Grand start 2011

One word. If I had to use just one word to define the links that unite the Vendée and the Tour, without hesitation I would say: passion!

A shared passion for an event that is a century old, a wonderful popular celebration and for an authentic and innovative land, a place of liberty and challenges, where traditions and the future live in harmony.

So, after 1976, 1993, 1999 and 2005, the Tour de France will again be coming to the Vendée in 2011. At the turn of the century, each Tour de France whose Grand Start took place in the Vendée crowned dominant champions: firstly Miguel Indurain with his show of power on the Côte du Fossé in the prologue of the 80th edition, a foretaste of his performance throughout the event of which we still have vivid memories; and secondly Lance Armstrong, for his first triumph soon after recovering from cancer, then for his last triumph during a farewell tour, which we now know was not a definitive conclusion to his career.

Of all the many images of the Tour that I can remember, the pack crossing the Passage du Gois in 1999 is definitely one of the most exciting, in fact probably the finest that I have ever seen on a flat stage. Since the tide allows us, we will be back on this inimitable road in July 2011, during the initial parade, before the official starting ceremony, several minutes before the actual start of the race.

We have designed this first stage to be a "linear" one, in a similar way to the successful experience enjoyed in Brittany in 2008. It will link the Ocean with the Mont des Alouettes at the heart of the Vendée, which is an ideal summit for a finish where punchers and sprinters will battle for the first Yellow Jersey of the 98th Tour de France.

The following day, a team time-trial - only 23 kilometres long, no more, no less to keep the race fluid - will force the favourites to show their mettle for the first time, then the race will move to Olonne-sur-Mer, from where we will head to other regions and new adventures.

But we already know that even before the first kilometre, the presentation of the riders at Le Puy du Fou will have dazzled the crowds, just like Cinéscénie, which recounts the history of the Vendée, fascinates each summer hundreds of thousands of visitors.

Christian PRUDHOMME
Director of Tour de France

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It is with great pride and joy that the Vendée and its inhabitants will once again welcome the finest cycle race in the world, one of the three most prestigious sporting events on the planet!

Over twenty centuries, our department has had an open outlook on the world through its vast Atlantic façade. And it is from this coast that every year the yachtsmen and women of the Vendée Globe set sail, these conquerors of the "Everest of the seas" who captivate the public in the four corners of the earth.

The Tour de France belongs to this tradition of discovering wide open spaces that is so dear to the hearts of people from the Vendée, in which the riders set off on an adventure through the most diverse landscapes of our country, at times crossing the borders with our European neighbours.

The "Big Loop", this centennial race with its journey through varying scenery, its folklore and traditions, its stars and unknowns shoulder to shoulder, is, in its own special way, a sort of conservatory of the living heritage of our country, a strong point of our national culture and a vital bond-making element.

As the support of the public shows, it is entirely unimaginable that the riders of the Tour could one day disappear from these so familiar landscapes. It is also one of the reasons why the people of the Vendée are in unison with this summer medley.

The Vendée is not only the department of the sea, it is also that of the bicycle. Cycling and bicycle touring boast more than 3,000 club members, with, each year, dozens of events for all levels, whether professional or amateur, renowned international events, such as the Chrono des Nations or Tour de Vendée, and now also a big family day out, Vendée Vélo, during which thousands of cycling enthusiasts can enjoy their hobby.

More than one thousand kilometres of cycle tracks, set up at the initiative of the General Council, allow fans of bike rides go right round the department and enjoy the diversity of the landscapes they cross, between plains and marshes, oceans and hills…

The fact that it returns so often to the Vendée just goes to show how at home the Tour de France is here. The local population of all ages, men and women, who stream to watch it pass from their roadside viewpoints, are there to pay homage to it, these good people with their taste for panache, hard work and a passion for sport.

It is with much emotion, warmth and friendship that I again bid the Tour de France welcome to the Vendée.

Philippe de Villiers,
President of the Vendée General Council

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Situated on the west coast of France, looking onto the Atlantic Ocean and crossed by a river of the same name, the Vendée department (85) has an area of 6,720 kilometres and is split into three parts: the Bocage of the Vendée which occupies the majority of its surface, the Breton Marshes to the north west and the plains to the east.

The Vendée has a population of more than 620,000 inhabitants (called Vendéens in French) who belong to the administrative region of Pays de la Loire. La Roche-sur-Yon (51,000 inhabitants), a town founded in 1804 on the orders of Napoleon I, is the administrative seat of the department.

