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Thursday, October 26, 2023
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2023 Tour de France | 2023 Giro d'Italia
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Tour boss Christian Prudhomme revealed the 2024 Tour de France route at the Palais de Congrès in Paris on Wednesday, November 24, to almost 4,000 spectators.
Here are the details of the route.
2024 Tour de France. 3,492 km
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Here’s the post from Team Jumbo-Visma:
Organiser ASO unveiled the route for the 111th edition of the Tour de France on Wednesday. The 2024 edition will start in the Italian city of Florence and finish three weeks later in Nice. The traditional finish in Paris will be avoided for the first time due to the Olympic Games.
For the first time in history, the Tour de France will start on Italian soil. The opening stage is a tough one, with almost four thousand metres of climbing. "It's an incredibly challenging course from the first metre", says CEO of Team Jumbo-Visma Richard Plugge. "As winners of the last two editions, we have high ambitions for next year."
For the ninth stage, the Tour organisers send the peloton over gravel roads towards Troyes. "I think it is a bit unnecessary", Plugge says. "It increases the chance of bad luck. We want the fight to be as fair as possible. A ride like this, in my opinion, does not contribute to that."
Jonas Vingegaard at the Tour route presentation.
Reigning Tour winner Jonas Vingegaard also has his doubts about riding on dirt roads. "It will be a new experience as it will be the first time I ride on gravel during a race. It's a day where you can lose more than you can gain. We will have to make do with the choice of the course builders."
Next year, as so often, the focus will be on the Alps and the Pyrenees. The latter mountains will be tackled immediately after the first rest day. The Alps are scheduled for the final week. With climbs to the Tourmalet, Plateau de Beille, Pla d'Adet, Col de Galibier, Isola 2000 and Col de la Bonette, the upcoming edition of the world's greatest cycling race will once again be filled with the necessary high-profile tests.
"The whole course is tailor-made for me", Vingegaard says. "The third week is the main focus. We have to be on our guard from day one because there is no time to settle in. It's still a while away, but I'm really looking forward to it."
Plugge knows who the course is for. "It's really a climbers' course. We feel very comfortable with it. Now that everything is known, we can start to prepare. The time trials are also challenging with a lot of climbing", says Plugge, referring to the two races against the clock. The riders will ride a total of 60 kilometres individually.
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Julian Alaphilippe's Team Soudal Quick-Step posted these comments about the 2024 Tour de rance Route:
Separated by roughly 400 kilometers, Florence and Nice will host the start and finish, respectively, of next year’s Tour de France. It will be for the first time that Italy gets the Grand Départ, and it will happen one century after Ottavio Bottecchia wrote history for his country, becoming the first Italian to win the iconic yellow jersey after a truly dominant display.
Covering a total of 3492 kilometers, the route of the 111th edition will include five summit finishes – including Saint-Lary-Soulan, Plateau de Beille and Isola 2000 – a visit at over 2800 meters on Cime de la Bonette – 60 kilometers of individual time trial, 35 of which come on the final stage between Monte Carlo and Nice, and an incredibly hard stage 9 around Troyes featuring 32 kilometers of gravel roads spread over 14 sectors.
Next July, the race will also visit three locations inextricably linked with our very own Julian Alaphilippe: Saint-Amand-Montrond, where he was born, Imola, the site of his first world title in 2020, and Nice, where in the same year – just a few weeks before conquering the rainbow jersey – he took a spectacular and emotional stage win together the yellow jersey.
Julian Alaphlippe descends the Joux-Plane in stage 14 of the 2023 Tour de France. Sirotti photo
“We have a bit of everything on the menu. A very hard start in Italy and a demanding opening week, with the individual time trial in Gevrey-Chambertin and those tricky dirt roads, followed by a couple of tough mountain stages and even some days where the crosswinds could wreak havoc later in the race. Then there’s also the final weekend, where without Paris, anything can happen. This means that a rider going for a good general classification at this edition needs to be really strong and on top of his game all the time”, said Soudal Quick-Step sports director Wilfried Peeters.
