STAGE 1

Noirmoutier-en-l’ile to Fontenay-le-comte (201km)

Seven years on from the last time it happened, the Vendee region hosts its sixth Grand Depart. As a first course it serves up a pan-flat route from the island of Noirmoutieren-l’ile, with the only thing to fear the possibility of winds off the coast. In recent years a hierarchy among the sprinters has been established early on, so there might be more than just a yellow jersey for the quick men to quibble over in Fontenay-le-comte.