After the mountainous 2023 Tour de France route that included just a single 22km time trial, race director Christian Prudhomme unveiled a more balanced but intriguing route for 2024 at the official presentation in the Palais des Congrès in Paris on Wednesday.
The inclusion of two individual time trials for a total of 59km, four mountain-top finishes, a series of gravel sections on stage 9, and a final hilly time trial to Nice will surely create a more open race, with Remco Evenepoel, Primož Roglič and others poised to take on Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogačar next summer.
Race organiser ASO also confirmed they plan to award additional time bonuses of eight, five and two seconds during stages, as well as the usual ten, six and four seconds awarded at stage finishes.
The route of the 2024 Tour de France covers a total of 3,492km with some 52,320 metres of overall elevation. That is 20% more than the 2024 Giro d’Italia and with so many of the climbs coming in the final week, it could make it difficult for Pogačar or anyone else to target a Giro-Tour double in 2024.
ASO claim there are eight flat stages and so eight sprint opportunities but the likes of Mark Cavendish, Jasper Philipsen and their teammates will have to fight hard for each one.
The 111th edition of cycling’s biggest race starts in Florence, Italy on Saturday, June 29 and ends three weeks later in Nice on Sunday, July 21. It is the first time the Tour starts in Italy and the first time it finishes in Nice, to avoid the preparations for the 2024 Paris Olympics Games, which begin just a week later.
Week one: From Italy to the finest French vineyards
(Image credit: ASO)
The Grand Départ of the 2024 Tour de France will celebrate the history, culture and beauty of central and northern Italy with stages in Tuscany, Emilia Romagna and then Piedmont. The race will also remember the Italian Tour de France winners on the 100th anniversary of Ottavio Bottecchia’s 1924 triumph.
Florence will host the team presentation and stage 1 rolls out from Piazzale Michelangelo, which overlooks the city, before visiting Gino Bartali’s birthplace and the museum that remembers him in Ponte a Ema.
The 205km stage climbs over the Apennines to the Adriatic coast, with 3,800 metres of climbing providing a testing start to the Tour via the Valico Tre Faggi and the Republic of San Marino. The last climb comes just 25km from the finish in Rimini and so could prove too tough for some of the sprinters. Time bonuses on the line could see the overall contenders fight for an early victory and an early time gain.
Stage 2 will start in Marco Pantani’s hometown of Cesenatico and it will also climb into the rolling hills of Romagna for 200km before the finish in Bologna after two laps of the San Luca climb made famous by the Giro dell’Emilia. The gradients of the San Luca climb make this an important stage for the general classification.
The third stage is a flatter affair and covers 225 km from Piacenza to Turin. After two days of suffering, the sprinters will surely get their chance in the capital of Piedmont.
The 2024 Tour heads into France on stage 4 via the Alps. The stage rolls out of Pinerolo on the plain and climbs high via Sestriere, the Col de Montgenèvre and the Col du Galiber before a fast descent to Valloire. Tom Pidcock was not in Paris for the presentation but he would surely love to repeat his high-speed descent from 2022 and eventual stage victory.
The first week continues to head northwest, with stages to Saint-Vulbas and then Dijon offering more opportunities for breakaways and especially the fast finishers.
Stage 7 sees the riders take on the first time trial of the 2024 route amongst the Bourgogne Côte d’Or vineyards.
Prudhomme confirmed that the 25km stage is an individual time trial rather than a team event, but the twisting route up and into the vineyards includes a late 1.6km climb – not tough enough to tempt riders into making bike changes but an extra factor in deciding the winner and any time gains.
The first week ends with back-to-back stages ending in the hinterland of the champagne capital of Troyes to the southeast of Paris.
Stage 8 is one for the sprinters to celebrate with a spray of vintage champagne if they survive the late hills, while stage 9 is a far tougher day due to the 14 sectors of gravel that start after just 47km of the 199 km stage. The final six sectors are packed into the final 35km, making for a real test for the overall contenders.
It also seems like a stage for a vintage Julian Alaphilippe but Wout van Aert, Mathieu van der Poel and Pogačar will love it too.
Week two: Through La France Profonde to the Pyrenees
(Image credit: ASO)
The riders finally get a rest day after nine stages of racing, spending Monday July 8 in Orléans, two hours south of Paris. It is the most northerly point of the 2024 Tour de France.
Week two of the 2024 Tour starts with a four-day ride south to the Pyrenees via the Massif Central and the rural France Profonde, with stages to Alaphilippe’s hometown of Saint-Amand-Montrond, Le Lioran, Villeneuve-sur-Lot and then Pau.
Echelons could be a factor on stage 10, but the next day is the big one in week two, with the 211km ride through the Massif Central to Le Lioran including 4,350 metres of climbing. The final 50km include four categorised climbs, making a day of danger for the GC contenders.
The sprinters get two chances in Villeneuve-sur-Lot and then Pau before the Tour de France celebrates the Bastille Day holiday weekend in the Pyrenees with consecutive mountain finishes.
Stage 14 finishes in Pla d'Adet after climbing the Col du Tourmalet and the Hourquette d’Ancizan in just 152 km. Raymond Poulidor won at Pla d'Adet 50 years ago, and the stage finish will recall when he dropped Eddy Merckx to triumph there alone.
Stage 15 to Plateau de Beille is Bastille Day, so expect fireworks from the riders. The 198 km stage includes 4,850 metres of climbing and hits the Col de Peyresourde at the very start. It also climbs the Portet d'Aspet and later the Col d’Agnes, with descents to the valley before the finish up to Plateau de Beille. Joaquim Rodríguez won there when the Tour last visited in 2015, with Britain’s Thomas Gloag winning a stage of the Ronde l’Isard in 2021.
