Tour de France 2024: what route should we expect in the Northern Alps?
Details of the Tour de France 2024 route must be revealed this Wednesday, October 25. But according to initial information, the route should not give pride of place to the Northern Alps during this 111th edition turned upside down by the Paris Olympics.
Which way between Florence and Nice? While the starting and finishing points of the Tour de France 2024 are already known, the veil must lift this Wednesday, October 25 on the rest of the route of a 111th edition turned upside down by the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
But the triumphant announcements of certain local elected officials, the hotel reservations and the observations of witnesses who were able to meet Tour officials during their scouting already make it possible to sketch the broad outlines.
This year, the two main attractions and new features have already been made official months ago, linked to the holding of the Olympic Games in Paris (July 26-August 11) which influences both the dates and the route of the Grande Boucle.
An Italian departure
The Tour will therefore leave a week earlier than usual, on June 29 from Italy, for three weeks of racing. The Grande Boucle will start from Florence, which will allow the passage to put an end to a “historical anomaly” since it will be the first time that Italy, a historic nation of cycling, will experience a “grand departure”, a hundred years after the victory of Ottavio Bottecchia.
In total, there will be three complete stages in Italy, the first of which is already very mountainous, before entering French territory with a brief foray into the Northern Alps. According to several local media, the 4th stage of the Tour should in fact start from Pinerolo and finish in Valloire on July 2, with a possible passage via the Col de Montgenèvre.
A first visit before a return?
The next day, the Tour should already leave the Northern Alps from Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne to reach Ain and the Mâcon region, in a transition stage. The route should therefore not pass through Haute-Savoie this year. A first since 2019. In 2023, the Haut-Savoyard department was well off with the Tour passing through Morzine, Les Gets, Saint-Gervais, Passy and Combloux.
A return to the Alpine massif could take place in the third week, but in the departments of the Southern Alps. Indeed, while the Tour will end in Nice during a time trial due to the Olympics in Paris, the route should return to the nearby massifs.
The penultimate stage should thus offer quite a roller coaster ride with a short (132 km) but dizzying (4,400 meters of altitude difference) event up to the summit of the Col de la Couillole. The day before, the Tour will arrive at Isola 2000, as recently announced by the mayor of Nice Christian Estrosi.
Overall, the 2024 course should be pleasant for attackers even if it promises to be a little less mountainous than that of the last edition. Several mythical peaks should appear on the map. The Galibier, the Tourmalet and the summit of La Bonette (2,802 m) are mentioned.
This article is originally published on france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr
