(Sports news) The Tour de France will begin in Italy for the very first time in its 120 year old history in 2024, as revealed by race director Christophe Prudhomme. The race will begin in Florence on June 29 2024 and stage 1 will feature a mid-mountain jaunt ending up in Rimini after a trek along the Adriatic coast.
Along with Day 1, Day 2 and 3 will also be in Italy and will pay tribute to Italian cyclists Fausto Coppi and Gino Bartali, who are two-time Tour de France winners. The 2024 Tour de France will have another ‘first’ as the race will end in Nice instead of its customary finale on the Champs Elysees due to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The 2023 Tour de France will begin in Bilbao, Spain on 1 July and finish in Paris on 23 July.
“The Tour has started from all the countries bordering France. It has even started six times from the Netherlands, which has no common border with France. But it has never started from Italy. It’s an incongruity that will disappear. There is an obvious link with the legend of Italian cycling and its champions.”
Race director Christophe Prudhomme
THE FIRST THREE STAGES OF THE 2024 TOUR DE FRANCE
Saturday, 29 June – Stage 1: Florence > Rimini, 205km
Sunday, 30 June – Stage 2: Cesenatico > Bologna, 200km
Monday, 1 July – Stage 3: Piacenza > Turin, 225km
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