After the initial announcement of the Grand Départ of the Tour de France 2018, the 105th edition of the Tour, in the Vendée departement and more largely in the Pays de la Loire region, today's press conference provided the details of this Grand Départ, in presence of Bryan Coquard (Direct Energie).
Usually we get to know the detail of one or two stages and the start of the second or third stage, this time there will be 3 stages which will entirely take place in the Pays de la Loire region, as well as the start of the fourth stage. In this article you'll thus find these stages in detail, with the official map of each of them!
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The programme of the Grand Départ of the Tour de France 2018
After the Tour de France 2011 with a start on the Passage du Gois, this same start will be used for the Tour de France 2018. Here's the programme of the Grand Départ of this 105th Tour de France:Vond u dit artikel interessant? Laat het uw vrienden op Facebook weten door op de buttons hieronder te klikken!
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this publication is published in: Tour de France | Tour de France 2018
by JP over
After having reached the mainland in Beauvoir-sur-Mer, this first stage will follow the coast line in the Vendée department and visit Saint-Jean-de-Monts, Les Sables-d'Olonne, Saint-Vincent-sur-Jard and La Tranche-sur-Mer before it goes landinwards close to L'Aiguillon-sur-Mer via the Marais Poitevin towards the first ever stage finish in Fontenay-le-Comte.
The finish of the Tour de France in La Roche-sur-Yon will not be the first one because in the 30s this city has received the Tour for no less than 5 stage finishes and starts. In 2018 it'll however be no less than 80 years ago that the Tour came there because the last one was in 1938!
For Mouilleron-Saint Germain it'll be a first!
In between, the race first goes off south-east down to La Châtaigneraie before it turns north-west via Les Herbiers. In Tiffauges the riders will turn left and go via Montaigu towards Palluau where they'll turn again, this time southwards via Aizenay and Beaulieu-sur-Roche before they go on till the finish in La Roche-sur-Yon.
The city of Cholet will thus receive the Tour de France 2018 for a team time trial the year after having been at the origin of the disappearal of the historical "Coupe de France PMU" race of the city, Cholet-Pays de la Loire, and it'll be 10 years after the last visit of the Tour de France to Cholet (in 2008 the city saw an individual time trial which was won by Kim Kirchen and a stage start towards Châteauroux).
After the start in Cholet each team will go off to Saint-Léger-sous-Cholet - which, despite its name, is north of Cholet - before they turn west via Saint-André-de-la-Marche and then south towards La Romagne before they go back to Cholet via La Séguinière.
For the 4th stage we only know the start city so far, La Baule, which saw the prologue of the Tour de France 1988. We'll then leave the Pays de la Loire region towards a destination which is unknown for now but which will most probably be in Brittany ...
After the start in La Baule the race goes off north-east for this 4th stage, via La Chappelle-des-Marais and Pontchâteau followed by Blain and Nozay before the stage leaves the region close to Derval.