The 2016 Grand Prix d'Ouverture La Marseillaise was 152 kilometers long. According to the newspaper La Marseillaise, it will be ten kilometers longer in 2017 due to a request from the riders.

There will be no change in the first half of the course. After the famous Col de l'Espigoulier, the riders will return to Géménos and Roquefort-La-Bédoule, but instead of following the motorway to go directly towards La Ciotat, they will head to Roquefort from the north and then go to Cassis, where they will pass a first time, which was not the case in the past. They will join the road that runs along the motorway in the direction of La Ciotat, and thus get backto the usual route. The roads are fairly flat but on returning towards the highway, the road rises towards the Pas de Bellefille which adds a little to the difficulty. Then, as usual, the riders will have to tackle the Route des Cretes between La Ciotat and Cassis and finally the Col de La Gineste before finishing in front of the Stade Velodrome which will host the final time trial of the Tour de France in July.

In 2016 Dries Devenyns from IAM Cycling won ahead of Thibaut Pinot (FDJ). The Belgian will not be able to defend his title in 2017 since his new team, Quick-Step Floors, won’t be at the start of the race. On the other hand, like in 2016, Thibaut Pinot will start his season at the race.