation between Belgian Arnaud De Lie, runner-up last year, and Normandy puncher Benoît Cosnefroy, winner of De Brabantse Pijl and Axel Zingle, second Sunday of the Famenne Ardenne Classic behind … De Lie.
- The Breton Arkéa —B&B Hotels team can count on its strength in numbers to thwart the plans of the two big favourites. Four of its riders have already finished in the top 10, including Italian Luca Mozzato, who finished second in this year’s Ronde van Vlaanderen.
- Among the many headliners, former Paris-Roubaix winner John Degenkolb (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL) will participate in the Tro Bro Leon for the second time and will ride alongside Dutchman Nils Eekhoff, third last year.
Over the last six editions of the Tro Bro Leon, Belgium has been the most represented nation on the podium (six versus five for France). However, the country has been waiting 24 years for a successor to Jo Planckaert, the only Belgian rider to have won the race in Western France. Can Arnaud de Lie take up the torch? The rider, affectionately known as “The Taureau de Lescheret”, seems capable of anything in the run-up to the 40th edition on Sunday, 5 May, in Lannilis. The Lotto Dstny sprinter made his return to competition last Sunday after a month-long absence, during which he revealed that he had Lyme disease. And his comeback was a success, as he dominated the sprint to the finish at the Famenne Ardenne Classic ahead of Axel Zingle (Team Cofidis), whom he will find in Finistère for a tempting revenge.
Finally victorious this season, Arnaud De Lie is raring to go as he prepares for the Tro Bro Leon, a race in which he finished runner-up last year, with only Giacomo Nizzolo able to beat him to the line in a dramatic sprint. The Italian had surgery at the end of December on a fractured right leg following an accident and has not recovered sufficiently to defend his title. He leaves the leadership of the Israel-Premier Tech team to the British Joseph Blackmore, winner of the Tour of Rwanda and Liège-Bastogne-Liège Espoirs, to Riley Sheehan, the surprise winner of last year’s Paris-Tours, who returns to familiar territory on Sunday, the American having finished his formation in Brittany, with Sojasun espoir-ACNC in 2020 and 2021.
Benoît Cosnefroy is undoubtedly in the best position to give Arnaud de Lie a run for his money. The Normandy rider has had the most prolific start to the season of his career, with four victories, including De Brabantse Pijl, and a convincing Ardennes campaign (4th in La Flèche Wallonne, 16th in the Amstel Gold Race and Liège-Bastogne-Liège). The 34.6 kilometres of ribinoùs will appeal to him: as a cyclo-cross rider, the 28-year-old from Décathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team made his name in the junior ranks.
Aside from this enticing Franco-Belgian duel, the Arkéa – B&B Hotels team has plenty of arguments to put forward in its bid for victory, which it won in 2021 and 2022. Runner-up in the Ronde, Italy’s Luca Mozzato finished second two years ago and will aim for his second victory of the season after the Bredene Koksijde Classic. He is joined by three other riders who have finished in the top 10 of the event: Kevin Ledanois (ninth in 2015), Matis Louvel (sixth in 2022) and Clément Venturini (sixth in 2022), who showed good form at the Tour de Romandie, not forgetting three other serious contenders: Vincenzo Albanese (ninth in the E3 Saxo Classic), Amaury Capiot (stage winner at the Tour of Oman) and the Breton rider in the squad, Mathis Le Berre.
Of the five former podium finishers expected on Sunday, only one has managed it twice: Baptiste Planckaert (second in 2019, third in 2021, Intermarché-Wanty). Taking part in his ninth Tro Bro Leon, a record among the entrants, the 35-year-old Belgian’s teammate, the up-and-coming Frenchman Hugo Page, fifth in the Grand Prix de Denain is another rider to keep an eye on. Dutchman Nils Eekhoff (third last year) will be co-leading the Team dsm-firmenich PostNL with John Degenkolb, who is competing in the event for the second time, three years after finishing sixth.
The 35-year-old German showed his form with an 11th place in Paris-Roubaix, which he won in 2015, a race in which 24-year-old Norwegian Soren Waerenskjold (Uno-X Mobility) confirmed his talent on the non-asphalt sections (ninth). The long-toothed young guard is also represented by Briton Samuel Watson (Groupama-FDJ, tenth last year) and Jurassian Pierre Gautherat (11th in the Dwars door Vlaanderen and Omloop Het Nieuwsblad), who could be an alternative to Benoît Cosnefroy at Décathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team. Axel Zingle will be supported at Team Cofidis by Bryan Coquard and Piet Allegaert, 2nd in 2021.
20 teams, the main contenders
Belgium
Lotto Dstny: De Lie (Bel), Van Moer (Bel)
Intermarché-Wanty: Page (Fra), Planckaert (Bel)
Bingoal WB: Vliegen (Bel)
France
Décathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team: Cosnefroy (Fra), Gautherat (Fra), De Bondt (Bel)
Arkéa – B&B Hotels: Albanese (Ita), Venturini (Fra), Mozzato (Ita)
Groupama-FDJ: Watson (Gbr), Sarreau (Fra)
Team Cofidis: Coquard (Fra), Zingle (Fra), Allegaert (Bel), Renard (Fra)
Team TotalEnergies: Turgis (Fra), Dujardin (Fra), Gachignard (Fra), Van Gestel (Bel)
St-Michel-Mavic-Auber 93: Delettre (Fra), Van Niekerk (Afs)
Van Rysel-Roubaix: Morin (Fra), Leroux (Fra)
CIC-U-Nantes Atlantique: Guégan (Fra)
Nice Métropole Côte d’Azur: Le Ny (Fra)
Israel
Israel-Premier Tech: Sheehan (Usa), Gee (Can), Houle (Can), Blackmore (Gbr), Van Asbroeck (Bel)
The Netherlands
Team dsm-firmenich PostNL: Degenkolb (Ger), Eekhoff (Ned)
Norway
Uno-X Mobility: Abrahamsen (Nor), Tiller (Nor), Waerenskjold (Nor)
Spain
Burgos-BH: Gate (Nzl)
Caja Rural-Seguros RGA: Prades (Spa)
Equipo Kern Pharma: Berrade (Spa)
Euskaltel-Euskadi: Berasategi (Spa)
Switzerland
Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team: Frison (Bel)
