The roster for CANYON//SRAM Racing at tomorrow’s Grand Prix de Plouay in France, will be Alena Amialiusik, Alice Barnes, Elena Cecchini, Tanja Erath, Lisa Klein and Kasia Niewiadoma. Though the start and finish of the Women’s WorldTour race each year remains the same, the organisers frequently change the course and this year is no different.

The race starts with a 46km loop, followed by four local circuits, each 13.5km. The traditional Côte du Lezot remains just after the start of each circuit, but the Côte du Pont-Neuf climb returns to the race and its summit comes just 2km before the finish.

“I always like the Plouay courses,” said Amialiusik who had a great performance in last year’s race. “I’m feeling good and I’m ready. I’d like to be able to have an even better race than I did in 2019. We have a very strong roster and Plouay is always an exciting race so we’re all looking forward to race together.”

Amialiusik’s teammate, Niewiadoma also anticipates an exciting UCI Women’s WorldTour race. “I’m definitely happy to be racing again! I’m missing race speed and the feelings around racing, so I’m glad to be here in France. Plouay is always a very interesting race because actually anyone can win it. It can be a climber, a sprinter or a classics rider. It just depends how its raced. Tomorrow, everyone has nothing to lose, so I expect a hard and hectic battle with a lot of attacks.”

The race starts at 08:40CEST on Tuesday 25 August and can be followed on Twitter with #UCIWWT. It will be broadcast live on France 3 from 10:15CEST, and from 09:00CEST on Eurosport and GCN Race Pass.

The 2020 European road championships are also being held in Plouay this week. Today, the U23 and elite women race the individual time trial, with the U23 women’s road race on Wednesday 26 August and the elite women’s road race on Thursday 27 August. CANYON//SRAM Racing have ten riders representing their individual federations:

Alena Amialiusik – ITT and Road Race for Belarus

Alice Barnes – Road Race for Great Britain

Hannah Barnes – Road Race for Great Britain

Elena Cecchini – Road Race and Team Relay for Italy

Rotem Gafinovitz – ITT and Road Race for Israel

Lisa Klein – ITT, Road Race and Team Relay for Germany

Hannah Ludwig – U23 ITT and U23 Road Race for Germany

Kasia Niewiadoma – Road Race for Poland

Christa Riffel – U23 Road Race for Germany

Omer Shapira – ITT and Road Race for Israel

Hannah Ludwig is the defending champion for the women’s U23 ITT today. “It will be my first TT for the year, but I’m excited. For every TT I only have one goal and that’s to do a perfect ride and be the best I can be. The course is sharp and not easy but I’m motivated to go as fast as I can and have a great ride.”

Lisa Klein has planned her recent training around the ITT European race today. “It is my first big highlight of the road season this year. I’ve put a lot of effort in by keeping my focus on TT training, and I also planned my altitude camp towards the Europeans.”

Klein continued, “I did already two effort sessions on the course and I really like it. It’s like a rollercoaster and this course is also mentally a great motivation. It’s technical and I’ve tested a few different setups. The downhills are fast and furious and I’ll have our performance coach, Lars Teutenberg, giving me advice how to pace it. I’m very grateful that I’ve already been here in Plouay for a few days with the support of my team, and I’m excited to race.”

The list of broadcasters for the 2020 European road championships can be found here.

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