The idea sprouted in Jean-Paul Mellouët’s head 40 years ago. Organize a cycling race for Diwan schools which would take sections of agricultural roads, the famous “ribinou”. Today the event is legendary and has become so popular that it has just been taken over by the ASO group, which notably organizes the Tour de France.
Every year in May, the small town of Lannilis in Finistère celebrates. Dozens of volunteers are working to organize Tro Bro Leon. Pride of the country. And over the years, everything is perfectly fine-tuned: the course, the barrier, the security, the reception of the cycling teams, the referees, the television teams, without forgetting… the preparation of the famous Ki Ka Farz to feed more of 300 people.
And this year again, everything is organized very carefully. The atmosphere is joyful, friendly and controlled at the start of this 2024 edition.
This race, which today has a national scope, was imagined by Jean-Paul Mellouët 40 years ago. He wanted to create an event to help Diwan schools and the Breton language.
With a few friends, he wanted to invent a different cycling race, anchored in his territory, which would highlight this very particular agricultural region of northern Finistère, between land and sea, surrounded by abers and swept by the winds. A race that would take these dirt roads that we call here the “ribinou”. In the program Le Grand Bazhart dedicated to him, he explains: “I was a big fan of Paris-Roubaix, and we didn’t want to do a race like the others which goes through villages, so we had the idea of having the cyclists pass on the ribinou. We were told that it would pass never, and then finally it worked.”
I was a big fan of Paris-Roubaix
Jean-Paul MellouëtCreator of Tro Bro Leon
The idea appealed. Farmers have given the green light for their farms to be crossed by the race once a year. A pig even rewards the winner every year.
The Tro Bro Leon (which means Tour du Leon) has grown over the years, until it entered the ranks of international events in the early 2000s. Today, the Tro Bro Leon is also a round of the French Road Cycling Cup. The best international teams therefore travel to Lannilis every year and the event is broadcast on the national channel of France 3.
Read also : CYCLING. Tro Bro Leon 2024: route, profile, timetables… everything you need to know about the legendary race in the hell of the Finistère roads
This 40th edition is a transitional edition. ASO (Amaury Sport Organisation), which notably organizes the Tour de France, is taking control. A development commented on this Sunday at the finish line in Lannilis. A volunteer explains to us “I hope that Tro Bro Leon will keep its popular soul, and that the race will continue to mobilize the inhabitants of the town. We hope that ASO will not “professionalize” things too much.”
There is no doubt that this is also the wish of Jean Paul Mellouët.
In the meantime, it’s time for the start of this 40th edition.
A race to follow on France 3 at 3:30 p.m., but also live on the France 3 Bretagne website and social networks, including a version commented in Breton by Maqthieu Herry and Louis Le Roux.
