Tour de France: The Grande Boucle 2024 will end well in Nice, with an individual time trial (Official)

The organization formalized another news on the sidelines of the press conference: the last stage, traditionally a sprint on the Champs-Elysées, will this time be an individual time trial. It will be the first time that the Tour has finished on a time since the legendary outcome of 1989 when Laurent Fignon lost the yellow jersey by eight seconds, the smallest gap in history, against Greg Lemond.

Return to Paris in 2025

As is generally the case in an Olympic year, the start of this 111th edition, which should start for the first time from Italy and the city of Florence, will be brought forward by one week. The race will start on June 29 and arrive on July 21, five days before the start of the Olympic Games. “Nice has hosted the Tour 37 times with two starts in 1981 and 2020″. this last “in a very difficult health context“with the Covid-19 pandemic, underlined the mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi.

“Nice is a city that shines, known worldwide. There is the beauty of the setting and the mountain next to it. The city offers an exceptional setting and a formidable field of expression for the champions that we are going to use“, said Christian Prudhomme to AFP. On Wednesday, The Parisian announced that the director of the Tour de France favored the city of Nice, which was to host the start of the Grande Boucle in July 2020. But due to the pandemic, the start had been postponed to August 29, i.e. a period when summer tourists deserted the region.

For this Tour unlike any other, the organizers are planning a “fireworks final weekend“with first, on Saturday, a stage”mountain oriented” from Nice. Then, the next day, as the ultimate justice of the peace, an individual time trial. In 2025, the return to normal is already scheduled, especially since we will have something to to celebrate. “We will be delighted to find Paris and the Champs-Élysées for the 50th anniversary of the first arrival on the Champs in 2025“, concludes Christian Prudhomme. (With AFP)