CyclistMens Tour de France 2024: Route, how to watch and all you need to knowThe 2024 Tour de France is almost upon us. The race will start in Florence, Italy on Saturday 29th June and finish in Nice on Sunday 21st July, with Visma-Lease a Bikes Jonas Vingegaard on track to attempt to defend his title against rival Tadej Pogaar, former teammate Primo Rogli and Belgiums great hope Remco Evenepoel.With a Grand Dpart in Italy for the first time and the finish outside Paris for the first time because of the Olympics, it will be a historic edition whatever happens during the race. It also means that it will be full gas racing from start to finish, with the opening stage from Florence to Rimini going straight in at the deep end with 3,600m of climbing on a hilly stage through Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna and San Marino which will become the 13th foreign country to host the Tour. The finale in Nice wont be a procession like we normally see in Paris either, instead the 2024 Tour will finish with a time-trial starting in Monaco and finishing at the Place Massna, just off the Promenade des Anglais in Nice.To separate riders between those stages (although lets hope not too much to keep the drama going all the way to that final day la Greg LeMond in 1989) will be not only an array of Frances toughest climbs including the Col du Galibier, Puy Mary, Col du Tourmalet (yes, again), Hourquette dAncizan, Pla dAdet, Col de Peyresourde, Plateau de Beille, Col du Noyer, Col de Vars, Cime de la Bonette, Isola 2000, Col de Turini and the Col de la Couillole (and breathe), but also a gravel stage with 14 sectors around the Champagne gravel roads, as seen in the 2022 Tour de France Femmes.All in all its officially eight flat stages for Mark Cavendish to get win #35, four hilly stages for spice, seven mountain stages for whittling down the GC, four summit finishes for maximum drama and two time-trials for Jonas Vingegaard to cement win #3. Related Posts Who actually are the team sponsors at the Tour de France 2024? Best places to cycle in the French Alps Tour de France Femmes 2024 route announced ft. Alpe dHuez and a mini Monument All the WorldTour team bikes, tech and kit 2024 Classic climb: Cime de la Bonette, Europes highest pass or is it? Tour de France 2024: Key informationJasper Jacobs/Belga/GodingImagesDates: Saturday 29th June to Sunday 21st July 2024Grand Dpart: Florence, ItalyFinale: Nice, FranceTotal elevation gain: 52,230mTotal prize money: 2.3millionUK television coverage: ITV4, Eurosport, GCN+, S4C2023 winner: Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma)Most overall wins: Jacques Anquetil, Bernard Hinault, Miguel Indurain, Eddy Merckx (all 5)Most stage wins:Eddy Merckx, Mark Cavendish (34)Tour de France 2024 routeASOWhile the route doesnt go to Paris, it does flirt with its le-de-France region with stages in nearby Orlans and Troyes. The lack of Paris finish does mean that the transfers between stages look less drastic, which is a good thing. And not finishing with a procession is exciting. Maybe they should sack Paris off altogether can 2025 finish in Brittany?Tour de France 2024 stage-by-stage previewStage 1: Saturday 29th June, Florence Rimini, 206kmOfficially the hardest opening stage in Tour de France history, this beast begins by crossing Florences Ponte Vecchio and takes on a load of hills, including the climb up to San Marino, to create early gaps.Stage 2: Sunday 30th June, Cesenatico Bologne, 199.2kmStarting in Marco Pantanis hometown of Cesenatico, its another hilly stage through Emilia-Romagna, finishing with two goes round a circuit including the Cte de San Luca, which is traditionally used in the Giro dellEmilia.Stage 3: Monday 1st July, Plaisance Turino, 230.8kmSprint day #1 should Mark get the job done early or keep some suspense for the story?Stage 4: Tuesday 2nd July, Pinerolo Valloire, 139.6kmYes its only Stage 4 and its mountains. And not just any mountains, its the Galibier and probably the races earliest Souvenir Henri Desgrange prize, although it wont be the highest summit of this years race.Stage 5: Wednesday 3rd July, Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne Saint-Vulbas, 177.4kmDespite being firmly in mountain region still, Stage 5 takes us through the valley for the second sprinters day.Stage 6: Thursday 4th July, Mcon Dijon, 163.5kmLets hope Mark Cavendish can cut the mustard in Dijon, its sprint three.Stage 7: Friday 5th July, Nuits-Saint-Georges Gevrey-Chambertin, 25.3km, ITTThe first time-trial of the race comes in wine country, but no champagne will be sprayed yet (thats Stage 9). Its set to be flat apart from a 1.6km, 6.1% average kicker near the end. Someone tell Tadej Pogaar that its not enough to warrant a bike change.Stage 8: Saturday 6th July, Semur-En-Auxois Colombey-les-Deux-glises, 183.4kmThere are five categorised climbs on this one but nothing too crazy that a sprint can be ruled out. Stage 9: Sunday 7th July, Troyes Troyes, 199km with 14 gravel sectorsStage 9 will be a day of reckoning for Jonas Vingegaard, who struggled on the cobbles of Roubaix in 2022, as now-cobbles legend Pogaar will surely look to put the pressure on his Danish rival over these 14 gravel sectors. For a taste of whats in store, look back on Stage 4 of the 2022 Tour de France Femmes.Stage 10: Tuesday 9th July, Orlans Saint-Amand-Montrond, 187.3kmRace director Christian Prudhomme is making an early prediction of echeleons in this one, so no doubt itll be a slow bunch sprint day. If not, Cavendish has done the business in the crosswinds before.Stage 11: Wednesday 10th July, vaux-les-Bains Le Lioran, 211kmIt doesnt look that impressive, but apparently theres 4,350m of elevation gain on this one, including the brutal Puy Mary Pas de Peyrol climb. Its the only day in the Massif Central.Stage 12: Thursday 11th July, Aurillac Villeneuve-sur-Lot, 203.6kmIts probably a breakaway day with hills including the opposite way up where the final time-trial of the 2022 race went at the beautiful Rocamadour, but a versatile sprinter could take it.Stage 13: Friday 12th July, Agen Pau, 165.3kmThis will likely be a sprinter that can climb with a few hills as the teams will surely put the pressure on.Stage 14: Saturday 13th July, Pau Saint-Lary-Soulan Pla dAdet, 151.9kmIts a big boy. Three brutal climbs, finishing in the exact spot that Raymond Poulidor won in 1974, apparently. Will Mathieu van der Poel have to talk about his grandpa again?Stage 15: Sunday 14th July, Loudenvielle Plateau de Beille, 197.7kmGet the turbos out lads, its straight into the Peyresourde. Five categorised climbs across 198km with 4,850m of elevation. Count your lucky stars this isnt the tape stage.Stage 16: Tuesday 16th July, Gruissan Nimes, 188.6kmIts a sprint, thankfully theyve had a rest day to prepare. If Cav hasnt done it by now then pray for teeth, nails, hair and hearts worldwide.Stage 17: Wednesday 17th July, Saint-Paul-Trois-Chteaux Superdvoluy, 177.8kmIt looks like its one long 178km climb, so that means the breakaway has no chance. Pogaar uphill sprint win loading.Stage 18: Thursday 18th July, Gap Barcelonette, 179.5kmPrudhomme reckons this is a sprint day, but considering its officially classed as hilly, Cavendish wont be contesting this one. There are a few hills to play with so its more likely to be a breakaway or a puncheur.Stage 19: Friday 19th July, Embrun Isola 2000, 144.6kmThats another humongous day. Not only is the Cime de la Bonette the highest point of the race, its the highest road in France and third highest in Europe.Stage 20: Saturday 20th July, Nice Col de la Couillole, 132.8kmThe final mountain stage looks set to be epic. Thats how a Tour de France profile should look, stunning. Early doors its the TV climbs like the Turini to get the blood pumping, and it culminates in the 15.7km climb up the Couillole to see if the fight for yellow will be decided in a final day time-trial.This one is the 2024 tape du Tour. Some day out that will be.Stage 21: Sunday 21st July, Monaco Nice, 33.7km, ITTIt could well be the most exciting finish to a Tour de France since 1989, although that hype probably means itll be sewn up by Stage 6. Its by no means flat, climbing up the 8.1km, 5.6% average La Turbie out of Monaco and the 1.6km, 8.1% side of the Col dze before descending into Nice. Could an Englishman win on the Promenade des Anglais? Probs not, sorry.Tour de France 2024: How to watch on live TV and streamingThe 2024 Tour de France will be available to watch in the UK on ITV4 and ITVX for free, and Eurosport 1 for those with the channel. You can also stream it onDiscovery+for 6.99 per month with the basic package, which includes cycling and all other Eurosport programmes.It is being broadcast across 198 countries, but its not being shown in your country, you may be able to watch coverage using a VPN Virtual Private Network which allows users to mask their IP address and watch geo-blocked content, provided they dont need to pay for a subscription. This is also helpful for watching paid-for coverage while travelling abroad in countries without access. One such example isExpressVPN, which is verywell reviewed, helps users to find a way to watch cycling without having to pay for broadcasters services, and costs 5.36 per month, with three months free.Other options includeNordVPN,SurfsharkandKapersky.How to watch the Tour de France in EuropeEurope: EurosportBasque Country: EiTBBelgium: RTBF, VRTCzech Republic: esk TelevizeDenmark: TV2France: France TVGermany: ARD, Discovery+Ireland: TG4Italy: Discovery+, RAI SportLuxembourg: RTLNetherlands: Discovery+, NOSNorway: TV2Portugal: RTPScandinavia: Discovery+Slovakia: RTVSSlovenia: RTV SLOSpain: RTVESwitzerland: SRG-SSRUnited States: Discovery+, Eurosport, ITVWales: S4CHow to watch the Tour de France in North and Central AmericaCanada: FloBikesCaribbean: ESPNLatin America: ESPNUnited States: NBC Sports, TV5 MondeHow to watch the Tour de France in South AmericaColombia: CaracolTVLatin America: ESPNSouth America: TV5 MondeHow to watch the Tour de France in AsiaChina: CCTV, Zhibo TVJapan: J SportsMiddle East: BeIN Sports, TV5 MondeSoutheast Asia: EurosportHow to watch the Tour de France in OceaniaAustralia: SBSNew Zealand: Sky SportHow to watch the Tour de France in AfricaAfrica: TV5 MondeNorth Africa: BeIN SportsSubsaharan Africa: SupersportTour de France 2024 start listData powered by FirstCycling.comFor all Tour de France-related news, head to our hub page Related Posts Who actually are the team sponsors at the Tour de France 2024? Best places to cycle in the French Alps Tour de France Femmes 2024 route announced ft. Alpe dHuez and a mini Monument All the WorldTour team bikes, tech and kit 2024 Classic climb: Cime de la Bonette, Europes highest pass or is it? The post Mens Tour de France 2024: Route, how to watch and all you need to know appeared first on Cyclist.