This first race against the clock is shorter and less technical than a typical Tour time trial. The course starts and finishes in Cholet, a bustling town of 56,000, and follows a triangular route: 12km on a winding back road to the town of St. André-de-la-Marche, a 6km leg to the south with the only significant hill, and a straight, fast 11.5km blast back to town on a wide main road.