Tour de France Tour de France 2024 route rumours and announcements

[Mayomaniac]

Imagine catering your TdF route to the #12 of the Vuelta.

Plus all of Belgium will watch the Race for big mouth Wout anyway...

 

[Red Rick]

Plus all of Belgium will watch the Race for big mouth Wout anyway...

I will reserve my judgment in this regard for the length of the first ITT, but the mountain stage rumors, while extremely bland, aren't 2012 level.

It will be riduculous af if they make that first ITT 45km+ now.

 

[Eddy Evenepoel]

It will be riduculous af if they make that first ITT 45km+ now.

Am I completely messing up in my mind, I always thought you were one of those that wanted more ITT kilometers like back in the day?

 

[Mayomaniac]

Proper kms of itt and proper mountain stages is the way to go.
Sure, If the Same riders dominate both the TTs and the mountains a balanced Route might become obsolete, but that and it's implications is a can of worms that I don't want to Open...

 

[Red Rick]

Am I completely messing up in my mind, I always thought you were one of those that wanted more ITT kilometers like back in the day?

I want balance between ITT and mountains. To me it looks like the mountain stages are gonna be really bad so I do not think it's a Tour that should suddenly get 80km of ITT.

I also think that if you now suddenly make a very heavy ITT route with weak mountain stages you're catering so much to one specific rider it's completely embarrassing.

 

[Rob5091]

Imagine catering your TdF route to the #12 of the Vuelta.

But the #12 of the Vuelta will boost the number of TV viewers not to the mention the PR hoopla that it will generate.

 

[Rob5091]

I want balance between ITT and mountains. To me it looks like the mountain stages are gonna be really bad so I do not think it's a Tour that should suddenly get 80km of ITT.

I also think that if you now suddenly make a very heavy ITT route with weak mountain stages you're catering so much to one specific rider it's completely embarrassing.

The idea is to keep the GC as close as possible for as long as possible. Pogacar and Vingegaard are both pretty good at a ITT, so the gaps are not going to be enormous. As for embarrassment, well ... I don't think that will enter into it.

 

[Red Rick]

The idea is to keep the GC as close as possible for as long as possible. Pogacar and Vingegaard are both pretty good at a ITT, so the gaps are not going to be enormous. As for embarrassment, well ... I don't think that will enter into it.

You organise the Tour, yet you're signalling the guy that finished 12th in the Vuelta is bigger than the Tour. What are you afraid of, that Evenepoel farms Giro starting bonuses before quitting after 12 days again?

 

[QueenStagiaire]

Pogacar and Vingegaard are both pretty good at a ITT, so the gaps are not going to be enormous.

Hey, that‘s what I thought before the most recent Tour TT!

 

[CyclistAbi]

Hopefully the route to be as hard as nails. Considering Rogla, Pogi, Jonas and Remco are participating. If there will be a long ITT, then some elevation should be included too. Hardest mountains should have at minimum 20% inclination sections.

 

[QueenStagiaire]

Hopefully the route to be as hard as nails. Considering Rogla, Pogi, Jonas and Remco are participating. If there will be a long ITT, then some elevation should be included too. Hardest mountains should have at minimum 20% inclination sections.

OK, rolling ITTs and muritos, we have taken your order, you‘ll be served shortly. That comes out to 1,000,000 €. Would you like to pay with card or in cash? Oh, I almost forgot, any sauces with the queen stage for you?

 

[CyclistAbi]

OK, rolling ITTs and muritos, we have taken your order, you‘ll be served shortly. That comes out to 1,000,000 €. Would you like to pay with card or in cash? Oh, I almost forgot, any sauces with the queen stage for you?

Queen stage should include at minimum 20% inclination sections. As with muritos, there the team won't work for my favourite anyway. So i ain't paying for that. And we can up it to 2,000,000 €. Annual salary, before bonuses, of my favourite. Peanuts, compared to Tour title.

 

[pman]

Imagine catering your TdF route to the #12 of the Vuelta.

Funny line but I think it just goes to show how desperate they are to avoid another boring race where Jonas Vingegaard wins the GC by 10 minutes which is the direction we're heading unless you really believe Pogacar was way below his best the last two years. I know some people here are big Vingegaard fans but the Tour is not headed in an exciting direction. Say what you want about Remco, he's never boring. So yeah, I'd go out of my way to get him to the Tour if I ran that race. Plus, Jumbo is at least a little afraid of him which no doubt explains the 3 leader strategy. A weary Jumbo and an agressive Vingegaard is interesting racing.

 

[Gigs_98]

I mean nobody is suggesting there should be a route to appease Remco. But nobody can deny it would be a huge talking point if Remco is in yellow halfway through the race.

The ASO doesn't design routes to please riders but they 100% design routes which they think will make more people switch on their TV.

 

[Froome]

Funny line but I think it just goes to show how desperate they are to avoid another boring race where Jonas Vingegaard wins the GC by 10 minutes which is the direction we're heading unless you really believe Pogacar was way below his best the last two years. I know some people here are big Vingegaard fans but the Tour is not headed in an exciting direction. Say what you want about Remco, he's never boring. So yeah, I'd go out of my way to get him to the Tour if I ran that race. Plus, Jumbo is at least a little afraid of him which no doubt explains the 3 leader strategy. A weary Jumbo and an agressive Vingegaard is interesting racing.

What are you talking about? The tour 2023 had outstanding audiences, it was not boring. Vingegaard is not a boring rider, he gave a hell of entertainment. Things are in the right direction.

