Baptiste Planckaert (Wallonie) continued his amazing run of form by winning a very fast and tough edition of the Tour du Finistere. In the uphill finish, he held off Samuel Dumoulin (Ag2r) and Alexandre Geniez when a reduced peloton decided the race and the win allowed the Belgian to extend his leads in the Coupe de France standings.

We have gathered a few reactions.

Baptiste Planckaert after biggest win of his career: I had to do this for Demoitie

"In Quimper I have taken the most beautiful win of my career," said Baptiste Planckaert. "The team did a great job and, without them, I would never have succeeded. I want to dedicate this victory to the late Antoine Demoitié and Daan Myngheer. Antoine took victory here in 2014. Therefore my victory is something strong and very symbolic. I got a very big gap to my competitors in the Coupe de France which becomes more and more of a target which was not the case earlier in the season. We will have to make the right choices in the upcoming program. I am very proud of this victory in Quimper. I do not win often, and when I win, it is always category 2 races. Here I won a very hard race. I'm very proud of that."

"In the beginning of the race I was not very good,” he told Directvelo. “But it got better later. It was a course that suited me fine. Two laps from the finish, I was confident and I knew they would have to be very strong to beat me. There were only two climbs and they were not insurmountable. I was especially careful to follow the moves that could possibly go.

“On the final circuit, I had four or five teammates around me. On the last lap, Tom Dernies and Sébastien Delfosse did a lot of work on the descent. Then Grégory Habeaux took over. Then finally, Olivier Pardini took me to the last corner. At that time, I found myself a bit stuck in fifth or sixth position but then I was able to get clear in the final straight.

“In addition, it was a special race for us because Antoine (Demoitié) had won it two years ago and we had to do well for him. So I dedicate this victory to him and Daan Myngheer.

“The Coupe de France is a goal for me. I will take stock after Roue Tourangelle since we havethe Grand Prix Plumelec and Boucles de l’Aulne during the Tour of Belgium. I will take a decision about which races to attend. At the moment I'm doing a superb season. In March I did not feel in good form but it went very well. I hope that will continue until the end of the year.”

Strong Samuel Dumoulin close to first win after illness-marred season start

"The start of the race was particularly animated,” Dumoulin said. “The breakaway went at km 90. The team was united and courageous. The presence of Julien (Berard) in the break allowed us to be quiet. In a final like today, it was important to have the guys and everyone played their role. The guys all played their part and we fought well. I am proud of them and I'm a little disappointed not to have won.

“Nevertheless, after a difficult start to the season I see that I'm good. I tell myself that my hard time in the early season was a blessing in disguise. Now the objective will be to get a victory quickly. The group works very well. Now we have to stay on the same frame of mind for tomorrow at the Tro-Bro Léon. "

"It was a sprint that was not controlled,” he told Directvelo. “The teams Wallonie-Brussels and Cofidis were fighting to take control. Finally, the teams could not keep the pace which I would have preferred. In the last corner I managed to be behind Romain Feillu. There was an gap so I tried my luck but Baptiste Planckaert was very strong.

“The race was tiring and quite difficult. It took a long time to settle. So, I think that will have an impacy on the legs for tomorrow. "  

Alexandre Geniez ready for the Giro with third place in tough Breton race
Alexandre Geniez is a very versatile rider. .On the road towards the Tour of Italy which is his big goal after he took ninth place in 2015, the climber of the FDJ team follows the same route as last year. After a breakaway in the Grand Prix de Denain, he took third place in the Tour du Finistère Saturday. One year ago he won the Tro-Bro Léon scheduled for Sunday.

The Tour du Finistère was very fast, from start to finish, without giving rise to multiple twists. It was a chance for riders of the FDJ team to demonstrate that they are fit, especially Kenny Elissonde whoundoubtedly achieved his goal of being selected for the Tour de Romandie after a long break due to injury.

It took more than 80 kilometers for the most significant break of the day to be formed and FDJ had Pierre-Henri Lecuisinier there. In the end Alexandre Geniez sprinted third.

"Alex confirmed that he is good and on time," summarizes sports director Thierry Bricaud. "Laurent Pichon is frustrated because he wanted to do a good sprint but he got trapped 300 meters from the finish line in Quimper . Finally Kenny Elissonde successfully passed the test of this difficult race. The last kilometer is complicated with a wall of 400 meters before a false flat amount of 500 meters. He finished in the first part of the bunch (about twenty riders) and seems ready for the Tour de Romandie although the staff will decide in a few days."