Day 1 rolls out of elegant Bordeaux and into the wide-open rhythm of south-west France. After the final stone façades, boulevards and suburbs, the ride becomes quieter: pine trees, sandy soil and long straight stretches lead towards the Atlantic. Near the Bassin d’Arcachon, the air starts to feel salty, before the route passes close to the Dune du Pilat, Europe’s great wall of sand by the sea. Then the Landes forest takes over: soft, green and fragrant. Biscarrosse waits with lakes, dunes and a first taste of the coast.
