The Tour de France 2024 edition is likely to be one of the most special seasons of the event. This event has many firsts — right from the kick-off in Florence, Italy to the conclusion in Nice, France, instead of Paris.
The route also has some scenic views. Riders will take on the Apennines, Massif Centra,l and Pyrenees mountain ranges. They will pass through four countries – Italy, San Marino, and Monaco before finishing in France.
Defending champion Jonas Vingegaard is likely to aim for a third victory, while Tadej Pogačar is a key contender to watch.
Below, we give you the key dates, route, and betting odds of the Tour de France 2024.
Tour de France 2024 Dates
Tour de France 2024 is the 111th edition of this prestigious bicycle race. It kicked off on June 29 in Italy and will conclude on July 21 in Nice, France.
The race started in 1903 and has been organized every year since its inception; however, like most sporting events it had to stop during the two World Wars.
The 2024 edition is divided into 21 stages and the riders will cover 3,498 km.
A stage in the Tour de France refers to a day-long segment of the race where cyclists compete in a specific route from one point to another. The winner of the Tour de France is determined by totaling the individual finishing times for each stage of the race. The cyclist with the lowest overall time at the end of the race is declared the winner.
A total of 22 teams are a part of the Tour de France 2024. All the 18 Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) teams automatically qualified for the race. Apart from them, four UCI ProTeams were also invited to be a part of this event. Lotto–Dstny and Israel–Premier Tech are the two out of these four teams. They were the highest-ranked teams in 2023.
The Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), which organizes the Tour de France 2024, selected Uno-X Mobility and Team TotalEnergies for the race.
Tour de France 2024 Route
This is the first time since 1903 that the event will not end in or near Paris due to the preparation for the Olympics 2024.
The Grand Départ, the start of the race, has been held in different towns since the 1950s, with Italy hosting it for the first time. This coincides with the 100th anniversary of Italian Ottavio Bottecchia winning the Tour de France. He was the first-ever Italian to win the race and hence, hosting the Grand Départ was a special moment for Italy.
The cyclists will also face the challenges of riding through the Apennines, Massif Central, and Pyrenees mountain ranges, as well as passing through Italy, Monaco, and France. The route will pass through the microstate of San Marino, making it the 14th country to be visited by a Tour stage.
The Tour de France 2024 will be historic, considering it will not finish in (or near) Paris as usual. For the first time since 1989, the race will end with an individual time trial.
What to Expect
The riders have described the route as “tough,” with particular concern regarding the gravel tracks on stage 9 and limited opportunities for sprinters.
The 2024 Tour de France stages include various types, such as hilly stages, flat stages, mountain stages, and individual time trials. Two individual time trials are included. The first one will take place on July 5, while the second one will take place during the last stage of the race.
The route is designed to challenge climbers. It has four summit finishes, spans four mountain ranges, and includes the hilliest opening stage in Tour de France history. While the first and third weeks are characterized by hilly stages, the second week provides a flatter contrast. Stage nine stands out with its unique challenge of navigating through 14 sectors of white roads. The sprinters will have to conquer some tough mountains to reach the sprint stages and complete the three-week race.
Tour de France 2024 Key Riders
At the end of the second stage, Tadej Pogačar took the lead in the General Classification, with Remco Evenepoel, Jonas Vingegaard, and Richard Carapaz all tied for second place.
Romain Bardet, who initially led after Stage 1, has slipped to fifth place. Primož Roglič, another top contender, is currently in 19th place.
Bardet claimed the yellow jersey for the first time in his career after winning Stage 1, but Pogačar’s strong performance in Stage 2 saw him take over the lead.
The stage 3 started in Piacenza, with Pogačar in the yellow jersey. Eritrean sprinter Biniam Girmay made history by becoming the first black African rider to win a stage in the race, while Richard Carapaz became the first Ecuadorian to wear the yellow jersey as the race leader.
Among the sprinters, all eyes are on Jasper Philipsen of Alpecin-Deceuninck, who was one of the stars of last year’s race. Mads Pederson of Trek-Segafredo is also enjoying a successful season so far. Mark Cavendish has put his retirement plans on hold to target a win this season. However, he felt “shocked at how hard the course is this year” when it was revealed in October 2023.
Tour de France 2023 Tally
The 2023 Tour de France saw Jonas Vingegaard of Team Jumbo-Visma claim victory for the second consecutive year, with Tadej Pogačar finishing in second place and Adam Yates in third.
Other notable winners included Jasper Philipsen for the Points classification, Giulio Ciccone for the Mountains classification, and Victor Campenaerts for the Combativity award. Team Jumbo-Visma emerged as the winning team of the event.
Riders to Look Out For
According to USA Today, Tadej Pogačar has the highest chance of winning the Tour de France 2024. The odds of winning the race for Pogačar is -110. Here are the odds of other racers who are a part of the event:
- Jonas Vingegaard (+110)
- Remco Evenepoel (+1000)
- Any other not listed (+1200)
- Primoz Roglic (+2500)
- Carlos Rodriguez (+3300)
- Adam Yates (+3300)
- Juan Ayuso (+3300)
- Joao Almeida (+3300)
- Matteo Jorgenson (+5000)
- Simon Yates (+5000)
- Jai Hindley (+6600)
- Egan Bernal (+10000)
- Wout van Aert (+100000)