Tour of France
“It’s going to be epic”: route of the 111th tour presented
Jean-Etienne Amaury, President of the Amaury Sport Organization, at the presentation of the official route of the Tour de France 2024. Photo
© Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP/dpa
Four mountain finishes, two time trials and a gravel spectacle: the 111th Tour de France presents the stars of the scene with major challenges. The women’s tour ends in Alpe d’Huez.
With several premieres and a hoped-for battle between four cycling teamsStars, the 111th Tour de France 2024 is entering a historic edition.
For the first time, the world’s largest cycling race starts in Italy, and for the first time it ends in Nice and not in Paris because of the Olympic Games. As with the legendary battle of seconds in 1989, the next tour (June 29th to July 21st) will be decided in an individual time trial, before which four mountain finishes and a gravel stage await the peloton.
“It’s going to be epic,” said defending champion Jonas Vingegaard at the presentation of the route in the chic Palais de Congrès in Paris. The women will hold their 2024 tour in mid-August. The start is in Rotterdam, the finish is at the end of the famous bends of Alpe d’Huez.
Duel of the top stars
The two-time tour winners Tadej Pogacar and Vingegaard, time trial world champion Remco Evenepoel and Bora-hansgrohe’s royal transfer Primoz Roglic are set to fight a breathtaking four-way battle over 21 stages and 3,492 kilometers. The organizers have put everything in place for a memorable tour, with every top star able to play to their strengths. There are also up to eight possible sprint finishes, where Mark Cavendish is hoping for his 35th stage win. This would distance him from Eddy Merckx and become the sole record holder.
After the start in Florence, there are two days in Italy before heading to the French Alps. There will be a first endurance test early on at the legendary Col du Galibier. Then we head towards Paris, where the ninth section as a gravel stage is likely to be a spectacle. 14 sections on loose ground have to be overcome, a total of 32 kilometers.
Almost 5000 meters in altitude in one day
After the first day of rest in Orleans, the field heads to the Pyrenees. The 15th stage ends there on the Plateau de Beille, with an altitude difference of almost 5000 meters it is the most demanding day in the mountains. In the final week, three Alpine stages await the riders. The 19th stage with the 2802 meter Cime de Bonette and the mountain finish in Isola 2000 stands out here. There are 4,600 meters of altitude to overcome in just 145 kilometers.
An extremely demanding individual time trial from Monaco to Nice over 35 kilometers concludes the tour. The winner will be determined on the Promenade des Anglais on the Mediterranean and the organizers are hoping for a similar outcome to 1989. Back then, Frenchman Laurent Fignon and Greg LeMond fought a memorable battle against the clock in Paris. In the end, the American won the yellow jersey with a lead of eight seconds. It is still the closest tour decision in history.
Because of the Summer Games in Paris, the women’s tour will not start on the last day of the men’s race, as it did recently. The Grand Départ will only take place in Rotterdam on August 12th and will be the first time abroad. The route leads south over eight stages and 946.3 kilometers. On the second day there will be two stages in Rotterdam. The decision about the overall victory will be made on the final stage on August 18th, a demanding day in the Alps with almost 4000 meters of altitude from Le Grand-Bornand to Alpe d’Huez.