Tour de France: The 21 Stages
The Tour de France kicks off next Saturday, June 29th, and for three weeks, the most important cycling event of the year will capture the attention of millions of spectators around the world. The Tour is the annual occasion when our sport goes mainstream, and as every year, at Cycling Fantasy, we are going to give it special coverage. In this article, we will focus on reviewing the twenty-one stages in detail, leaving the analysis of the participants for when the team line-ups are confirmed. Let's get to it!
Stage 1: Firenze (IT) > Rimini (IT)
The 2024 Tour starts in Italy, where the first three stages will take place. The first day, starting from Florence, is already quite challenging, with a course of over 200 kilometers featuring 6 climbs counting towards the king of the mountains classification and 3700 meters of accumulated elevation gain. The first finish, in the coastal city of Rimini, will dress the first yellow jersey of this Tour, which will likely be a climber or a strong puncheur.
Stage 2: Cesenatico (IT) > Bologna (IT)
The second stage continues through Italian lands and once again exceeds 200 kilometers and 3000 meters of climbing. The final part, in Bologna, has the flavor of the Giro dell’Emilia, including a double ascent to San Luca (1.9 km at 10.4%). An ideal stage for explosive riders.
Stage 3: Piacenza (IT) > Torino (IT)
Monday brings the first opportunity for fast men. The finish in Turin should give us the first major sprint of the race.
Stage 4: Pinerolo (IT) > Valloire
The intense emotions do not take long in this Tour. The fourth day is the last that starts on Italian soil, and after crossing the border at Montgenèvre (8.3 km at 6%), the first iconic climb of this edition, the Galibier (22.9 km at 5.1%), will be tackled, where climbers will face their first true test. After cresting the Galibier, the long descent to Valloire will also be a skill test.
Stage 5: Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne > Saint-Vulbas
Although the stage passes through large Alpine mountains, it does so on a slight descent through the valleys, and the two categorized climbs should not pose any problems for us to see the second sprint of the race.
Stage 6: Mâcon > Dijon
Another day reserved for sprinters.
Stage 7: Nuits-Saint-Georges > Gevrey-Chambertin
The first of the two individual time trials in this Tour. 25 kilometers with the first half slightly uphill and a ramp of 1.6 km at 6.5%. After the second intermediate time check, the road slightly inclines downwards, making the second half of the stage faster than the first. This will be an important day for the GC contenders.
Stage 8: Semur-en-Auxois > Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises
The stage features a beautiful sawtooth course with up to 5 categorized climbs, making it a potentially good day for a breakaway. However, it's likely that the sprinters' teams will control the race to bring it to a bunch finish.
Stage 9: Troyes > Troyes
Right before the first of the two rest days, the second Sunday of the race brings one of the most anticipated stages of the 2024 Tour. Troyes and its surroundings will host a stage featuring 14 sections of sterrato, 6 of them in the final part, totaling 32 km on unpaved roads. The spectacle and challenge of this surface, made famous by the Strade Bianche, have led the organizers to include this stage, which will surely be feared by the general classification contenders, as an untimely puncture or a crash could cost them the Tour.
Stage 10: Orléans > Saint-Amand-Montrond
A flat stage but with many segments exposed to the wind, so echelons could form. Even so, a bunch sprint is the most likely outcome.
Stage 11: Évaux-les-Bains > Le Lioran
The only stage entering the Massif Central in this Tour, but it does so in grand style: over 4000 meters of positive elevation gain and six climbs, 4 of them linked in the final part of the course. While the breakaway may win the stage, there will also be a big battle among the favorites.
Stage 12: Aurillac > Villeneuve-sur-Lot
A 204-kilometer stage with 2200 meters of climbing. The race features a bumpy course that will surely appeal to stage hunters. The sprinters' teams will likely try to neutralize them before the finish, but if the front group is large, it might stay away.
Stage 13: Agen > Pau
A stage for sprinters with a finish in Pau, but three climbs in the last 40 kilometers could prompt late attacks that could be hard to control.
Stage 14: Pau > St-Lary-Soulan (Pla d'Adet)
The third mountain stage arrives on the third Saturday of the race, marking the start of a tough final week beginning in the Pyrenees. The Col du Tourmalet (18.9 km at 7.4%) is the second legendary mountain climbed in this Tour, but it will be just the first of three ascents of the day, as it is linked with the Hourquette d’Ancizan (8.3 km at 5%) and the final climb to Saint-Lary-Soulan (10.6 km at 8%). A 152 km stage that once again exceeds 4000 meters of climbing.
Stage 15: Loudenvielle > Plateau de Beille
The second consecutive Pyrenean stage, this one with 5000 meters of elevation gain and passing four first-category climbs (Peyresourde, Mente, Portet-d’Aspet, and Agnes) and ending at a Hors Catégorie climb, the Plateau de Beille (15.7 km at 7.8%). Just thinking about it makes your legs ache.
Stage 16: Gruissan > Nîmes
After the second rest day, Tuesday brings the last chance for the sprinters who have made it this far.
Stage 17: Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux > Superdevoluy
A stage suitable for a breakaway in the approach to the Alps. The three climbs of the day are concentrated in the final part of the stage, so the winner will have to be a good climber.
Stage 18: Gap > Barcelonnette
Another day that seems ideal for a breakaway. The profile is up and down from the start with an easier finish. Only if several sprinters' teams target the stage could the breakaway's ambitions be thwarted.
Stage 19: Embrun > Isola 2000
A tough high mountain stage that in less than 150 kilometers adds more than 4500 meters of climbing. The Cime de la Bonette (23.1 km at 6.8%) is the highest paved point in all of France. The finish at Isola 2000 (16.1 km at 7.1%) will probably see a victory by the yellow jersey wearer.
Stage 20: Nice > Col de la Couillole
A short mountain stage traversing roads familiar from Paris-Nice, with four linked climbs and 4600 meters of elevation gain. The finish line is at the top of the Col de la Couillole (15.8 km at 7.3%). Another tough challenge.
Stage 21: Monaco (MC) > Nice
It has taken 111 years for the Tour to finish so far from Paris, and it does so not with a victory parade for the winner and a final sprint, but with a 33-kilometer time trial between Monaco and Nice that can change everything.
Image: © Tour de France / A.S.O.