Stage 2: Les Essarts > Les Essarts

Today we  start and finish in Les Essarts, still in the department of Vendée.  The good news is that the team time trial has returned to Le Tour.  This means, of course, that we will be seeing the same scenery over and over again as team after team race the 23km loop. This will be [...]

Stage 1: Passage du Gois > Mont des Alouettes: 191 km

Le Grand Depart finds us three hours north west of Paris, on the Atlantic coast and in the department of Vendée.

It looks like a lovely spot, with castles, oysters, sandy beaches and cobblestone causeways that are cut by the high tides.  This ensures it will be a scenic beginning to the stage at Passage [...]