2024 Tour de France Race Preview
The details of this year's 2024 Tour de France are falling into place. Find the latest route profiles and maps below, followed by our strategic preview of the race.
The 2024 Tour de France promises to be one of the most compelling editions in recent memory, with a route designed to test the very best climbers and all-rounders in the peloton. Starting in Florence, Italy, for a historic grand depart, the race will wind its way through some spectacular European terrain before culminating on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, marking the final time the traditional finale will be held on that iconic boulevard before the city hosts the Olympic Games.
Tadej Pogačar arrives as the overwhelming favorite after his dominant performances across the spring classics and his hunger to reclaim a title he last won in 2021. The Slovenian has looked virtually unstoppable this season, winning Strade Bianche, Milan-San Remo, and the Tour de Romandie, and he will be riding for UAE Team Emirates with the full intention of putting the race to bed early on the brutal mountain stages.
Jonas Vingegaard enters as the defending champion, having won the previous two editions in commanding fashion. However, his preparation has been significantly disrupted following a serious crash at the Itzulia Basque Country in April, which left him with multiple injuries including broken ribs and a collapsed lung. Whether the Dane has had sufficient time to return to his best form remains the central question hanging over the entire race.
Remco Evenepoel will be riding his debut Tour de France, bringing enormous intrigue to the startlist. The Belgian double Olympic champion and reigning Vuelta a España winner is a genuine contender on paper, though the Tour's specific demands may require some adjustment. His Soudal-QuickStep team will be built around him, and he will be eager to announce himself on cycling's biggest stage.
The route itself features an unusual opening stretch through Tuscany and along the Italian Riviera before crossing into France. The race quickly reveals its mountainous ambitions, with several summit finishes in the Pyrenees coming in the first half, before the Alps deliver the decisive blows in the final week. The legendary Galibier and Izoard feature prominently, and a punishing stage to the Col de la Loze is expected to be the race's ultimate arbiter.
Carlos Rodríguez of Ineos Grenadiers has quietly developed into a legitimate top-five contender, while Primož Roglič, riding for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, will fancy his chances on a parcours that suits his strengths, provided he can avoid the crashes that have historically plagued his Tour appearances.
The sprinters will find limited opportunities given the demanding terrain, but when they do get their chances, Jasper Philipsen, Biniam Girmay, and Wout van Aert will be eager to take them. Van Aert in particular will be a crucial weapon for Visma-Lease a Bike, serving as a road captain and potential stage winner in his own right as the team works to nurse Vingegaard back to his best.
Everything points toward a spectacular and unpredictable three weeks of racing, with the possibility that cycling's great rivalry between Pogačar and Vingegaard could be decided once and for all, or perhaps complicated further by the emergence of a new challenger capable of upsetting them both.
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