2024 Tour De France

The 2024 Tour de France was the 111th edition of the Tour de France. It started in Florence, Italy, on 29 June, and finished in Nice in Paris.

Tadej Pogačar won the general classification, his third victory after 2020 and 2021 and a return to the top spot after placing second in 2022 and 2023. Pogačar won six stages, including the last three. Second and third place were taken by Jonas Vingegaard ( Visma–Lease a Bike) and tour debutant Remco Evenepoel ( Soudal–Quick-Step). Pogačar's team, UAE Team Emirates, won the team classification.

The race began with three stages in Italy before entering France. The first two stages were won by French riders. Romain Bardet narrowly won the opening stage from a breakaway with teammate Frank van den Broek, five seconds ahead of the peloton, to earn the first yellow jersey. Kévin Vauquelin won the second stage, but Pogačar claimed the race lead. In Stage 3, Pogačar relinquished the race lead to Richard Carapaz, but then won Stage 4, from Pinerolo (Italy) to Valloire, to regain it. He remained in yellow all the way to the finish in Nice and Jasper Philipsen won three stages each. Pogačar, who finished 6 minutes and 17 seconds ahead of two-time winner Vingegaard, became the first rider to win both the Tour de France and Giro d'Italia in the same year since Marco Pantani in 1998.

Girmay won the points classification; Carapaz won the mountains classification and the overall combativity award; and Evenepoel won the young rider classification. Mark Cavendish won the 5th stage, his 35th stage victory at the Tour de France, breaking the record of 34 stage wins held by Eddy Merckx since 1975. In recognition of both this record and his long and popular career in the Tour a special presentation was made to Mark Cavendish on the final podium, a framed black cycling jersey bearing the Tour de France logo and the letters "CAXXXV" (XXXV being Roman numerals for 35).

Teams

Twenty-two teams took part in the race. All 18 UCI WorldTeams were automatically invited. They were joined by four UCI ProTeams: the two highest placed UCI ProTeams in 2023 ( and ), along with and who were selected by Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), the organisers of the Tour. The teams were announced on 18 January 2024.

UCI WorldTeams

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UCI ProTeams

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Route and stages

Italy hosted the '' Grand Départ'' for the first time. 2024 is the 100th anniversary of the first Italian victory in the Tour, won by Ottavio Bottecchia in 1924. The route also visited the microstate of San Marino, making it the 14th country to be visited by a Tour stage. The race did not finish in Paris, owing to preparations for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, which started on 26 July. Instead, the tour finished in Nice with an individual time trial—the last time a time trial was the final stage in the Tour was in 1989.
In October 2023, Christian Prudhomme announced the full route. The route was described as "tough" by riders, with particular concern for the gravel tracks on stage 9 and limited opportunities for sprinters.

Pre-race favorites

Analysts forecasting the 2024 Tour de France generally focused on four main contenders, sometimes nicknamed the Big Four: Tadej Pogačar, Jonas Vingegaard, Primož Roglič, and Remco Evenepoel. Pogačar was coming off the 2024 Giro d'Italia, where he won in dominant fashion, leading by nearly 10 minutes and winning six stages. However, no rider had completed the Giro-Tour double since Marco Pantani in 1998, and some analysts doubted whether Pogačar could maintain form through two Grand Tours. Vingegaard, the two-time reigning champion, was an unknown, as he had crashed heavily at the 2024 Tour of the Basque Country in April. Vingegaard suffered a punctured lung, among other injuries, and had not raced since, although he had recovered enough for a month long altitude camp leading up to the Tour. Roglič and Evenepoel had been caught in the same crash while riding the Tour of the Basque Country, but had recovered enough to ride the 2024 Critérium du Dauphiné. Roglič won the overall, though only by 8 seconds, while Evenepoel won the time trial on stage 3. While these four riders were generally seen as the top favorites for the overall win and podium, other riders mentioned in contention for the general classification were Carlos Rodriguez, Adam Yates, João Almeida, and Matteo Jorgenson.

