| Race details | |
|---|---|
| Date | Early April |
| Region | Pays de la Loire, France |
| English name | Circuit of Sarthe |
| Local name(s) | Circuit de la Sarthe (French) |
| Discipline | Road |
| Competition | UCI Europe Tour |
| Type | Stage race |
| History | |
| First edition | 1953 |
| Editions | 59 (as of 2011) |
| First winner | Jacky Hays (FRA) |
| Most wins | Jean-Pierre Danguillaume (FRA) |
| Most recent | Anthony Roux (FRA) |
The 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.
Between 1953 and 1974 it was an amateur race, becoming a professional race in 1975.
| Rider | Team | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | Jacky Hays (FRA) | V.C. Tours | |
| 1954 | Fournières (FRA) | La Suze | |
| 1955 | Bernard (FRA) | Couêmon | |
| 1956 | Jean-Pierre Danguillaume (FRA) | A.V.T. | |
| 1957 | R. Guérin (FRA) | C.O.P. | |
| 1958 | Jean-Pierre Danguillaume (FRA) | A.V.T. | |
| 1959 | Jean-Pierre Danguillaume (FRA) | A.V.T. | |
| 1960 | André Foucher (FRA) | Rennes | |
| 1961 | Jean Jeugnet (FRA) | V.C. Tours | |
| 1963 | Juin (FRA) | U.V. Aube | |
| 1964 | Jean Cosseron (FRA) | Pelforth | |
| 1965 | José Manuel Lopez-Rodriguez (ESP) | Spain (national team) | |
| 1966 | Pierre Matignon (FRA) | Bières 33 | |
| 1967 | Guy Grimbert (FRA) | Pampryl | |
| 1968 | Guy Grimbert (FRA) | Caen | |
| 1969 | Ryszard Jan Szurkowski (POL) | Poland (national team) | |
| 1970 | Claude Lechatelier (FRA) | France (national team) | |
| 1971 | Viktor Neloubine (URS) | U.S.S.R. (national team) | |
| 1972 | Regis Ovion (FRA) | Athletic Club de Boulogne-Billancourt | |
| 1973 | Nikolay Gorclov (URS) | U.S.S.R. (national team) | |
| 1974 | Ivan Skosyrev (URS) | U.S.S.R. (national team) | |
| 1975 | Bernard Hinault (FRA) | Gitane-Campagnolo | |
| 1976 | Bernard Hinault (FRA) | Gitane-Campagnolo | |
| 1977 | Aavo Pikkuus (URS) | U.S.S.R. (national team) | |
| 1978 | Bernd Drogan (GDR) | East Germany (national team) | |
| 1979 | Christian Muselet (FRA) | La Redoute-Motobécane | |
| 1980 | Greg LeMond (USA) | United States (national team) | |
| 1981 | Juri Barinov (URS) | U.S.S.R. (national team) | |
| 1982 | Ivan Mitchenko (URS) | U.S.S.R. (national team) | |
| 1983 | Pascal Jules (FRA) | Renault-Elf | |
| 1984 | Claude Moreau (FRA) | Coop-Hoonved | |
| 1985 | Pascal Jules (FRA) | Renault-Elf | |
| 1986 | Didier Garcia (FRA) | Peugeot-Shell-Velo Talbot | |
| 1987 | Piotr Ugrumov (URS) | U.S.S.R. (national team) | |
| 1988 | Thierry Marie (FRA) | Système U | |
| 1989 | Thierry Laurent (FRA) | R.M.O. | |
| 1990 | Dimitri Jdanov (URS) | U.S.S.R. (national team) | |
| 1991 | Bruno Cornillet (FRA) | Z-Peugeot | |
| 1992 | Jean-François Bernard (FRA) | Banesto | |
| 1993 | Jean-François Bernard (FRA) | Banesto | |
| 1994 | Stéphane Heulot (FRA) | Banesto | |
| 1995 | Thierry Marie (FRA) | Castorama | |
| 1996 | Adriano Baffi (ITA) | Mapei-GB | |
| 1997 | Melchor Mauri (ESP) | ONCE | |
| 1998 | Melchor Mauri (ESP) | ONCE | |
| 1999 | Steffen Kjærgaard (NOR) | Team Chicky World | |
| 2000 | David Cañada (ESP) | ONCE-Deutsche Bank | |
| 2001 | David Millar (GBR) | Cofidis | |
| 2002 | Didier Rous (FRA) | Bonjour | |
| 2003 | Carlos Da Cruz (FRA) | FDJeux.com | |
| 2004 | Thomas Löfkvist (SWE) | FDJeux.com | |
| 2005 | Sylvain Chavanel (FRA) | Cofidis | |
| 2006 | Stefan Schumacher (GER) | Gerolsteiner | |
| 2007 | Andreas Klöden (GER) | Astana | |
| 2008 | Thomas Voeckler (FRA) | Bouygues Télécom | |
| 2009 | David Lelay (FRA) | Agritubel | |
| 2010 | Luis León Sánchez (ESP) | Caisse d'Epargne | |
| 2011 | Anthony Roux (FRA) | FDJ |