Tour de France 2024 route revealed: Will it pass near you?

The Tour de France 2024 race route has been revealed, in an unprecedented itinerary from Florence in Italy to Nice in France.

For the 26th time in its history, the race will depart from a location outside of France, as it did from Copenhagen in 2022 and Bilbao this year.

The points of departure and arrival were already known, but now the entire three-week route has been published. The 2024 event will be the 111th edition of the gruelling cycling race.

The organisers unveiled the route at the Palais des Congrès in Paris yesterday (October 24).

The stages will pass through towns including:

• Valloire (Savoie)
• Mâcon (Saône-et-Loire)
• Dijon (Côte-d'Or)
• Orléans (Loiret)
• Evaux-les-Bains (Creuse)
• Villeneuve-sur-Lot ( Nouvelle-Aquitaine)
• Pau (Pyrénées-Atlantiques)
• Nîmes (Occitanie)
• Gap (Hautes-Alpes)

It will also pass through Monaco.

Early departure and mountain challenges

The 2024 Tour will leave a week earlier than usual – on June 29 – due to a ‘clash’ with another significant sporting event: the Paris 2024 Olympic Games (July 26 – August 11).

This is also why the race will end in Nice, rather than the traditional ending point in Paris. The final stage will involve tough climbs - including to La Turbie and the peak of Eze - before finishing in Place Masséna, Nice.

The route will also pass through the Alps and Pyrénées, as well as the department of Cantal.

Thierry Gouvenou, Tour de France route manager, told FranceInfo: “It's true that in Cantal, there's plenty of space and you can breathe easily... but for the riders, it's still a challenge. These aren't the most famous [mountain] passes, but once you get past [a gradient of] 10%, it becomes difficult.”

Head of the tour, Christian Prudhomme, said that some of the stages were “crazy”, with “roads that are sometimes narrow and winding for around 100 kilometres…with some very, very steep slopes. These allow the great champions to break away from the pack.”

The route will also take in views across the Massif Central and the Auvergne volcanoes, which organisers hope will showcase these regions of France to spectators.

“There’s no better showcase than the Tour de France,” said Bruno Faure, President of the Cantal Departmental Council. “It's the best sporting event for promoting your region and its qualities. With the Tour de France, we're saying: 'Come and cycle here!’”

Read also: Briton cycles 1951 Tour de France route for charity in father’s memory

Departure abroad

This is the first time that the Tour will begin in Italy, and it coincides with the 100th anniversary of the race won by Italian rider Ottavio Bottecchia.

In 2024, there will be three stages in Italy, before the race crosses over into France.

The stages in Italy are:

• Florence to Rimini - June 29 (205km)
• Cesenatico to Bologna - June 30 (200km)
• Plaisance to Turin - July 1 (225km)

Several legendary peaks are set to feature in the route, including the Galibier, the Tourmalet, the col de la Couillole, the col de Néronne, the pas de Peyrol, and the summit of the Bonette.

Le women’s Tour also starting abroad

The women’s version of the race - the Tour de France Femmes - will also depart abroad in 2024, with the first stage departing from Rotterdam, Netherlands, on August 12, with an arrival on August 18, likely in the Alps.

Three of the eight stages will take place in the Netherlands, including two on the same day (including a time trial). The race will start on a Monday instead of the Sunday, also because of Paris 2024, which will finish the day before.

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