The Tour de France 2024 will be historic from start to finish. For the first time, the race will start in Italy, and for the first time since 1903, the final destination will not be Paris. The facts at a glance.
The start and the finish
After 2022 in Copenhagen and 2023 in the Basque Country, the Tour de France will once again start outside of France this year. For the first time in its 111-year history, the Grand Départ will take place in Italy - in Tuscany. In order not to interfere with preparations for the Olympic Games in Paris, the most famous and important cycling race in the world will not finish in the French capital for the first time since its premiere in 1903.
The stage for the final battle for overall victory on July 21 - and for the first time since 1989 - will be an individual time trial that leads from Monaco over a long climb to Nice. The opening stage is also extremely demanding. The first of 21 stages, starting in Florence and finishing in Rimini, is tougher than any other Tour start before, with 3600 meters of climbing spread over 206 km. The contenders for the first maillot jaune are the classics specialists. The favorites for overall victory will also be challenged right from the start.
The route
With a total length of 3492 kilometers, the Tour de France 2024 is clearly designed for the climbers with over 52,000 meters of elevation gain and 27 passes. After crossing the border from Italy into France, the race enters the high mountains on day four with the crossing of the legendary Col du Galibier. There are a total of seven mountain stages with four summit finishes. Particularly feared are the tough 15th stage in the Pyrenees and the 19th and 20th stages in the Alps, each with over 4,500 meters of ascent.
The almost completely flat 25 km long time trial in stage 7 is also a special highlight. Or the 14 gravel road sectors that stretch over 32 km around Troyes two days later - feared by the riders, pure spectacle for the spectators.
The favorites
Tadej Pogacar is considered to have the best chance of overall victory. No other rider is as highly rated by the betting agencies as the Slovenian, who is aiming for the rare double of Giro d'Italia and Tour de France. It would be his third triumph after 2020 and 2021. One of his biggest challengers is Jonas Vingegaard, the winner of the last two years. However, after his serious crash in April, it is unclear whether the Dane will be able to perform to his full potential over three weeks. Pogacar's compatriot Primoz Roglic and the Belgian prodigy Remco Evenepoel (on his debut) have set themselves the task of turning the duel of recent years between Pogacar and Vingegaard into a three-way or perhaps even a four-way battle.
The record chaser
Not all eyes will be on Mark Cavendish in the sprint finishes, but many will. The 2011 world champion actually wanted to end his career at the end of last season. Now, at the age of 39, the long-time top sprinter from the Isle of Man is making another attempt to become the sole record holder with a 35th stage win at the Tour de France. So far, Cavendish and Belgian cycling legend Eddy Merckx share the record. Cavendish's record chase last year ended in a crash drama. He broke his collarbone on stage 8, but was immediately offered a contract extension by his team Astana. In October, Cavendish made a U-turn and declared his retirement - with the hope of achieving something historic once again. He put the finishing touches to this at the Tour de Suisse.
SDA
