We already knew the 2024 Tour de France would arrive in Nice, leaving Paris for the first time since 1905 and the cobbled Champs Elysees since 1975 due to the Olympics. But for the press conference on Thursday, the organizers have prepared another surprise. And last but not least.
The last stage, which traditionally corresponds to a day without stakes, in addition to the prestigious victory in the sprint on the Champs Elysees, this time will be an individual time trial. It will be the first time the Tour has ended exactly on the clock since the legendary 1989 outcome, when France’s Laurent Fignon lost the yellow jersey to American Greg Lemond by a close eight seconds, the smallest margin in history.
As is usually the case in an Olympic year, the start of this 111th edition, due to start in Italy and the city of Florence for the first time, will be moved forward by one week. So the race will start on June 29th and arrive on July 21st, five days before the start of the Olympics.
“Nice has hosted the Tour 37 times with two starts in 1981 and 2020”, the latter “under very difficult health conditions” due to the Covid-19 pandemic, was welcomed by the mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi.
“Fireworks Last Weekend”
“Nice is a luminous city known all over the world. There is beauty of the setting and mountains next to it. The city offers an exceptional setting and a huge field of expression for the champions we are about to use,” Tour Director Christian Prudhomme explains to AFP.
The fact that the Tour de France will arrive in Nice has been fixed for a long time, and the Paris Games (July 26 – August 11) will turn the summer sports program on its head this year. However, this is a small revolution, since the most famous race in the world, with the exception of the first two races in 1903 and 1904, which arrived in Ville d’Avray (Hauts-de-Seine), until then always ended in Paris. First at the Parc des Princes (from 1906 to 1967), then at the Chipale velodrome (from 1968 to 1975) and from 1975 on the Champs Elysées.
Thus, for this tour, the organizers are planning “the last weekend full of fireworks” with the first, on Saturday, the “mountain” stage, which will start in Nice. Then, the next day, in this way, as Chief Justice of the Peace, an individual time trial, 35 years later between Versailles and the Champs Elysées in 1989, an edition that remains in everyone’s memory.
In 2025, a return to normal life is already scheduled, especially since we will have something to celebrate. “We will be happy to find Paris and the Champs Elysées for the 50th anniversary of the first visit to the Champs Elysées in 2025,” emphasizes Christian Prudhomme.
Source: Le Parisien
I have worked in the news industry for over 10 years. I have a keen interest in sports and have written for many different publications. I am currently working as an author at 24 News Recorder. I cover mostly sports news but also write about other topics such as current affairs and politics. I have a strong interest in social media and how it can be used to engage with audiences.
