2016 Tour De France To Start in Normandy
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The 2016 edition of the Tour de France will start in the Manche department in Normandy, organisers ASO said Monday.
AFP/Yuzuru Sunada
It will be the first time the Tour, first raced in 1903, has started in that department, most famous for its hill-top island abbey Mont Saint-Michel.
Manche, named after the French term for the English Channel that separates the country from Britain, has played host to a Tour stage 23 times since 2011, most recently in 2013 when an individual time-trial ended at Mont Saint-Michel.
Mont Saint-Michel is a UNESCO world heritage site.
The exact town that will host the ‘Grand Depart’ will be revealed at a press conference on December 9.
The 2015 edition, where Italian Vincenzo Nibali will be defending his title, will begin in Utrecht in the Netherlands.