The route of the 2016 Paris-Nice was announced on 17 December 2015. The race began with a prologue individual time trial in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, near Paris, on Sunday 6 March and continued for the following seven days. The remaining stages were all road stages, with no other time trials. Stage 1 included two dirt tracks in the final part of the stage, with exposed roads made a possibility. Stage 3 was scheduled to finish on Mont Brouilly, a climb at a 7.7% gradient. Stage 5 included part of the climb of Mont Ventoux, but this came towards the beginning of the stage and was followed by more than of roads to the finish. The crucial stages were expected to be the final two: Stage 6 finished on the Madone d'Utelle, a climb at 5.7%. The final stage included six categorised climbs, with the Col d'Èze the final climb before the descent into Nice for the finish on the Promenade des Anglais.