It is an edition which will remain in the great history of the Tour de France. For the first time since its creation in 1903, the Grande Boucle will not end in Paris or nearby, but in Nice. Due to the imminence of the Olympic Games, which begin five days after the arrival of the biggest cycling race in the world, it was necessary to find a host country. Christian Prudhomme and Christian Estrosi have forged close ties over the last fifteen years.
A relationship that was strengthened during the big start of the 2020 Tour. In the midst of a wave of Covid, and while all the major events were canceled, the Tour held on and was simply postponed to the end of August. Thanks to the common will of the mayor of Nice and the director of the Tour.
Everything is leaning in favour of Pogacar
So, when he understood that finishing on the Champs-Elysées would be impossible, Christian Prudhomme immediately turned to Christian Estrosi. “There were other applications, from big cities, but yes, Nice seemed obvious“, he explains.
This change has required a complete overhaul of the course and this will add some spice to this 111e edition which sets off from Florence today. There will be no Parisian parade on the last day, but a 33.7 km time trial between Monaco and Nice where the general classification could still be shattered. It will be preceded by a high mountain stage placed the day before the finish.
An ideal terrain, enhanced by aerial views of the Côte d’Azur, to turn the tables.
But the suspense must continue until then. Because one man seems to be way above the rest: Tadej Pogacar, double winner (2020, 21), but beaten in the last two editions by Jonas Vingegaard. The performance curves have radically crossed in recent months. The Dane suffered the biggest fall of his career on the Tour of the Basque Country in April (pneumothorax, several broken ribs, a fractured collarbone), while the Slovenian ridiculed his opponents the following month on the Giro, winning six stages and pushing his runner-up (Daniel Martinez) back to almost 10 minutes in the general classification.
The leader of the Visma will be present at the start, but he has not raced since his terrible fall, while ”Pogi”, who is present escorted by a dream-team at UAE, has had an almost ideal preparation , despite Covid which showed up 10 days ago. “I feel like I’ve taken a step forward since the Giro, my form is even better than expected. I tested the legs a bit and, to be honest, I’ve never felt better on A bike”he explained this week.
The speech is not as ambitious at Vingegaard, deprived of Sepp Kuss (Covid). “I come with the ambition to achieve the best possible result overall. Being here is a victory in itself, everything else will be a bonus.”
Everything seems to be leaning in Pogacar’s favor, but there is still a long way to go to reach the Bay of Angels. Except that the devil is in the details and there are so many of them that the most brilliant screenwriters cannot necessarily anticipate them all. And it starts today with a crazy first stage which has 206km and 3600 meters of altitude difference.
“We needed prestige”
The official announcement was made on December 1, 2022. It is not Paris and the Champs-Elysées that will host the arrival of the 2024 Tour, but Nice and Place Masséna, at the end of an individual time trial (Monaco-Nice), the first placed on the last day since 1989 and that famous stage where Greg LeMond overthrew Laurent Fignon by 8 cursed seconds.
“You dream of it, we dream of it. We don’t know what it’s going to be like, but obviously this final weekend was designed for that.” explained Christian Prudhomme. Because before this time trial, there will be two other mountainous stages in the department.
Friday, July 19, will be the arrival at Isola 2000, after the ascent of the Bonette, then a real mountain stage the next day, between Nice and the Col de la Couillole. Four passes (Braus, Turini, La Colmiane, Couillole) and 4400 meters of altitude difference, the day before the arrival.
“Nice is the sea and the mountains. In sporting terms, everything could still happen until the end.”, hopes the Tour director. “I am proud for my country to offer these mountains of the Alps which come to plunge into Nice, Christian Estrosi, the mayor of Nice, is also advancing. We will have two days, with an extraordinary sporting challenge, with the Alps and this individual time trial.”
From the moment they learned that the finish could not be held in Paris, due to the Olympic Games being held at the same time, Nice seemed obvious to the ASO (Amaury sport organization) staff. “We cannot replace Paris like that, Christian Prudhomme has often argued. We needed prestige, a city that shines throughout the world. When you have Nice Côte d’Azur, with a final time trial between Monaco and Nice, it has character. It’s exceptional not only for the French, but for everyone. And then, it’s the dream of all the organizers since 1903: to have the mountain next to the finish.”
