Departure place Condé-sur-Vesgre is a village to the southwest of Paris. After leaving the pack heads to Vendôme, which is to the southeast of Le Mans. Whoever has been on the highspeed train of the French, the TGV, from Paris to Bordeaux may recognize the town as one of the few stops along the way.
Just like the TGV, the riders will come to a halt at high speeds as the last metres are a false flat down. Moments before, with 3.5 kilometres left, the Côte du Chemin du Tertre de la Motte is crested, a 1 kilometre climb at 3.7%. As the stage is closed with a local round the climb is on the menu twice. The first time is with 17.5 kilometres to go.
The special thing about the Côte du Chemin du Tertre de la Motte is that it is an unpaved road for 750 metres. So two days after Strade Bianche former mountainbikers and cyclo crossers can eat their hearts out.
With 23 kilometres to go Chemin de Tourteline is another stretch of pavé. This is a flat sector at 1,350 metres.
Race results/race report stage 1, Paris-Nice 2016.
Paris – Nice 2016 stage 1: Route maps, height profile, and more
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