Entrecasteaux GP     

Entrecasteaux GP is one of the oldest cycling races left in the calendar and as such has the necessary stature to be a classic by itself. The fame is only increased as the organisers plan the race to occur at the beginning of the Cannes film festival, Cannes being the destination of the race. The classic has seen a fair share of shocks and nail biting finishes over the years, with the hilly terrain providing the peloton with t...

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Entrecasteaux GP is one of the oldest cycling races left in the calendar and as such has the necessary stature to be a classic by itself. The fame is only increased as the organisers plan the race to occur at the beginning of the Cannes film festival, Cannes being the destination of the race. The classic has seen a fair share of shocks and nail biting finishes over the years, with the hilly terrain providing the peloton with the problem of how much time they should allow the break to gain before reeling them in.
The race, unusually, gets off to a mid afternoon start. The climbing starts before the flag has even dropped. It is only a very short climb of 4km at an average of 5%. The riders will head east, through the villages of Lorgue and La Motte with several of these hills occupying the space before the first climb of the day. Despite the climb being 11km in length, it only has an average gradient of 4%. If this first climb is ridden hard, then many of the sprinters will be left behind, in doing so risking blowing out before the finish. Too easy and they will tow the sprinter to the finish line or give too much time to the break. The road off the summit undulates and has several tricky descents. Two further climbs (4km reaching gradients of 8% and 5km reaching gradients of 11%) after the stunning bridge across the Lac de Saint Cassien, should not provide terrain too tough to drop any climbers. A relatively long but very easy descent ensues.
At this point, the riders will have reached the outskirts of Cannes. Instead of heading towards the finish line though, they will head out Cannes in an easterly direction. This is to tackle the climb up to the Picasso museum. At 10km long with an average gradient of 5%, its not tough enough to be a climbers race, but gives a springboard to anyone wishing to attempt a solo attack less than 20km to go. The descent is fast, but is interrupted by a 1.6km climb of 6%. This last kick upwards will split the peloton up, with sprinters chasing the better climbers.
Once off of the descent, the leading riders will have to pedal furiously along the coastal road for the last 3km, holding off any of the chasing bunch. The finish of the race is set to coincide with the setting of the sun and the start of the festival.