The 2024 Tour de France will finish on the French Riviera with a tough stage 20 summit finish at the Col de la Couillole and then a final hilly 35km individual time trial from Monaco to Nice expected to create a nail-biting finish.
Race organisers ASO announced the route details on Monday morning, the day after Tadej Pogačar stormed to stage and overall victory on the final day of Paris-Nice.
The Mediterranean city will host the 2024 Tour de France finale because the traditional finish on the Champs Elysees in Paris is unavailable due to the capital city hosting the Olympic Games.
Stage 20 of the 2024 Tour de France will see the peloton tackle a 132km stage that starts in Nice and is packed with 4,400 metres of climbing as the riders take on the Col de Braus, the Col de Turini, and Col de La Colmiane ahead of the summit finish at the Col de la Couillole.
The final stage on Sunday, July 21 is a hilly 35.2km test against the clock starting in Monaco and finishing in Nice with the climbs of La Turbie and the Col d’Eze lying on the route. The final 15km are on a long sweeping descent to Nice and then along the Promenade des Anglais to a finish on the Place Masséna.
Last December, ASO announced that the finish of the Tour would be moved from Paris for the first time in the race’s history, with the capital city preparing for the Olympics, which begins on July 26.
As a result, it was decided to move the race finale to the south coast with a time trial set to host the final stage for the first time since the famous 1989 edition, where Greg Lemond dramatically beat Laurent Fignon for the yellow jersey.
The mountainous penultimate stage will see the riders tackle several familiar climbs. The Col de Turini (20.7km at 5.7%) and Col de La Colmiane (7.5km at 7.1%) featured on the second stage of the 2020 Tour de France, won by Julian Alaphilippe.
The Turini and Colmiane have also featured in the latter stages of Paris-Nice in recent years, while the Col de la Couillole (15.7km at 7.1%) hosted the penultimate stage of Paris-Nice at the weekend.
The final day time trial will see the Col d’Eze (1.6km at 8.1%) play host to a time trial for the first time since Richie Porte’s stage and overall win at the 2015 Paris-Nice, though the climb of La Turbie (8.1km at 5.6%) also features. A long gradual descent and a flat run to Nice would give pure time triallists a chance to make up lost ground after the climbing.
With the final stage and the Col d’Eze often hosting dramatic finales at Paris-Nice, the hope is that
A finish away from Paris isn’t the only departure from the norm for the 2024 Tour, either, as the race will kick off in Italy for the first time in its history.
The Grand Départ will take in three stages in France’s neighbouring country, with a tough opening 205km stage putting the peloton through 3,700 metres of climbing from Florence to Rimini.
More hills lie in wait on stage 2 – a 200km run from Cesenatico to Bologna, before a 225km sprint stage from Piacenza to Turin. Stage 4 is expected to depart from Pinerolo before crossing the Alps back into France.
Beyond the start and finish of the race, with details of five stages having already been announced, little else is known about the 2024 Tour de France route.
For all the information on the 2023 Tour de France route, check our comprehensive guide.
