100 days before hosting the Grand Départ of the Tour de France, a yellow wave is flooding the French department of Vendée. Between the reconnaissance of the first two stages, preparation for the Dictée du Tour and the activities at the Vendéspace complex (cycling initiations, exhibition, etc.), the Tour de France has never been so accessible.
QUOTE CHRISTIAN PRUDHOMME
« With 100 days to go before the start of the 2018 Tour de France I am delighted with the week of cycling organised in the Vendée that saw nearly 2,000 students participate and the big party in the Vendéspace. We can sense the enthusiasm in the region, where cycling is part of daily life, where Thomas Voeckler is a fantastic ambassador and where Yves Auvinet, who chairs the Vendée Department Board, will officially launch the 105th Tour de France. The week will finish in style tomorrow with the 2nd edition of the Dictée du Tour ».
THE VENDESPACE CENTRE-STAGE AT D-100
Before the Tour de France organisation moves in, the Vendéspace has become a genuine centre dedicated to cycling in all its forms. Expositions, riding lessons for the kids and a visit inside the bus of the local Direct Energie team, the Vendée region is pulling out all the stops. All the schools from the department were invited to take part in various activities. And this weekend, the public at large gets an amuse-bouche of what awaits them in July…
QUOTE THOMAS VOECKLER
“It is important to recognize 100 days to the start of the Tour de France marks a genuine turn in preparations. We know the fervour is on the rise. We have to remember how lucky we are in the Vendée to have hosted as many Grands Départs. The region is known for its passion for cycling. I have no doubt that this event will be a tremendous success.”
THE DICTEE DU TOUR : READY, STEADY, WRITE !
For its second edition, this programme as fun as it is serious will be brought to the towns and communities that will host the Tour de France in 2018. Each time, an article picked from the regional press about the corresponding stage route or the prospects of the riders who grew up in the same department will give students the opportunity to look forward to the month of July. The hardest working will even have the chance to experience a day behind the scenes of the Tour de France when the race visits their region.
On Friday, 30 March, the students from Mouilleron-Saint-Germain will have Christian Prudhomme and Yves Auvinet (Vendée Department Council President) as their school masters for a few hours for the dictation contest. Thomas Voeckler will read the texts to the keenly-focused kids of Roche-sur-Yon.
