The Région Pays de la Loire Tour, formerly Circuit de la Sarthe-Pays de la Loire, (English: Circuit of Sarthe) is an early-season short road bicycle racing stage race held annually in Sarthe, Pays de la Loire, France. Since 2005, it has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. A women's edition has been held since 2024 as a category 1.2 one-day event.[1]

Région Pays de la Loire Tour
Race details
DateEarly April
RegionPays de la Loire, France
English nameCircuit of Sarthe
Local name(s)Circuit de la Sarthe (in French)
DisciplineRoad
CompetitionUCI Europe Tour
TypeStage race
Web sitewww.regionpaysdelaloire-tour.fr Edit this at Wikidata
History
First edition1953 (1953)
Editions70 (as of 2024)
First winner Jacky Hays (FRA)
Most wins Jean-Pierre Danguillaume (FRA) (3 wins)
Most recent Marijn van den Berg (NED)
History (women)
First winner Michaela Drummond (NZL)
Most recent Michaela Drummond (NZL)

Between 1953 and 1974 it was an amateur race, becoming a professional race in 1975.

Winners

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Year Country Rider Team
1953   France Jacky Hays V.C. Tours
1954   France Bernard Fournières La Suze
1955   France André Bernard Couêmon
1956   France Jean Danguillaume A.V.T.
1957   France Raymond Guérin C.O.P.
1958   France Jean Danguillaume A.V.T.
1959   France Jean Danguillaume A.V.T.
1960   France André Foucher Rennes
1961   France Jean Jeugnet V.C. Tours
1963   France Claude Juin U.V. Aube
1964   France Jean Cosseron Pelforth
1965   Spain José Manuel López-Rodríguez Spain (national team)
1966   France Pierre Matignon Bières 33
1967   France Guy Grimbert Pampryl
1968   France Guy Grimbert Caen
1969   Poland Ryszard Jan Szurkowski Poland (national team)
1970   France Claude Lechatelier France (national team)
1971   Soviet Union Vladislav Nelyubin U.S.S.R. (national team)
1972   France Régis Ovion Athletic Club de Boulogne-Billancourt
1973   Soviet Union Nikolay Gorelov U.S.S.R. (national team)
1974   Soviet Union Ivan Skosyrev U.S.S.R. (national team)
1975   France Bernard Hinault Gitane–Campagnolo
1976   France Bernard Hinault Gitane–Campagnolo
1977   Soviet Union Aavo Pikkuus U.S.S.R. (national team)
1978   East Germany Bernd Drogan East Germany (national team)
1979   France Christian Muselet La Redoute–Motobécane
1980   United States Greg LeMond United States (national team)
1981   Soviet Union Yuri Barinov U.S.S.R. (national team)
1982   Soviet Union Ivan Mitchenko U.S.S.R. (national team)
1983   France Pascal Jules Renault–Elf
1984   France Claude Moreau Coop–Hoonved
1985   France Pascal Jules Renault–Elf
1986   France Didier Garcia Peugeot–Shell–Velo Talbot
1987   Soviet Union Piotr Ugrumov U.S.S.R. (national team)
1988   France Thierry Marie Système U
1989   France Thierry Laurent RMO
1990   Soviet Union Dimitri Zhdanov U.S.S.R. (national team)
1991   France Bruno Cornillet Z–Peugeot
1992   France Jean-François Bernard Banesto
1993   France Jean-François Bernard Banesto
1994   France Stéphane Heulot Banesto
1995   France Thierry Marie Castorama
1996   Italy Adriano Baffi Mapei–GB
1997   Spain Melcior Mauri ONCE
1998   Spain Melcior Mauri ONCE
1999   Norway Steffen Kjærgaard Team Chicky World
2000   Spain David Cañada ONCE–Deutsche Bank
2001   Great Britain David Millar Cofidis
2002   France Didier Rous Bonjour
2003   France Carlos Da Cruz FDJeux.com
2004   Sweden Thomas Löfkvist FDJeux.com
2005   France Sylvain Chavanel Cofidis
2006   Germany Stefan Schumacher Gerolsteiner
2007   Germany Andreas Klöden Astana
2008   France Thomas Voeckler Bouygues Télécom
2009   France David Lelay Agritubel
2010   Spain Luis León Sánchez Caisse d'Epargne
2011   France Anthony Roux FDJ
2012   Australia Luke Durbridge GreenEDGE
2013   France Pierre Rolland Team Europcar
2014   Lithuania Ramūnas Navardauskas Garmin–Sharp
2015   Lithuania Ramūnas Navardauskas Cannondale–Garmin
2016   France Marc Fournier FDJ
2017   France Lilian Calmejane Direct Énergie
2018   France Guillaume Martin Wanty–Groupe Gobert
2019   France Alexis Gougeard AG2R La Mondiale
2020 No race due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021 No race due to COVID-19 pandemic
2022   Netherlands Olav Kooij Team Jumbo–Visma
2023   Denmark Alexander Kamp Tudor Pro Cycling Team
2024   Netherlands Marijn van den Berg EF Education–EasyPost

Women

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Year Country Rider Team
2024   New Zealand Michaela Drummond Arkéa–B&B Hotels Women

References

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  1. ^ "Région Pays de la Loire Tour - Féminin". ProCyclingStats. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
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