The first edition of the Région Pays de la Loire Tour, a new four-day cycling event, got off to an unexpected start. The official start will not take place, as initially planned, in Saint-Nazaire this Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. The race will not pass by the longest bridge in France either. The organizers feared the irruption of demonstrators against the pension reform project. The start has therefore been moved to a more peaceful area, in the town of Saint-Père-en Retz, south of the Loire, announce the organization, thus confirming information from France Bleu. The start village and its activities have also been cancelled.
Saint-Nazaire and its bridge have indeed been the target of protesters several times in recent weeks. It must also be said that this new Region Pays de la Loire Tour is mainly financed by the regional council, whose president, Christelle Morançais (ex LR), supports the pension reform project.
End of the lap Friday at Le Mans
The arrival of the first stage is scheduled for this Tuesday afternoon in Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie (Vendée). Broadcast live on the L’Equipe channel, the event will end on Friday at Le Mans. Clisson, Le Lion d’Angers, Mayenne, Baugé and Sablé-sur-Sarthe will be stopover towns.
The best French teams (Groupama-FDJ, AG2R, Cofidis, Arkea-Samsic, TotalEnergies) as well as some foreign big names are present. Bryan Coquard, Arnaud Démare, Nacer Bouhanni and Julien Simon are among the headliners. The announced budget is 1.4 million euros.