Tour de France Tour de France 2024 route rumours and announcements

[Red Rick]

Look, if the race gets too hard, the peloton will just take their off days and let the break get 30 minutes.

I think the Vuelta tends to get it right by using murito finishes and some short punchy days to add GC days without adding a crazy amount of overall fatigue. The Giro and Tour are worse about this IMO.

 

[Gigs_98]

Balmberg from the north, descent into Solothurn and then finish on Weissenstein would be insane. If Weissenstein is to be used as a pass I guess they would need to repave the north side. I rode up there two years ago, wasn’t nice tarmac.

Was it that bad? The tarmac is looking perfectly fine on street view.

 

[Mayomaniac]

Was it that bad? The tarmac is looking perfectly fine on street view.

Maybe slightly off topic, but looking at how expensive the WC in Innsbruck was they should have payed for a Tour de France GD instead. Bergisel prologue/ITT on stage 1, stage 2 a Rettenbachferner (or Hochsölden if that's too hard for ASO) MTF, stage 3 a long transitional stage to Switzerland and stage 4 ends in the French Jura before they go up north and finish the first week on cobbles.

 

[rghysens]

Stage 1 is already announced as a hilly stage and stage 3 as a flat. They should probably have a couple of sprinter's stages in stage 5-8, at least one in 10-12 and perhaps in stage 16. Stage 13 could be a good stage for a hilly breakway stage in the outskirts of the Pyrenees, like the Quillan stage in 2021. And something similar in stage 19 ending in one of the small towns close to Nice.

The course of stage 2 is also known, and yes it finishes with two laps around Bologna that contain colle San Luca. In addition to that there are 5 or 6 more similar climbs on the road. It´s basically a short LBL, while stage 1 is a short Il Lombardia.

 

[Gigs_98]

Maybe slightly off topic, but looking at how expensive the WC in Innsbruck was they should have payed for a Tour de France GD instead. Bergisel prologue/ITT on stage 1, stage 2 a Rettenbachferner (or Hochsölden if that's too hard for ASO) MTF, stage 3 a long transitional stage to Switzerland and stage 4 ends in the French Jura before they go up north and finish the first week on cobbles.

Yeah I would love something like that too (surprise) and nowadays that the Tour isn't afraid of having mountains in the first week maybe there is even a real possibility. I always thought a Kitzbüheler Horn mtf would be super marketable, though that doesn't work quite as well with your plan of going back to France via Switzerland.

 

[OlavEH]

The course of stage 2 is also known, and yes it finishes with two laps around Bologna that contain colle San Luca. In addition to that there are 5 or 6 more similar climbs on the road. It´s basically a short LBL, while stage 1 is a short Il Lombardia.

Yup, I know. That was why I also wrote:

Stage 2: Bologna finish via San Luca

 

[Eddy Evenepoel]

Was it that bad? The tarmac is looking perfectly fine on street view.

The top of the north side has good tarmac. If you go streetview from the top and down you can see that that there is a distinct change in the tarmac right after the first right hand hairpin.

I have only gone up there and I’m of course not anywhere near being a pro, but I remember thinking I was glad I went up and not down. The kind of tarmac that gives you a feeling of everything shaking a bit, even at very low speed.

 

[Ulle97]

Yup, I know. That was why I also wrote:

Remco could do well in those opening stages.

It's highly likely we'll see some GC contenders eliminated from the overall picture after the opening Italian stages.

Usually we have to wait for the first mountain stages to see who has good form.

 

[ChiefMasterPro]

Could we maybe agree more to discuss the route rumours and confirmations? I think it gets a bit out of hand now with the discussion about swiss Jura climbs, although they look great.

 

[Eddy Evenepoel]

Could we maybe agree more to discuss the route rumours and confirmations? I think it gets a bit out of hand now with the discussion about swiss Jura climbs, although they look great.

Maybe ASO have a guy reading in here for inspiration?

 

[OlavEH]

Remco could do well in those opening stages.

It's highly likely we'll see some GC contenders eliminated from the overall picture after the opening Italian stages.

Usually we have to wait for the first mountain stages to see who has good form.

I don't think the Bologna stage is tough enough to separate more than something like 15-30 seconds between the top GC contenders, and that is a "generous" estimate.

 

[tobydawq]

I still think one monster GC stage is possible in the Tour alongside the 10+ GC relevant stages.

The Giro has many action packed stages with uphill finishes and MM stages, plus the big Dolomite stage in each edition.

Col de la Loze stage this year was not a monster GC stage?

 

[houtdffan]

Col de la Loze stage this year was not a monster GC stage?

90 and 00s would have 1 more major climb added to the stage. Would have been a 6-7 hr classic slog

That's what we mean by one or two monster days are needed, not all U18 stage lengths

 

[Ulle97]

Col de la Loze stage this year was not a monster GC stage?

One more HC climb would have done it for me. The Col de Saises and Cote de Longfroy climbs weren't very challenging.

Also, 166km wasn't terribly long.

Granted, it was a tough stage but compared to previous Tours in the 90s it wasn't as severe.