Les Herbiers (14,000 inhabitants) and Les Essarts (4,800 inhabitants) are cantonal sub-divisions, whilst the town of Olonne-sur-Mer has a population of 12,500 inhabitants.

Dates for your diary
Wednesday 29th June:	Opening of the reception centre and press centre at Les Herbiers, in the Etenduère sports complex.
Thursday 30th June:	Presentation of the Tour de France 2011 teams at Le Puy du Fou
Saturday 2nd July:	First stage, Passage du Gois - Mont des Alouettes, 180 km
Sunday 3rd July:	Second stage, Les Essarts, Team time-trial, 23 km
Monday 4th July:	Third stage starts in Olonne-sur-Mer

 

Access to Les Herbiers
By plane:	Nantes-Atlantique airport 60 km away
By train:	Several daily links between Paris - La Roche-sur-Yon by high-speed TGV train. Journey length: 2 hrs 50
By road:	340 km from Paris by the A 87 motorway 35 km from La Roche-sur-Yon 10 km from Le Puy du Fou 110 km from the Passage du Gois 30 km from Les Essarts 75 km from Olonne-sur-Mer

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Saturday 2^nd July

FIRST STAGE

Passage du Gois > Mont des Alouettes: 180 km

A Grand Start between sky and sea… The official start of the 98th edition of the Tour de France will take place at the Passage du Gois. Linking the continent to the island of Noirmoutier and measuring 4.5 km in length, the Passage du Gois is a submersible road covered twice daily at high tide, but which remains fully accessible at low tide.

Beforehand, the starting ceremony will take place in Fromentine followed by a parade along the island of Noirmoutier. Then, once they have rejoined terra firma, the pack will wind its way through the Vendée, firstly along mainly flat roads towards the south, before heading northeast towards Les Herbiers through more rolling countryside. The finishing line will be based at Mont des Alouettes whose summit stands at 232 metres. The Mont des Alouettes was a strategically important site during the Wars of the Vendée (1793-1796).

 

Sunday 3^rd July

SECOND STAGE

Les Essarts > Les Essarts - Team time-trial: 23 km

The second day in the Vendée will witness the return of the team time trial, a stage not included in the programme for the Tour de France 2010. It will be contested over a 23 km circuit with the start and finish at Les Essarts.

The route will follow a loop to the west of the town, mainly on the flat and straight roads in the Bocage of the Vendée, passing through the towns of Boulogne and La Merlatière in particular.

 

Monday 4^th July

THIRD STAGE

Olonne-sur-Mer > …

The riders will cover a distance of approximately 80 km on the department's roads before leaving the Vendée…

 

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The Vendée first and foremost possesses a strong identity, based on a two millennia old history, from Caesar's legionaries on the Mont des Alouettes to Georges Clemenceau and the Maréchal de Lattre de Tassigny, both born in the same village of Mouilleron-en-Pareds.

The Vendée also boasts a diverse range of landscapes - bocage, plains and marshes - and 250 kilometres of Atlantic coast, which play host to a rich array of flora and fauna. Also a pioneer in the development of solar energy or protection of the environment, the department has set up a "GMO-free Vendée" plan. Such assets attract more than 5 million visitors per year, making tourism one of the leading activities in the Vendée.

Regularly listed amongst the leading French departments in terms of quality of life, the Vendée is also a land of economic excellence. Its healthy fabric of dynamic SMBs makes it a European or even world leader in many sectors, such as pleasure boating (two thirds of the sector are focused around the Bénéteau-Jeanneau boat yards) or even agri-food. In spite of the economic crisis, the Vendée is the place where the most SMBs are created in France each year.

Sport also contributes to this dash and drive, not only because the people of the Vendée enjoy watching major events such as the Vendée Globe but also because they are keen sports enthusiasts: 2 out of 5 inhabitants belong to one of the 1,500 sports clubs in the department. Cycling plays an important role, either through the Vendée U club or the BBox Bouygues Telecom team managed by Jean-René Bernaudeau.

It is these roots in history and the land, mixed with an eagerness and taste for initiative that the people of the Vendée possess, which appeals to those who meat them, that encourages entrepreneurs to draw upon their strengths, which attracts tourists to share their sites and sights and that incites organisers of cultural or sporting events to benefit from their enthusiasm.

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