The Tour de France ends in 2024 for the first time in 35 years with an individual time trial. The tour organizers announced this on Monday in Nice. Due to the Olympic Games in Paris, the tour ends next year on July 21 in the Mediterranean Sea and thus for the first time outside the metropolitan area of the French capital. The opening ceremony of the Summer Games takes place just five days later.
The Tour of France last ended in 1989 with an individual time trial, when the American Greg LeMond ousted the Frenchman Laurent Fignon from first place on a historic day. LeMond caught up the gap of 50 seconds thanks to aerodynamically better equipment and won the Tour by eight seconds. It was the closest decision in history. On July 21, 2024, the overall ranking will be decided over 35 kilometers from Monaco to Nice, with two climbs to be mastered, La Turbie and the Col d’Èze.
Even the penultimate stage will have it all. Over 132 kilometers and 4400 meters in altitude, it goes from Nice into the hinterland to the mountain finish on the Col de la Couillole. The 2024 tour will start in Italy for the first time three weeks beforehand. Florence was awarded the contract for the Grand Départ, a total of three stages are planned in France’s neighboring country.