The stage seems ideal for a breakaway to sweep up king of the mountain points but the climb to Plateau de Beille is 15.8km long at an average of 7.9%, with the hardest gradients at the bottom. It will surely be one of the most decisive stages of the 2024 Tour de France.
Week three: Into the high Alps and a hilly final time trial to Nice
(Image credit: ASO)
Following the big weekend in the Pyrenees, the riders will enjoy the second rest day in Gruissan on the Mediterranean coast near the border with Spain on Monday, July 15.
A transition or breakaway stage then takes the peloton across the south of France to Nîmes, with crosswinds a danger near Montpellier just as they were in 2016 and in 2009, when Mark Cavendish won from an echelon.
Stage 17 leads into the Alps with a finish at the little-known ski resort of Super-Dévoluy north of Gap. The final 40km include the three main climbs of the day, with the 8.4% Col du Noyer ending just 12km from the finish.
Stage 18 from Gap to Barcelonnette is in the Alps but offers a reprieve from the high mountains, with a continuous series of hills making for a nervous day in the saddle. A breakaway will surely outpower the chasers and any fast finishers, with the gradual climb to the line in Barcelonnette deciding the stage winner.
The final mountain stages start on stage 19, with a high ride in the southern Alps.
The stage is short at just 145 km but includes the Col de Vars after 20km and then the 22.9 km haul up the Cime de la Bonette, the highest road in France at 2,802 metres. A long valley road follows before the climb to Isola 2000 close to the Italian border for a 16.1km climb to the finish. The three long climbs all reach over 2000 metres, making for a day of rarified air and hard racing.
The Tour de France often winds down on stage 20 but the 2024 race intensifies until the very end in the Alpes-Maritimes.
Stage 20 is short at 133km and so reduces the average stage distance to 166 km. However, it includes four very similar climbs and three testing descents but the final mountain finish atop the Col de la Couillole, a 15.7km climb at 7.1%.
The final stage of the 2024 Tour de France is a 34km hilly time trial from Monaco to Nice and is expected to create a tense and demanding finish to three weeks of racing even if there are already time gaps in the general classification.
After the start in Monaco, the time trial climbs the gradual La Turbie (8.1km at 5.6%) and then kicks up to the summit of the Col d'Eze (1.6km at 8.1%) before a long but technical descent to Nice.
Rather than bike changes, the GC contenders will have to perfect their uphill time trialling skills and optimise their road bike aero position and then be ready to take risks on the descent.
It is the first time in history that the Tour de France will end outside of Paris and is the first time that the race concludes with a time trial since Greg LeMond dramatically pipped Laurent Fignon on the Champs-Elysées in 1989.
ASO will be hoping for an equally historic and thrilling finale on July 21.
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2024 Tour de France route
Date
Stage
Start-finish
Distance
29-Jun
Stage 1
Florence - Rimini
206km
30-Jun
Stage 2
Cesenatico - Bologna
200km
1-Jul
Stage 3
Piacenza - Turin
229km
2-Jul
Stage 4
Pinerolo - Valloire
138km
3-Jul
Stage 5
Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne - Saint-Vulbas Plaine de l'Ain
177km
4-Jul
Stage 6
Mâcon - Dijon
163km
5-Jul
Stage 7
Nuits-Saint-Georges - Gevrey-Chambertin
25km (ITT)
6-Jul
Stage 8
Semur-en-Auxois - Colombey-les-Deux-Églises
176km
7-Jul
Stage 9
Troyes - Troyes
199km
8-Jul
Rest day 1
Orléans
Row 9 - Cell 3
9-Jul
Stage 10
Orléans - Saint-Amand-Montrond
187km
10-Jul
Stage 11
Évaux-les-Bains - Le Lioran
211km
11-Jul
Stage 12
Aurillac - Villeneuve-sur-Lot
204km
12-Jul
Stage 13
Agen - Pau
171km
13-Jul
Stage 14
Pau - Saint-Lary-Soulan Pla d'Adet
152km
14-Jul
Stage 15
Loudenvielle - Plateau de Beille
198km
15-Jul
Rest day 2
Gruissan
Row 16 - Cell 3
16-Jul
Stage 16
Gruissan - Nîmes
187km
17-Jul
Stage 17
Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux - Superdévoluy
178km
18-Jul
Stage 18
Gap - Barcelonnette
179km
19-Jul
Stage 19
Embrun - Isola 2000
145km
20-Jul
Stage 20
Nice - Col de la Couillole
133km
21-Jul
Stage 21
Monaco - Nice
34km (ITT)
Stage 1: Florence - Rimini, 206km
Stage 2: Cesenatico - Bologna, 200km
Image 1 of 2
Profile for the 2024 Tour de France stage 2(Image credit: ASO)
Profile for the 2024 Tour de France stage 2 climb(Image credit: ASO)
Stage 3: Piacenza - Turin, 229km
Stage 4: Pinerolo - Valloire, 138km
Image 1 of 2
Profiles for the 2024 Tour de France stage 4(Image credit: ASO)
Profiles for the 2024 Tour de France stage 4 Col du Galibier(Image credit: ASO)
Stage 5: Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne - Saint-Vulbas (Plaine de l'Ain), 177km
Stephen is the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters, Shift Active Media, and CyclingWeekly, among other publications.