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Here’s the MPCC’s latest:
THE MOUVEMENT POUR UN CYCLISME CRÉDIBLE (MPCC) MET IN PARIS ON TUESDAY 24 OCTOBER, ON THE EVE OF THE OFFICIAL PRESENTATION OF THE TOUR DE FRANCE 2024, FOR ITS ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING. ITS MEMBERS, FOLLOWING A 2023 SEASON MARKED BY A CLIMATE OF LATENT SUSPICION, NO LONGER WANT TO BE THE ONLY ONES TAKING ACTION. THE MPCC IS TARGETING JANUARY 1, 2024 FOR A GREATER AWARENESS: THE CREDIBILITY OF OUR SPORT DEPENDS ON IT.
At its Annual General Meeting, the MPCC set the scene for the 18th year of its existence, with a view to reflecting on how far it has come, talking about the present and, above all, the future. When the movement was created in 2007 in London, at the start of the Tour de France, cycling was surrounded by scandals. To enhance the credibility of their sport, a number of team managers, believing in the voluntary basis, decided to adopt stricter rules to complement those of the governing bodies. Today, 70% of first or second division teams are members of the MPCC.
OVER THE PAST 17 YEARS, THEIR COMMITMENT HAS ALWAYS BEEN DRIVEN BY A STRONG WILL: TO BE A PLAYER IN THE FIGHT AGAINST DOPING.
This was the case when the MPCC played its role as whistleblower with the WADA on the subject of corticosteroids and tramadol.
This was the case when, over a period of twelve years, the MPCC carried out more than 4,000 tests to prevent the misuse of corticosteroids, until they were banned by WADA.
This was the case when the MPCC unreservedly supported the increase in budgets to support the work of the International Testing Agency (ITA).
This was the case when the MPCC incorporated into its regulations the principle of self-suspension of a team after two positive cases in the last twelve months. The UCI adopted this rule.
This was the case when the MPCC noted, each year, that its members complied 100% with a set of internal rules that had never changed a single line.
This was the case from 2007 to 2023, and will continue.
ALL THE MEMBERS OF THE MPCC – TEAMS, RIDERS, STAFF, AGENTS, FEDERATIONS, ORGANISERS, SPONSORS – ARE REPEATING IT TODAY:THEIR DETERMINATION WILL NOT BE WEAKENED.
This was not the case when, in 2015, 2018 and 2019, two teams and two federations withdrew from the MPCC, disagreeing with the internal regulations on cortisol levels.
This was not the case either when, in 2016, another member team failed to comply with the internal rule not to hire a rider who had been suspended for more than six months.
The top six teams in the UCI 2023 men’s world ranking, and the top three women’s teams, are not members of the MPCC. They are strongly encouraged to join the movement between now and 1 January. Several of their riders have already decided to commit themselves as individuals.
AT THE MPCC, WE ARE ACTIVE PLAYERS. AND EVEN PROACTIVE.
The MPCC’s action is supported by the ITA. For 2024, it is proposing that the teams’ financial contribution to the ITA should no longer be a fixed fee, but indexed to each team’s budget, in a context where “two-speed cycling” is becoming established in terms of financial resources.
The MPCC is invited each year by the UCI to attend its Professional Cycling Council (PCC) as an observer. The MPCC also benefits unreservedly from the support of Tour de France Director Christian Prudhomme, who is determined each year to award his wild cards only to teams that are members of our movement.
The MPCC is continuing and will continue to commit to stricter rules to complement those of the authorities. To teams that are not members, we say: come on! Be a player! The persistent climate of latent suspicion requires action, forces to “keep the lights on” and demands commitment.
Over 600 riders and more than 400 team staff have joined the MPCC on a voluntary basis. To the others: come along too! To their employers: give them the freedom to commit to the MPCC according to their ethical and personal convictions.
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