For the points classification, Jasper Philipsen was seen as a favorite, having won four stages and the points jersey the previous year. Other potential challengers for sprint finishes were Mark Cavendish, Mads Pedersen, Sam Bennett, and Biniam Girmay.

Race overview

Week one

The first stage, dedicated to Marco Pantani, left Florence on 29 June. from the finish line in Rimini, French rider Romain Bardet broke away from the leader's group with his teammate Frank van den Broek and held onto a slim lead on the peloton for the remainder of the race. It was the first time Bardet had earned the right to wear the yellow jersey, in what he had announced would be his final season on the tour.

Another Frenchman, Kévin Vauquelin, won the second stage, distancing rivals in the final climb (10.6% grade) up to the sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca in Bologna. Nevertheless, it was Tadej Pogačar who finished the day with the yellow jersey, distancing Romain Bardet in the final ascent, with only Jonas Vingegaard keeping pace.

The longest stage of the tour took place the following day on a flat route through the Piedmont countryside. After , another French rider, Fabien Grellier, attempted a breakaway, only to be caught by the peloton in under half an hour. The final sprint in Turin to reach the finish line caused a jumbled-up crash, which hurt the chances of some of the sprinters. The Eritrean rider Biniam Girmay crossed the finish line first, becoming the first Black African to win a stage on the Tour. The reigning Olympic road race champion Richard Carapaz finished the day atop the overall standings, becoming the first Ecuadorian to wear the Tour's yellow jersey.

Stage 4 included the climb of the Col du Galibier. Tadej Pogačar's UAE team-mates controlled the pace, laying the foundation for a Pogačar attack about from the summit. Only Jonas Vingegaard was initially able to keep up with Pogačar, but reached the summit eight seconds behind him. Over the remaining to Valloire, Pogačar extended the gap, eventually crossing the finish line 35 seconds ahead of Remco Evenepoel, Juan Ayuso and Primož Roglič, with Vingegaard a further two seconds back. Time bonuses gained on the Galibier and at the finish meant Pogačar held a 45-second overall lead over Evenepoel with Vingegaard third at 50 seconds.

The next stage, from Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne to Saint-Vulbas, was a return to flat terrain. It was won by sprinter Mark Cavendish, taking his 35th Tour de France stage win – the most in the Tour history, passing Eddy Merckx, with whom he had been tied since 2021. Tadej Pogačar maintained his lead overall. A windy stage 6 through the Burgundy vineyards from Mâcon to Dijon was won by a tire-width by Dylan Groenewegen in a sprint finish, while Pogačar maintained his overall lead.

Stage 7 was a individual time trial from Nuits-Saint-Georges to Gevrey-Chambertin, won by world time trial champion Remco Evenepoel, 12 seconds ahead of Tadej Pogačar. In the general classification, there was no change in the top three positions: Pogačar led from Evenepoel and Vingegaard.

Week two

Stage 8 was from Semur-en-Auxois to Colombey-les-Deux-Églises. A breakaway by mountains classification leader Jonas Abrahamsen was reeled in by the peloton with 5km remaining. In the subsequent sprint, Biniam Girmay took his second stage win of the race, followed by Jasper Philipsen and Arnaud De Lie. There was no change in standings for the overall lead.

7 July saw a chaotic stage 9, with multiple sections of gravel road near Troyes. A breakaway group was successful, with Frenchman Anthony Turgis winning the stage, Tom Pidcock coming second and Derek Gee third. Pogačar attacked his rivals in the general classification but their positions did not change. This stage was followed by a rest day.

Stage 10 ended in a bunched sprint finish in Saint-Amand-Montrond after a race from Orléans to the line, with no changes to the leaders in the overall standings.

