Tour 2011 to start on Passage du Gois

A windmill along the route of the Tour of Vendée.

A windmill along the route of the Tour of Vendée. (Image credit: Bruno Bade)

Tour de France organiser ASO has revealed the itinerary of the 2011 Tour's first stages in the Vendée region. Confirming previous assumptions that the 2011 Grand Départ would take place in the central west coast of France, race director Christian Prudhomme announced on Tuesday that the first stage of the 2011 Grand Tour would start on the island of Noirmoutier, south of Nantes.