- Title: Tour de France 2018 Vendee departure unveiled
- Date: 28th February 2017
- Summary: SCREEN SHOWING VARIOUS CLIPS OF THE TOUR DE FRANCE
- Embargoed: 14th March 2017 16:10
- Keywords: Tour de France Prudhomme Vendee depart cycling
- Location: LA ROCHE-SUR-YON, FRANCE & UKNOWN LOCATION
- City: LA ROCHE-SUR-YON, FRANCE & UKNOWN LOCATION
- Country: France
- Topics: Cycling,Sport
- Reuters ID: LVA00265FPKQN
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Tour de France Director Christian Prudhomme unveiled on Tuesday (February 28) the cycling race's 2018 Grand Depart from the Vendee in the Pays de la Loire region of France.
It will be a return to the race's roots as the first edition in 1903 was also hosted by the western region.
Since then, the cities and towns of the Pays de la Loire have welcomed the Grand Depart nine times, most recently the Passage du Gois in 2011.
This rare road path, which is completely submerged by the sea at high tide, will mark the start of 2018's race.
"It's an underwater path - the sea covers over it twice a day with the tide. So the cyclists will cross this path and then they will go to Fontenay-le-Comte, a commune in the Vendee, for a stage which could have some surprises in store because they have to cross the Marais of Poitevin (an area of marshland) which is very open where it's possible there could be echelon formations," Prudhomme told Reuters TV, who said the region was chosen as it is a hotbed of cyclists.
Riders will explore the region's roads over four days, with a time trial in the commune of Cholet which has a tough 800 metre climb in the last quarter of the course, and a start from the seaside resort of La Baule in Brittany.
Prudhomme also said that discussions on reducing the number of riders per team in grand tours were still ongoing.
Last November, Tour organisers ASO, who also own the Tour of Spain (Vuelta) and some key classics, as well as Giro d'Italia owners RCS and Tour of Flanders organisers Flanders Classics, said that the grand tours would feature eight instead of nine riders per teams and key races would be held with seven instead of eight riders per team.
Teams did not agree to it, and the International Cycling Union has yet to rubber stamp the decision
"If there are fewer cyclists, there are fewer falls. And also because we want the race to open up even more. Discussions are still ongoing but yes, I hope that in the future we can reduce the number of cyclists on the grand tours," Prudhomme said.
The Pays de la Loire is no stranger to staging sporting events and is known for hosting the Vendee Globe round-the-world sailing challenge and Le Mans 24 Hours.
French cyclist Bryan Coquard, who comes from the city of Nantes in the region, said that while beautiful, the Passage du Gois would be the greatest challenge of the departure.
"It will be very stressful and require a lot of concentration among the cyclists, because the risk of echelon formations will be high if the wind comes from the west. It will be very tense, with a lot of stress among the cyclists, the teams, the leaders to not lose time and the sprinters to arrive in the first group to win," he said.
This year's Tour begins in the German city of Dusseldorf. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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