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Tour de France Tour de France 2024 route rumours and announcements

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The start in Italy is apparently a done deal and according to the governor of the Piemonte region one stage will finish in Torino and the next one will start in Pinerolo and go back to France.
Either some bonkers transfers or some weird, weird pacing to follow then, since they'll be finishing in the southeast as well. Probably something akin to 2020's Orcières-Merlette stage at the start on the way back to France, and then no major Alps until the very end then - either going on a long sweeping loop north and west to arrive in the Pyrenees late and then cross over to the Alps meaning major backloading, or crossing to the Pyrenees for the end of week 1 and sweeping north in the middle, meaning possibly the Vosges at the end of week 2 if they don't want a huge transitional gap between the two mountain sets. With much of the west coast being very flat and not having the option for a cobbles type stage if they go that way, they probably need to break east into the Auvergne to break up that section between the ranges wherever in the route it goes.

Maybe some neat medium mountain stages could be had with climbs like the Col de la Mûre.
 
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I really fear it will be a 100km meme stage...

The final ITT?

That would be about right.

It would ensure that that the strongest all around rider win. Particularly if there was a prologue, a TTT, a 40km flat ITT and a 25km MTT sprinkled throughout the race.

Now that would be an ode to the awesome cycling of the past!!
 
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Imagine the scenario:

A French rider - possibly Gaudu, or Martin - has yellow heading into the final stage, and then... loses it to an Anglo-guy by just a few seconds! It that happens, I think they might just about write it into official French law that the TdF must never end with an ITT.

well, the French rider could also lose it to a Danish/Slovenian rider, why just Anglo?
 
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Either some bonkers transfers or some weird, weird pacing to follow then, since they'll be finishing in the southeast as well. Probably something akin to 2020's Orcières-Merlette stage at the start on the way back to France, and then no major Alps until the very end then - either going on a long sweeping loop north and west to arrive in the Pyrenees late and then cross over to the Alps meaning major backloading, or crossing to the Pyrenees for the end of week 1 and sweeping north in the middle, meaning possibly the Vosges at the end of week 2 if they don't want a huge transitional gap between the two mountain sets. With much of the west coast being very flat and not having the option for a cobbles type stage if they go that way, they probably need to break east into the Auvergne to break up that section between the ranges wherever in the route it goes.

Maybe some neat medium mountain stages could be had with climbs like the Col de la Mûre.
Nah, clearly we need Pinerolo-Tignes early on right after a Superga uphill finish!
Looking at it from a more realistic perspective, do we know anything about the actual route. Because a bit of the Northern Alpes and the Jura and maybe the Vogeses at the end of the first week - a long transfer on the rest day to the Atlantic coast and the Pyrenees at the end of the 2nd week and something like a Ventoux stage and a bit of the Alpes Maritimes to end the race would probably be the least convoluted way to go.
Frankly so early in the race I'd be fine with a short Pinerolo-Briancon stage that ends with an punchy uphill finish in the old town/the fortress (I doubt they'll go over Angel-Izoard at that stage of the race).
 
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Either some bonkers transfers or some weird, weird pacing to follow then, since they'll be finishing in the southeast as well. Probably something akin to 2020's Orcières-Merlette stage at the start on the way back to France, and then no major Alps until the very end then - either going on a long sweeping loop north and west to arrive in the Pyrenees late and then cross over to the Alps meaning major backloading, or crossing to the Pyrenees for the end of week 1 and sweeping north in the middle, meaning possibly the Vosges at the end of week 2 if they don't want a huge transitional gap between the two mountain sets. With much of the west coast being very flat and not having the option for a cobbles type stage if they go that way, they probably need to break east into the Auvergne to break up that section between the ranges wherever in the route it goes.
They could skip the central part of the Alps completely? Stage 2 over Agnello and Izoard with a uphill finish in Briancon. Stage 3 over Lautaret and straight west out of the Alps.

The last week they do a Mont Ventoux finish around stage 17, a hilly stage to Gap, a very big Mercantour stage and finish with a medium mountain stage to Nice.

Pyreenes at the end of week two. With a proper queen stage in addition to the Mercantour stage.
 
