Tour de France 2024 route declassified! Four mountain finishes and an unconventional finale await the riders

The participants of the 111th edition of the most famous cycling race in the world will cover a total of 3,492 kilometres. The 2024 Tour de France will start in Italy for the first time and instead of the classic finish in Paris on the Champs-Élysées, it will culminate in an unconventional individual time trial in Nice.

The route of the next Old Lady was unveiled on 25 October at a spectacular presentation, which was attended by leading figures from the cycling world, led by the winner of the last two editions, Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard.

At first glance, it is clear that the 2024 Tour de France will be unusual in many ways from its start. The organisers of cycling’s most famous Grand Tour have included four mountain finishes, gravel stages and two individual time trials totalling 59 kilometres.

It is the latter, a hilly time trial from Monaco to Nice, that awaits the riders on the last day of the race and suggests a fight for the yellow jersey until the very end of the Tour de France. A mass spurt could potentially end the eight stages that are classified as flat.

🤩 Here it is, the official route of the #TDF2024!

🤩 Voici le parcours officiel du #TDF2024 ! pic.twitter.com/3ORf31AS4T

— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) October 25, 2023

The Grand Départ of the legendary race will be hosted by Italy for the first time in its history, with a total of three opening stages taking place on its territory. The start will take place in Florence and on the very first day on the route to Rimini the riders will have to overcome 3,800 vertical metres.

Italy will also offer an opportunity for the sprinters on the third stage from Piacenza to Turin before the peloton moves on to the Alps.

Nor will the riders be deprived of iconic climbs in the upcoming edition. In the Alps, the peloton will face the famous Col du Galibier pass, while in the Pyrenees they will ride the famous Tourmalet.

After sixteen years, the peloton will also return to the Col de la Bonette, located at an altitude of 2,802 metres. In total, the riders will climb 52,000 vertical metres during the three-week race.

The king of the 111th Tour de France will be known on July 21 after the riders arrive in Nice. It will be the first time in the history of the race that the peloton will not pass through the French capital.

The reason for breaking more than a century of tradition is the Olympic Games, which will start in Paris just five days after the finish of cycling’s most famous race. The winner of the Old Lady will thus be decorated on the Côte d’Azur instead of the Champs-Élysées.

Source: Global Cycling Network, Cyclingnews