“On July 21, 2024, for the first time since 1904, the arrival of the Tour de France will not take place in Paris, but in Nice”, officially announced Christian Estrosi, the mayor of the Riviera capital, this Thursday noon. The final event of “the most prestigious of cycling races”, which will celebrate its 111th edition and which will start on June 29 from Florence, Italy, has been dislodged due to the organization of the Olympic Games.
In addition to this revelation, the organizers affirmed that the last stage will be an “individual time trial, where everything can be decided”, a first since 1989. Without revealing all the details, they indicated “that this time trial will not won’t be 10 km” and that it “will not be flat”. Usually, the race ends with a sprint on the Champs Elysées, a legendary finish since 1975.
Two major stages in Nice
“It is the first city in France to welcome the arrival of the Tour, outside of Paris, since 1904”, added Christian Prudhomme, director of the race. Before specifying that “this secret” had been kept since “a dinner on December 11, 2017”. “Another big city has shown its interest but for obvious reasons, such as the beauty of the setting and the sports ground offered by the Côte d’Azur, we preferred to use the most beautiful territory possible that Nice offers us”. He said that in 2025, the final will be “back in Paris, for the 50th anniversary of the arrival on the Champs Elysées” and insisted that this 111th edition of the great loop will be “unique and exceptional”.
In addition to the “great arrival”, as the mayor of Nice described it, the day before, on July 20, “the Tour de France will start from Nice with a mountain-oriented event, higher than what is done for Paris – Nice”, to have “even greater suspense”, continues Christian Prudhomme. For the director of the Tour de France, “Nice deserves this final outcome”, in particular by its adaptability and “its know-how in sports events”. He cites the start of the race in 2020, in the midst of Covid-19, postponed from the end of July to the end of August, which “could not have been done without all this will from the community”.
Yann Le Moenner, the general manager of Amaury Sport Organization (ASO) which organizes the event, underlines that “few cities know how to imagine the craziest like Nice in addition to being a land of sport”. “It’s a cyclist’s paradise,” he continues. It’s breathtaking, whether in terms of landscapes but also in terms of the challenges that the territory offers for sport. »
A showcase for the world
The city of Nice will soon deliberate the budget for the holding of this event, which it has estimated at an envelope of 2.5 million euros, shared “between the metropolis, other communities, the region, the State, the European Union,” she said.
An “incomparable” amount to all the benefits that this “phenomenal and historic weekend will bring to the city”, points out Christian Estrosi. “In addition to everything that will benefit the local economic sector, there will be incredible media coverage, with more than 90 channels around the world focusing on our landscapes, our villages, the Baie des Anges and our scenery. »
In total, the Tour de France passed nearly 40 times in Nice, making the capital of the French Riviera one of the cities most crossed by the peloton. The very first appearance was in 1906. The capital of the French Riviera hosted two major departures, in 1981 and in 2020.