Velo Club Londres en France

39th Penn Ar Bed Bro An Hirwazh International Cycling Course U19

Featuring British Junior Team Velo Club Londres suppported by the Rayner Foundation Gateway Scheme..

19-20 April 2025 - Penn Ar Bed was our third race in France this season, and second UCI 2.1 after the Tour de Bocage, so some of the boys knew what to expect. Of the 29 teams participating we were one of three British entries alongside three from Belgium, the rest being a mix of French development teams and local/regional clubs. Stage One Contrary to the forecast, the weather was good on Saturday afternoon, much warmer than anticipated and the riders were able to enjoy the glorious Breton countryside in the sunshine. The first 20km predictably hard with many of the French teams working to try and control the race while the riders from Soudal Quickstep ensured the pace remained high. As we’ve experienced before, the parcours includes many narrow lanes and crashes are predictable. And so it was. Following a crash the peloton was split with 100 of the 175 starters remaining at the front. Four of our riders were held up with only Dylan Belton-Owen managing to avoid the collision and stay with the front group. The race continued at a solid pace along some amazing coastal roads before entering the finishing circuit, which was a relatively flat and fast 8km. With 2 two laps to go a big break went and managed get a gap of 1.30 but Soudal, who missed it, were quick to chase and following a very fast few kilometres, they brought the break back with one lap to go. Six kilometres from the finish and Dylan moves up into position finding himself in second wheel. The front rider had all his teammates behind and was clearly on lead out duty pulling off with about one kilometre to go. Dylan then finds himself on the front and perhaps, by his own admittance, not being as patient as he should be, decides to launch, managing to get 100m from the finish before begin “swamped” by the peloton. A good 32nd place in the end and the first 90 riders all on the same time. The rest of the team made it safely to the finish within the second group. Stage Two The first challenge we have with stage two is that four of our riders are too close together for the car to follow. We are told it is possible to change start times, but no one can tell us where or how, and the translator is nowhere to be found. We find a solution and our mechanic, Alfie, drives the van to the start line to support. The weather on Sunday morning is more like the forecast with moody dark skies and crosswinds making the 7.5km course from Plougonvelin to the lighthouse at Point Saint Martin much tougher than it appears on paper. The headwind on the uphill return section made the going even harder. For Dylan this is an opportunity to try and move up the rankings and for the others to get their heads down and just try and put in a solid performance. Going into Stage three the weather was back on side, and the team presentations were made in the sunshine with the La Pointe Saint-Mathieu lighthouse as the backdrop. As a team our goal for this final stage was to ensure Dylan Belton-Owen was able to get to the front. The first 5-10k were ridden at full gas but the peloton then slowed, and the mood was quite cagey. Eight riders immediately took advantage of this and went for the break, rapidly getting 1.5 mins on the peloton. A few kilometres later and Dylan decides to take the gamble and try to catch the break. He paces himself well and gets across relatively quickly, but his arrival does not appear to be welcomed by the others. A combination of repeated attacks and multiple climbs for the KOM classification within the first 45kms of the stage also meant that the break wasn’t working particularly well together. Following some repeated efforts from Dylan to take control they eventually do start working as a group and manage to extend their lead. At around the halfway point the cohesion of the breakaway began to wane again , with only two riders sharing the work - and one of them was Dylan. The other rider decided to break from the break and Dylan followed - a brave move with half the stage still to go… Having burnt a few too many matches the two of them are caught by the peleton and Dylan takes the opportunity to recover, holding on until the feed zone where he is able to get some gels and fresh bottles. It’s at this point in the race that Dylan is “reunited” with two of his team-mates Theo and August. The three of them focus on staying together and moving up through the bunch. They maintain their position for the next 50ms until they reach the finishing circuit… With a lap to go there’s 20 rider off the front but it’s all to play for in the bunch. Theo pulls a big turn taking Dylan to the front, fending off some sharp elbows as they go. 1500m from the finish and Dylan is well positioned, he attacks on the final climb before hitting a 90 degree corner going into the finishing straight. He tried to hold on as long as he could with only two riders coming around him, so third in the bunch sprint and top British rider overall on the stage. Theo, August and Sidney all made it over the line and as a team we move up a couple of places in the overall rankings ahead of one the other British teams. Luca was very unlucky having been involved in a crash and then rejoining the race but along side several other riders, not told that the roads had been opened. He collided with a van, luckily/amazingly coming away unscathed but to far back to make it back into the race. As a team I believe all of our riders are more than capable of staying in the mix and supporting Dylan, if he is our best rider for GC placings. We need to work on positioning and being more aggressive in the bunch. It’s clear that riders in the bigger teams bully others and the boys need to “ get their elbows out”. We have a couple of UK One day races coming up and plenty of time to prepare for the Tour de L’Eure at the beginning of June. We are also focusing on TT practice as this is definitely an area where we need to improve.

Vas y VCL !