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OPINION
2016 Tour de France Grand Depart awarded to Manche
Mont St Michel (licensed by Mathias Neveling under CC BY-SA 4.0)I know, I know. We are still basking in the glory of the 2014 Grand depart from our shores and here were are looking a year and a half ahead.
Utrecht, we are told, is a cycling mad city and will provide the perfect host for the start of the 2015 edition of the Tour de France. However, kind of under the radar, ASO have revealed the Grand Depart for 2016 already and its a belter!
Manche is the wonderfully diverse and hilly part of Brittany/Normandy around Avranches, St Malo and the Mont St Michel.
British holidaymakers, myself and my family included, flock to the area in the summer for the lovely beaches and traditional French stone towns and villages. These wonderful little places are connected by tree lined avenues and straight roads through agricultural areas giving the ideal view of rural, scenic France.
The full stage routes will be revealed at the Mont St Michel on 9th December, but early rumours are suggesting a coastal stage into Cherbourg.
The thought of some early Tour echelons forming along those windy coast roads is really exciting and this could be one of the most spectacular and successful Grand Departs in the history of the Tour... just don't tell a Yorkshireman I said that.
Link >>> http://www.letour.fr/le-tour/2015/us/pre-race/news/ahc/tour-de-france-2016-to-start-from-manche.html
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3 comments
Thanks for correcting my geography.
Despite holidaying in the area annually I am never sure where one region stops and the other starts.
Pedantry / home-region proudness: I'm from "La Manche", and it's definitely NOT part of Brittany, not even a little bit, nor does it contain St-Malo, or is limited to the area around the Mt St-Michel.
It's a tall and narrow department going from the Mt St-Michel all the way up to Cherbourg, where you can take cross-channel ferries.
It's one of the three departments that constitute the "Basse Normandie" (lower Normandy) region.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manche
The Mont St-Michel, however, is Norman, not in Brittany, despite some claiming otherwise because it's right at the limit between the two.
The narrow roads along the coast should definitely provide a lot of excitement. Always windy, relentless little climbs and lots of cider and cheese for everyone!
That's the 2016 cycling holiday sorted!