Very soon it will be the extraordinary three weeks that is cycling’s biggest race, the Greatest Show on Earth, the Tour de France. This year, for the first time, the Tour will not finish on the Champs-Élysées (the first time in 100 years), to not clash with preparations for the Olympic and Paralympic Games being held in Paris.
The TDF speeds away on Saturday 29th June with the first Grand Départ from Italy.
By the time the race finishes in Nice, a total of 3,492 kilometres will have been covered. The TDF will have visited four countries - Italy, Saint-Marino, Monaco, and France. In France, 7 regions and 30 departments will be visited. The final day, on Sunday July 21st, will be a second individual time trial. (The last time trial on the final day was 35 years ago in 1989, from Versailles to Paris, Champs-Élysées.)
The new generation of 'big hitters' - Remco Evenepoel, Tadej Pogacar, Primož Roglic, and Jonas Vingegaard - will be fighting to prove who's best, while sprinter and newly knighted Sir Mark Cavendish is back, no doubt to achieve a 35th stage win and so beat Eddy Merckx's record of 34 stage wins in the Tour de France.
The 2024 Tour de France route includes
3,492 km
• eight flat stages,
• four hilly stages and
• seven mountain stages, with
• four high altitude finishes:
• the summit of the Tour will be the Bonette pass in the Alps, the highest tarmac road in France at 2802 m.
• 32 km "routesblanches", in 14 sections of white gravel lanes/tracks (stage 9, Troyes – Troyes)
• two individual time trials:
Nuits-Saint-Georges – Gevrey-Chambertin (stage 7), 25 km
Monaco – Nice (stage 21), 32.5 km
• two rest days
Although there is an emphasis to providing work for the race's climbers, sprinters, puncheurs and daredevils will also have the opportunity to shine on the roads of France.
Twelve cities will host the Tour de France for the first time, in order of visit :
Florence, Rimini, Cesenatico, Bologna, Piacenza, Saint-Vulbas, Gevrey-Chambertin, Colombey-les-Deux-Églises, Évaux-les-Bains, Gruissan, Superdévoluy, Col de la Couillole.
Tour de France 2024 route in full, 5:25 mins
italian grand départ
The Grand Départ starts in Florence in Tuscany. The second stage traverses the region of Emilia-Romagna to finish in Bologne, while the third stage ends at Turin
in the region of Piedment.
Map showing the three stages in Italy at the start of the 2024 Tour de France.
the 21 stages of the 2024 route
[Note:blue links go to profile section on this page, yellow links go to associated pages at abelard.org]
Flat stages, hilly stages, medium mountain stages, mountain stages, gravel sections, time trials, rest days
1
Italy : Florence > San Marino > Italy Rimini
Sat. 29 June [206 km / 128 mi]
12
Aurillac – Villeneuve-sur-Lot
Thurs. 11 July [204 km / 127 mi]
2
Italy : Cesenatico – Bologna
Sun. 30 June [200 km / 120 mi]
Nice – Col de la Couillole
Sat. 20 July [133 km / 83 mi]
summit finish : 1678 m
10
Orléans – Saint-Amand-Montrond Tues. 9 July [187 km / &&- mi]
21
Monaco – France : Nice
Sun. 21 July [35.2 km/ 21 mi]
individual time-trial (ITT)
11
Evaux-les-Bains – Le Lioran Wed. 10 July [211 km / 131 mi]
blue links go to related sections on this page yellow links go to related articles at abelard.org
The race's distance is 3,404 kilometres or 2,115 miles.
advertisement
bonus seconds and bonus points
These are given at the summits of six significant climbs - 8, 5 and 2 seconds (under the approval of the
Union cycliste internationale).
Time bonuses will be awarded at the finish of each stage and will amount to 10, 6 and 4 seconds, respectively, for the first three classified riders.
Bonus points will be given on passes or summits at strategic points along the route. The first three classified riders will be awarded bonuses of 8, 5 and 2 seconds, respectively (subject to approval by the International Cycling Union). These bonus points will not count towards the points classification.
Cime de la Bonnette, highest tarmacked road in the TDF, stage 19
Stage 20: Sat. 20th July, Nice – Col de la Couillole,
133 km
Profile of stage 20
the teams for 2024
There are twenty-two teams taking part in the 2024 Tour de France. As well as all nineteen UCI World Pro Teams, four second-tier UCI Pro teams have been invited (wih askerisks in the main table) :
The Tour de France is being televised throughout the world. The following table lists the broadcasters by country including those providing live broadcasts.
Note, Eurosport broadcasts in Britain on Sky channels 410 - 413, as well as in mainland Europe .
Frances broadxasts on France 2 or France 3.
There is no immediate indication whether or not broadcasts are free to view, however most expect a subscription. Of course, this may be part of your television provider's charges.
