Mark Cavendish will return to the 2024 Tour de France in pursuit of a record-breaking 35th stage victory but the Manxman seemed shocked at the severity of the route.
"It's so hard. I am actually in a bit of shock," Cavendish told media, including Het Nieuwsblad and GCN, backstage after the route presentation in Paris. "It might be the hardest route I've ever seen at the Tour de France."
Race organiser ASO indicated there are eight flat stages, four hilly stages, seven mountain stages and two time trials during the three weeks of racing.
However, the real sprint opportunities seem few and far between, with a lot of mountains to climb and a lot of suffering required to have a shot at a stage victory. Strong breakaways appear to have a chance on some stages, while the overall contenders will surely dominate the racing on others, with mid-stage time bonuses of eight, five and two seconds adding an extra factor.
The first sprint opportunity appears to come on stage 3 to Turin and so in theory, Cavendish could set a new stage win record there.
There are other sprint possibilities on stage 5 and 6, but stage 9 includes 14 gravel sectors, while echelons could disrupt stage 10 to Saint-Amand-Montrond and stage 16 to Nîmes, while climbs fill the profile of stage 12 to Pau.
All the mountain stages, especially in the Alps of the final week, are days of suffering for the sprinters and their lead-out trains, who have to fight to finish inside the daily time limit.
"There's a few, but you've got to get to them, that's the problem," Cavendish said of the sprint opportunities. "I think Turin should offer the chance for sprinters. This is perhaps the toughest course I have ever seen during a Tour de France."
Cavendish spent long spells training in central Tuscany and so is looking forward to the Grand Depart in Florence. However, the opening stage to Rimini includes 3,600 metres of altitude as it passes over the Apennines, leaving little chance for Cavendish and the other sprinters, including 2023 green jersey winner Jasper Philipsen.
"The start in Italy is super nice. It is only a few kilometres away, so I know the first kilometres really well, but it makes no difference because it starts hard, finishes hard and is all hard," Cavendish said.
"It will be beautiful in Italy, the Giro is always an incredible race and I know the Tuscan people just love cycling. It is really quite special."
Cavendish crashed out of the 2023 Tour de France the day after finishing second in the Bordeaux sprint. He had announced his retirement but the crash and show of Tour de France sprint form convinced him to change his mind and race on in 2024.
Cavendish returned to racing at the end of season Tour of Turkey after surgery on his complex fracture. He recently spent time in Italy at an Astana Qazaqstan team get-together, planning for 2024 and a tilt at that 35th stage win.
Astana have built a far more powerful and experienced lead out train to help Cavendish in the 2024 sprints. Key lead-out man Michael Mørkøv has joined the team, along with another arrival from Soudal-QuickStep in Davide Ballerini, plus Max Kanter from Movistar and Rüdiger Selig from Lotto-Dstny.
"It's kind of still in the process, we know roughly what we are doing next year. It's a good group, I've seen a lot of the new guys," Cavendish said.
His 2023 season will end with the Tour de France criteriums in Singapore this weekend and in Saitama, Japan the weekend after.
