Key points
– Vendée will host the Grand Départ of the Tour de France for the sixth time —the tenth start from Pays de la Loire. The peloton will set off from the Passage du Gois on Saturday, 30 June 2018.
– The first riders to uncork the champagne will be the winners of the stages to Fontenay-le-Comte and La Roche-sur-Yon, which will be followed by a team time trial in Cholet. Stage 4, the last stage in this region will start from La Baule.
The peloton has already gotten a taste of the mysterious Passage du Bois, which has so far remained above the waves while the Tour de France rides over it. The opening stage of the 2011 edition started in this fascinating place and headed towards Mont des Alouettes. This time round, the peloton will reach Fontenay-le-Comte after a tour of the Vendée coast which includes Saint-Jean-de-Monts, Les Sables-d’Olonne and Saint-Vincent-sur-Jard. Stage 2 is a blast from the past —La Roche-sur-Yon used to be fertile ground for sprinters in the 1930s, but it has not hosted a Tour stage finish for the last 80 years.
The next day, the Tour de France will leave Vendée for a 35-km team time trial in Cholet. Finally, stage 4 will start from La Baule, whose famous beach last saw the Grande Boucle in 1988. The peloton will spend 100-odd kilometres in the Pays de la Loire region and leave it after crossing Derval. The next destination will be kept under wraps until 17 October, when the 2018 Tour de France will be presented at the Palais des Congrès de Paris.
Opening stages of the 2018 Tour de France:
Saturday, 30 June – Stage 1: Noirmoutier-en-l’Île > Fontenay-le-Comte, 195 km
Sunday, 1 July – Stage 2: Mouilleron-Saint Germain > La Roche-sur-Yon, 185 km
Monday, 2 July – Stage 3: Cholet > Cholet, 35 km (TTT)
Tuesday, 3 July – Stage 4: La Baule > ???
