The Setting
Starts in Brittany
In 2008, the Tour de France will be launched from Brest, starting from Brittany for the sixth time.
- History of Starts in Brittany:
- 1952: Brest (1st start from Brittany).
- 1964: Rennes.
- 1974: Brest.
- 1985: Plumelec (Prologue). Vannes, start of the first stage.
- 1995: Saint-Brieuc (Prologue). Dinan, start of the first stage.
- 2008: Brest (Third Start).
Breton stages
Rennes was the first Breton stage on the Tour de France, in 1905. The following year, Brest entered the history of the Tour. The Finistère port was the scene of a marathon stage, which began in Nantes (321 km), and the start of an exceptionally long stage (Brest – Caen: 415 km). The organisers surpassed themselves from 1911 with the two stages: La Rochelle - Brest (470 km) and Brest - Cherbourg (405 km).
Towns crossed &ndash Breton stages
Brest, Cancale, Châteaulin, Concarneau, Dinan, Dinard, Fougères, La Guerche, Lamballe, Lanester, Lannion, Lorient, Morlaix, Perros-Guirec, Plouay, Plumelec, Quimper, Rennes, Roscoff, Saint-Brieuc, Saint-Grégoire, Saint-Malo, Saint-Méen le Grand, Saint-Pol de Léon, Vannes, Vitré.
In total, more than 120 towns in the Finistère, the Côtes-d’Armor, the Morbihan and the Ille-et-Vilaine counties.
The yellow jersey for stage towns goes to Brest, which will be visited for the 29th time in 2008.