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The promised rain did not appear in NorthWest France. The day was warm and bright, with some sunny periods. The course was slightly different to prvious editons - the circuit was slightly longer, requiring the riders to race over an additional climb each lap. The only consolation perhaps was that there were 'only' 6 laps this year, not 8 due to the increased lap distance.

Early breaks were attempted, but none lasted very long. A second lap attempt by Rosane Kirch (SC Michela Fanini) saw her gain over thrity seconds before being caught. On the third lap, Milena Pirola (Nobili Rubinetterie) and Tanja Hennes (Buitenpoort Flexpoint) got away, but their escape came to nothing. 

Finally, a break which had a possibility of staying away began to open up increasing time gaps. Nicole Brandli (Team Bigla) and Claudia Hausler (Equipe Nurnberger) went away and kept going. Back in the bunch, Nicole Cooke (Univega) and her team were active in trying to catch the pair. Two bunches had formed, Cooke was in the first, with Susanne Ljungskog, Annette Beutler  ( both Buitenpoort-Flexpoint) and  Judith Arndt (T-Mobile); the main contenders for Cooke's World Cup leader's jersey.

Brandli and Hausler had broken away with 55km to go, Brandli away went on her own with 39km to go. She looked strong and managed to get a gap of 45 seconds. A major protagonist in the chase to catch her was Kim Anderson (T-Mobile), who was joined by Sarah Duester (Univega). The pair were unable to bridge across, though. At the bell, Brandli had almost a minute on the chasing bunch. She rode stronlgy around the final lap, but her advantage was falling; perhaps she was tiring, perhaps the chasers were speeding up. By the time she reached the line, she was only just over 30 seconds ahead. 

Brandli had plenty of time, though, to salute the large crowd along the finishing straight. She celebrated for about 100m, waving her arms in the air and blowing a kiss to the crowd too. The bunch sprint which followed Brandli was fierce, none of the riders was giving anything away. Pushed tight to the left of the road, Nicole Cooke fought to come around and move ahead of Italian, Giorgia Bronzini (Team FRW). She didn't make it and a clearly delighted Bronzini took second place with a cheer on the line and then a quick two-armed salute. 

Nicole Cooke retains the World Cup leader's jersey, whilst Judith Arndt (T-Mobile) failed to finish; thereby netting no points. The difference between the top two is now 153 points. Susanne Ljungskog (Buitenport-Flexpoint) retained third place, she is now 168 points down on Cooke. 

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