News | Bretagne Classic-Ouest France | Team • August 28, 2026
UAE Team Emirates-XRG targets Bretagne Classic with hit squad
Emirati team announces lineup for the French one-day race, with Jan Christen and Benoît Cosnefroy making for an exciting duo on the climbs
UAE Team Emirates-XRG will head to the Bretagne Classic on Sunday, 30 August, with a former winner in its midst in Benoît Cosnefroy. The Frenchman took this race in a two-up sprint from the then-reigning world champion, Julian Alaphilippe, in 2021, and will be heading up the Emirati squad this time out.
Cosnefroy: “Bretagne is a race I know well and a parcours that can suit me. It’s been a pretty good season for me until now. I’ve felt very well in the team environment and found my level.
“The past month wasn’t the easiest – in Poland it was tough with the crash, but I hope to finish the season off in the best way possible.”
Held in and around the Breton village of Plouay, the Bretagne Classic will be celebrating its 90th edition this season, and has produced another course which will swing between the sprinters and the puncheurs. Both scenarios can suit UAE Team Emirates-XRG, with riders ready to compete on all fronts.
In the climbing department, the Emirati squad counts on Igor Arrieta, Jan Christen, Felix Großschartner, and Adrià Pericas, whilst Vegard Stake Laengen and António Morgado have the power as the race heads to its conclusion.
From the team car, Sports Director Simone Pedrazzini will take charge and hope to replicate the squad’s 2024 victory, taken through Marc Hirschi.
In both Cosnefroy and Großschartner, the team has plenty of know-how in western France. Cosnefroy is a former winner, and Großschartner a third-place finisher from three seasons ago.
Formerly known as the Grand-Prix de Plouay, the Bretagne Classic is significantly shorter this season than in previous years. Knocked down from 260km to 228.1km in length, the route looks as demanding as ever across its 3,694m of elevation gain.
Indeed, an 8km-long spell after 40km is perhaps the only flat moment of the day, with the rest of the parcours relentlessly undulating.
Up and down all afternoon, the peloton will swing onto a local circuit after 170km. Here, on the outskirts of Plouay, the riders will tackle the local lap three and a half times before the finish on the Boulevard des Championnats du Monde.