WBD attracts record streaming audience for Tour de France

The increase in viewership was driven by the Discovery+ streaming service.

www.sportcal.com

Tour de France total viewership on FTV shoots up to 42.5m - SportsPro

A peak audience of 8.7 million tuned in to see Jonas Vingegaard's stage 16 time trial victory as the Dane claimed his second Tour de France yellow jersey.

www.sportspromedia.com

 

[Squire]

Proper kms of itt and proper mountain stages is the way to go.
Sure, If the Same riders dominate both the TTs and the mountains a balanced Route might become obsolete, but that and it's implications is a can of worms that I don't want to Open...

If the same rider dominates both TTs and mountains, then he deserves to win the race. And usually that has been the case for most great Tour riders.

The idea is to keep the GC as close as possible for as long as possible. Pogacar and Vingegaard are both pretty good at a ITT, so the gaps are not going to be enormous. As for embarrassment, well ... I don't think that will enter into it.

I want my Tours to have big ITTs and big mountains, and not just in the final week. Making a route with the goal of keeping the GC close for as long as possible is basically admitting that you don't know how to make a good route, and will inevitably lead to a boring race and a crashfest for two weeks. If one rider is good enough to grab the race by the scruff of the neck by the second weekend, then let him. It's the riders that decide if the race is gonna be boring or not, while a route that doesn't let people create gaps is a guarantee for boredom. You don't devalue your race just because one rider is expected to be dominant.

 

[Rob5091]

The ASO doesn't design routes to please riders but they 100% design routes which they think will make more people switch on their TV.

May I venture to suggest that companies running the Tour & the media do it for a profit? Of course there'll be outrage of a Tour with 2 TT's (or even 3! shock!clutches pearls!) - but let's remember thanks to Sky's dominance (and France's lack of a decent TT-er) ITT km's have dropped a lot.
Now it'll be "back to the future, baby!" yeah, TT-ing is cool! "Check out that Remco Flavour(TM)"!" 2024 is going to be one big French PR blitz with the Tour & the Olympics happening in Paris. It'll be "Zoot alures" and "Entete Cordiale" all Summer long from Kirby & Co (I see Jensy is already hyping up next year's Tour with another "Three Amigos" - Vinne, Pogi & Remco - story line).
Of course,before Summer comes, we have Winter. And the big fear is that pro-cycling's past will come back to haunt it (Christmas past, ghost, haunting - all very Dickensian!) December is the Ullrich documentary release and it'll bring back headlines people at the ASO hoped were gone forever. Then lurking in the background is the Hessman case which brings things up to today. Hessman case and the Ullrich documentary happening at the same time must be the Nightmare at Christmas for the UCI etc.
Whatever happens, the travelling circus that's pro-cycling will be around next year, regardless of whether the #12 at the Vuelta rides the Tour or not.

 

[Netserk]

If the same rider dominates both TTs and mountains, then he deserves to win the race. And usually that has been the case for most great Tour riders.


I want my Tours to have big ITTs and big mountains, and not just in the final week. Making a route with the goal of keeping the GC close for as long as possible is basically admitting that you don't know how to make a good route, and will inevitably lead to a boring race and a crashfest for two weeks. If one rider is good enough to grab the race by the scruff of the neck by the second weekend, then let him. It's the riders that decide if the race is gonna be boring or not, while a route that doesn't let people create gaps is a guarantee for boredom. You don't devalue your race just because one rider is expected to be dominant.

Amen!

 

[Max Rockatansky]

It is already confirmed by Proudhomme himself, that stage 4 will be an easier mountain stage. So I doubt, that any Finestre or Col de Granon route would be easy. The climb of the Col de Mont Cenis seems legit, because afterwards there is room for a long flat section, to not make the first HC climb to decisive. And then add a cat 1 or HC MTF. That seems logical to me

Stage will start in Pinerolo and seems to end in Valloire.

Leaves you with some possibilities:

1 Sestrières - Montgenèvre - Galibier - Valloire
2 Sestrières - Mont Cenis - Télégraphe - Valloire
3 Mont Cenis - Télégraphe - Valloire

Someone on Le Gruppetto had the best idea for this fourth stage

 

[QueenStagiaire]

Stage will start in Pinerolo and seems to end in Valloire.

Leaves you with some possibilities:

1 Sestrières - Montgenèvre - Galibier - Valloire
2 Sestrières - Mont Cenis - Télégraphe - Valloire
3 Mont Cenis - Télégraphe - Valloire

Someone on Le Gruppetto had the best idea for this fourth stage

Lol, even with the ridiculous French names for Italian towns.

 

[OlavEH]

2 Sestrières - Mont Cenis - Télégraphe - Valloire

This could be a plausible option (don't think they will be doing Galibier that early). And would be a fairly good stage. Over 200 km, 2 cat. 1 and (possibly) 1 cat. HC climb already on stage 4. Combined with the other stages in Italy, this would be a great start of the Tour.

 

[QueenStagiaire]

This could be a plausible option. Over 200 km,

Paradox

 

[OlavEH]

Paradox

You don't think it plausible if it's over 200k?

 

[Netserk]

You don't think it plausible if it's over 200k?

The first three stages already eat a lot of the distance budget. So when they can avoid it, I don't think any remaining stages will be longer than 200 km.

 

[QueenStagiaire]

You don't think it plausible if it's over 200k?

The last mountain stage over 200 k in the Tour was Valloire 2019. Maybe it‘s a Valloire thing but there just hasn‘t been a lot of these stages recently.