The 2024 Tour de France will undergo significant changes due to the celebration of the Olympic Games in Paris. For this reason the gala round has announced this Thursday that the last stage will not go through the Champs Elysees for the first time in history.
After 110 editions in which the test has ended on the mythical Champs Elysées, the proximity of the Games (which will begin on July 26, 2024) has meant that the organization has decided to do without the French capital for that edition. The city chosen to finish the Tour on July 21 will be Nice and it will also do so with another novelty: a final time trial stage.
The presence of the Games in Paris created “logistical imperatives” that made the capital rule out, especially due to the blockade of the Champs Elysees several days before the opening, the organization explained in a statement.
The final chosen is Nice, another city with a brilliant cycling tradition, and it has also been decided to return interest to the last day with a time trial that could be decisive.
The organization recalled how in the 1989 edition, the American Greg LeMond snatched the final victory from the French Laurent Fignon in a time trial on the last day, which allowed him to win the Tour by the smallest margin in the history of the test, only eight seconds. .
The Tour will arrive on July 20 in the Nice area (south-eastern France) and on Sunday the 21st the time trial will take place that will close the test and may decide the final general classification. “There could be opportunities to shake the yellow jersey,” warns the organization.
The news was released the same day that the Bicicleta de Oro awards were announced, which recognize the best riders of the year in both the male and female categories. The big surprise was that Jonas Vingegaard did not take any position on the podium. It is the first time in 16 years that the Tour winner is not among the first three classified. The Danish cyclist occupies the fourth position.