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Either some bonkers transfers or some weird, weird pacing to follow then, since they'll be finishing in the southeast as well. Probably something akin to 2020's Orcières-Merlette stage at the start on the way back to France, and then no major Alps until the very end then - either going on a long sweeping loop north and west to arrive in the Pyrenees late and then cross over to the Alps meaning major backloading, or crossing to the Pyrenees for the end of week 1 and sweeping north in the middle, meaning possibly the Vosges at the end of week 2 if they don't want a huge transitional gap between the two mountain sets. With much of the west coast being very flat and not having the option for a cobbles type stage if they go that way, they probably need to break east into the Auvergne to break up that section between the ranges wherever in the route it goes.

Maybe some neat medium mountain stages could be had with climbs like the Col de la Mûre.

PLEASE! You need to inspire everybody by one of your fantastic race designs for the '24 Tour. <3

I can imagine them heading back to France with a transfer stage through the Alps on Day 4. Possibly a pointless stage, but you can put the label mountain stage on it. Personally, I dream of a stage that uses the mighty Col du Mont-Cenis as the crucial mountain of the stage.

From there, you could easily move on to the north. Nevertheless, I expect Paris to be integrated into the race in some form. And I also think, that there is a possibility that they will even ignore the Pyrenees completely. But yeah, we'll probably have tough first stages and then a middle phase in the race that just reels off kilometers.
 
PLEASE! You need to inspire everybody by one of your fantastic race designs for the '24 Tour. <3

I can imagine them heading back to France with a transfer stage through the Alps on Day 4. Possibly a pointless stage, but you can put the label mountain stage on it. Personally, I dream of a stage that uses the mighty Col du Mont-Cenis as the crucial mountain of the stage.

From there, you could easily move on to the north. Nevertheless, I expect Paris to be integrated into the race in some form. And I also think, that there is a possibility that they will even ignore the Pyrenees completely. But yeah, we'll probably have tough first stages and then a middle phase in the race that just reels off kilometers.
I would actually be expecting something more like the Orcières-Merlette type Alpine stage at the start - somewhere like Les Orres or Risoul 1850 would make sense - 2016 Giro stage clone would be amazing but I doubt they'd put Agnel that early in the race so more likely Sestrières-Montgenèvre and then a summit after a long run-in, a bit like those Tour de Suisse stages of yesteryear that were "big mountains early, then recovery, then final climb shoot-out". Then hopefully something like the Vernoux-en-Vivarais stage of Paris-Nice 2011.

Probably would be best then to go along the south to the Pyrenees on the second weekend, then transfer north. From there, spend a week heading down to then spend the penultimate weekend in the Jura and the northern Alps. Then a couple of southward stages to end somewhere like Marseilles or Toulon, and then a couple of stages on Corsica? This would be a nigh on perfect opportunity to include Corsica and the transfers wouldn't be too bad considering the island's been in Paris-Nice before.

Something like this as a final mountaintop finish:

3pFDxiL.png
 
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I would actually be expecting something more like the Orcières-Merlette type Alpine stage at the start - somewhere like Les Orres or Risoul 1850 would make sense - 2016 Giro stage clone would be amazing but I doubt they'd put Agnel that early in the race so more likely Sestrières-Montgenèvre and then a summit after a long run-in, a bit like those Tour de Suisse stages of yesteryear that were "big mountains early, then recovery, then final climb shoot-out". Then hopefully something like the Vernoux-en-Vivarais stage of Paris-Nice 2011.
I expect a stage to Gap, Tallard, Sisteron or Embrun. No significant climb after Montgenèvre. Maybe they'll head for Grenoble instead. In any case, a sprint stage. It's not like the first three stages in Italy will be all flat.

Of course, I'd hope for a stage to La Mure over Parquetout, or good use of either Moissière or Pontis.
 
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The Grand Départ will be presented tomorrow evening in the Palazzo Vecchio.

The local press in Florence speaks of the start of the first stage at Piazzale Michelangelo. The first stage should then end after 180 to 190 kilometers in Rimini.

The second stage starts in Cesenatico and ends in Bologna. Whether and how San Luca, for example, will play a role there remains to be seen.

The third stage starts in Emilia Romagna and ends in Turin.
 
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