Seharusnya acara lomba itu diawali seperti tahun lalu di negara tetangga Mali, namun dipindahkan setelah anggota keamanan Prancis menyatakan adanya ancaman keamanan dari kalangan pemberontak Aljazair.
Stages originally due to be held last year in neighbouring Mali were cancelled after French security services cited a threat from Algerian rebels.