The 2010 Tour de France is still months away, but there is already speculation about the 2011 route. The race is set to start in the Vendée region (western France). The biggest surprise is that apparently no prologue is planned.
This information was revealed by Bertrand De Villiers, General Counsel of the Vendée département. De Villiers spoke to French magazine Velo-Club. The first stage is scheduled to go from the island of Noirmoutier and Les Herbiers.
The traditional prologue was already skipped in 2008, making it the second time in a three-year period that the Tour will kick off with a likely bunch sprint. The second day would see a team time trial to make up for the prologue exclusion. The team time trial would take place in Essarts, for a small distance of around 22 to 23 kilometers.