Team Dimension Data are gearing up for the Bretagne Classic Ouest-France which is taking place in France on Sunday.
They will be participating in the event for the first time and will go into the race with confidence by having Edvald Boasson Hagen, a past winner of the event, leading the charge.
The Team Dimension Data riders that are gearing up for the Bretagne Classic Ouest-France tomorrow. Photo: Supplied
Boasson Hagen will be able to count on the experience of Serge Pauwels and Kanstantsin Siutsou with the team completed by five African riders, Reinardt Janse van Rensburg, Natnael Berhane, Jay Thomson, Johann van Zyl and Songezo Jim.
Berhane said that he was happy to start his first race since the Tour de France.
“I had a nice break in Eritrea with some good training as well. Plouay is a good hard race which I have done once before.
“It is a race that can suit our team with riders like Edvald and Reine, and also Serge. I look forward to testing my legs and helping the team as I prepare for a strong end to the season.”
The race is a 249km World Tour one day classic which is run over the narrow, rough roads in Bretagne.
The route consists of a big 235km loop in the countryside before returning to Plouay for a 14km circuit loop to finish.
The big loop is challenging with a number of short sharp climbs that will eliminate the weaker riders and provide opportunity for the in-form riders to attack.
The city circuit does allow for sprinters teams to get organised though and this has been the case in a few of the previous editions of the event where a sprint has decided the outcome.
There is one final obstacle standing in the way of the sprinters though, a sharp climb of only a few hundred meters that peaks at 15% with 5km to go.
