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skinny
It's not officially been a race since the 50s when the pros stopped entering but there is a major race to finish first, there is an official winner and an official record time (now held by Bjorn).
I've not ridden in the front group but, people who have, have said it was more aggressively competitive than elite road racing in other countries.
Here's Bjorn's account of his ride if you've not seen it. Gives a good flavour of what it's like at the sharp end.
https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=92653.msg1912980#msg1912980
Anecdotally, people say that the front riders are mainly retired French pros. I don't know if that is actually true so hard to say what the standard is. Can't calibrate it against UK riders as none have got close to the front. Gethin Butler was 5 hours off the pace when he did it, but he missed the front group and had to ride solo so hard to compare.