 

[ChiefMasterPro]

90 and 00s would have 1 more major climb added to the stage. Would have been a 6-7 hr classic slog

That's what we mean by one or two monster days are needed, not all U18 stage lengths

OK Boomer,

aren't stages with 5000 denivel meters enough? The race does not need more of them for entertainment reasons. The two/three protagonsts and their teams provide enough entertainment for us. Yes we need a mix of short and long stages, but always complaining about U18 stages is annoying. Also to maybe keep in mind, the riders in the 90s had a more efficient blood mixture tbh.

 

[Ulle97]

OK Boomer,

aren't stages with 5000 denivel meters enough? The race does not need more of them for entertainment reasons. The two/three protagonsts and their teams provide enough entertainment for us. Yes we need a mix of short and long stages, but always complaining about U18 stages is annoying. Also to maybe keep in mind, the riders in the 90s had a more efficient blood mixture tbh.

Sounds like you're having a good day.

 

[tobydawq]

One more HC climb would have done it for me. The Col de Saises and Cote de Longfroy climbs weren't very challenging.

Also, 166km wasn't terribly long.

Granted, it was a tough stage but compared to previous Tours in the 90s it wasn't as severe.

Perhaps, but if nine opening days with 11 Petacchi wins is the price to pay for such stages, I'll pass.

 

[tobydawq]

Sounds like you're having a good day.

That's one way to deal with people who disagree with you, I guess...

 

[houtdffan]

OK Boomer,

aren't stages with 5000 denivel meters enough? The race does not need more of them for entertainment reasons. The two/three protagonsts and their teams provide enough entertainment for us. Yes we need a mix of short and long stages, but always complaining about U18 stages is annoying. Also to maybe keep in mind, the riders in the 90s had a more efficient blood mixture tbh.

hey young buck

2 things. 1 saying OK boomer shows you have lost the argument even before we begin
2. I am only 40

 

[houtdffan]

Sounds like you're having a good day.

Go easy on the young buck

He isn't aware of how mountain stages had been for most of history. He likely has only watched in the youtube era

 

[Rob5091]

Some more educated guess work from Cycling update -
https://cyclinguptodate.com/cycling...to-make-its-appearance-at-2024-tour-de-france
(Quote!)
Tour de France will make its big comeback to Hautes-Alpes and the Southern Alps on Wednesday 17, Thursday 18 and Friday 19 July 2024 even if it will not be official until official presentation of the Tour in October. at the Palais des Congrès in Paris.

On the program, and what is more in the last week of the Tour, an arrival at SuperDévoluy on Wednesday July 17, then a Gap-Barcelonnette stage on Thursday 18 and finally a departure from the Embrun lake on Friday July 19 towards Isola 2000 via the Col de Vars and the Col de Restefond/La Bonnette, the highest pass in Europe.(End Quote!)

 

[OlavEH]

For now, I like the rumours about the hilly and medium mountain stages:

Bologna and San Luca is a great stage 2.
Puy Mary is a good medium MTF at stage 9-12.
The rumoured finish at Super-Devoluy via Noyer is also fairly good. Noyer is steep enough to use as point for attacking.

I'm more ambivalent when it comes to the high mountain stages. Not too excited about the Couillole MTF, neither about the rumoured Beille MTF.

 

[Red Rick]

Col de la Loze stage this year was not a monster GC stage?

It was hard enough. If you just look at the result you can see it was a real attrition fest. Add more climbing and the only thing we achieve is trebucheting Pogacar off the podium, but there's no real additional action.

I don't love that the queen stage is just all about the final 5km of climbing.

 

[Escarabajo]

Look, if the race gets too hard, the peloton will just take their off days and let the break get 30 minutes.

I think the Vuelta tends to get it right by using murito finishes and some short punchy days to add GC days without adding a crazy amount of overall fatigue. The Giro and Tour are worse about this IMO.

This. I think the Tour is getting better at it as well. At this point fans should realize that those crazy very hard mountain days are going to be over. the faster we digest the new cycling the better. I really don't mind it anymore. It is probably better for the spectacle. Lately I have been tired of the +200 km stages, +6 hours mountain marathons, super back loading etc. I just don't see good spectacle anymore when they add these type of designs.

People should not forget about the globalization of cycling and their broadcasting. Before there was a lot of boring cycling that they didn't show and therefore nobody cared for it. You can't just have a 100% televised 230 km flat stage because it is just a killer. If the do a multi mountain stage this long riders just go to a parade following the big team's trains. Everything evolves and cycling is not the exception.

 

[Red Rick]

This. I think the Tour is getting better at it as well. At this point fans should realize that those crazy very hard mountain days are going to be over. the faster we digest the new cycling the better. I really don't mind it anymore. It is probably better for the spectacle. Lately I have been tired of the +200 km stages, +6 hours mountain marathons, super back loading etc. I just don't see good spectacle anymore when they add these type of designs.

People should not forget about the globalization of cycling and their broadcasting. Before there was a lot of boring cycling that they didn't show and therefore nobody cared for it. You can't just have a 100% televised 230 km flat stage because it is just a killer. If the do a multi mountain stage this long riders just go to a parade following the big team's trains. Everything evolves and cycling is not the exception.

You mistake my meaning.

My argument is that you don't have to worry about it becoming too hard because hte peloton will self correct. Not that we should afraid to make it so hard a few more uncontested breakaway wins.

It's also not an argument for backloading the race or anything. I still wanna see these massive stages, but in moderation, and in the right position in a race.

Stelvio 2020 was legendary and it wasn't because it was the biggest stars of the century duking it out there.