In contrast, stage 11 saw a major shake-up among the leading contenders. Described as the toughest stage of the Tour so far, the mountainous route ran for from Évaux-les-Bains to Le Lioran. Overall leader Pogačar instigated a long-range solo attack 600m from a summit at Puy Mary, but Jonas Vingegaard caught Pogačar, while Roglič crashed on a damp hairpin bend. Vingegaard out-sprinted Pogačar at the finish in the Massif Central. It was Vingegaard's first stage win of the 2024 Tour; he had sustained life-threatening injuries in April's Tour of the Basque Country. Evenepoel and Roglič finished together in joint third, 25 seconds behind the leading pair, and 1m 47s ahead of a group of five led by Giulio Ciccone.

Stages 12 and 13 both concluded with controversial sprint finishes. After from Aurillac to Villeneuve-sur-Lot, Girmay took his third stage win in 11 days on a hot stage 12 ahead of Wout van Aert and Ackerman. Cavendish was demoted from fifth place by the race jury for "deviation from the chosen line, that obstructs or endangers another rider". Roglič crashed in the bunch 11km from the end of the stage, finishing 2min 15sec behind and dropping to sixth overall, 4min 42sec behind Pogačar. Overnight, Roglič retired from the race due to his injuries. Stage 13, from Agen to Pau, was won by Philipsen from van Aert, Ackerman and Girmay. Philipsen was criticised by his rivals; Ackermann refused to shake Philipsen's hand after the stage, insisting he should be punished by the officials for the same offence as Cavendish had been.

Stage 14, from Pau to Saint-Lary-Soulan ( Pla d'Adet) in the Hautes Pyrenees, saw Pogačar increase his lead in the general classification. He finished 39 seconds ahead of Vingegaard, having made a solo attack just under five kilometres from the high-altitude ski station finish. Evenepoel finished third, a further 31 seconds behind Vingegaard. It was the ninth time that Pogačar and Vingegaard had finished first and second in a Tour stage. In the overall standings, Vingegaard took second place from Evenepoel, who slipped to third. The same three riders finished in the same order on stage 15 on 14 July, from Loudenvielle. Pogačar broke away from Vingegaard with around 5km of the stage remaining, setting a time of 39min 41sec for the ascent, eclipsing Marco Pantani's record for the same course set in 1998 (43min 20sec). Pogačar's overall lead over Vingegaard increased to more than three minutes, with Evenepoel five minutes behind.

Week three

After a rest day in Gruissan, stage 16 on 16 July was from Gruissan to Nîmes. The leading riders remained in the peloton until a sprint finish, in which Philipsen won his third stage. This matched the number of stage wins by fellow sprinter and green jersey leader Girmay, who crashed on the run-in to the finish. There was no change in the overall standings.

Stage 17 was a mountain stage, in Superdévoluy. British rider Simon Yates attacked on the day's toughest climb, the Col du Noyer, but was caught by Carapaz. Carapaz eventually left Yates behind, finishing first by 37 seconds, with Enric Mas a further 20 seconds back in third. Pogačar made a small attack but it only served to help third overall Evenepoel win back a few seconds in the general classification against a faltering Vingegaard.

The stage 18 from Gap to Barcelonnette saw a successful breakaway by three riders: Victor Campenaerts, French rider Mattéo Vercher and former world champion Michał Kwiatkowski, who finished in that order. The leading positions in the overall standings remained unchanged.

Pogačar dominated the final three stages, winning all of them. Stages 19 and 20 were both Alpine mountain stages. Carapaz participated in a breakaway on stage 19, which earned him the King of the Mountains jersey for the first time. However Carapaz, Simon Yates, and Matteo Jorgenson were overtaken by Pogačar on the final climb to Isola 2000 in the Mercantour Alps. It was Pogačar's tenth stage win in 2024 Grand Tours, and extended his overall lead to more than five minutes. Stage 20 the following day was the race's final mountain stage, finishing up the Col de la Couillole in the Alpes Maritimes. Pogačar won again, ahead of Vingegaard who finished second. The Tour's final stage was a individual time trial from Monaco to Nice won the team classification.

Classification leadership

Classification standings

General classification

Points classification

Mountains classification

Young rider classification

Team classification

References

External links

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2024 in road cycling
2024 UCI World Tour
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Tour de France