The Tour de France is almost here for 2024.
The iconic cycling event is a test of physical and mental endurance, with riders tackling long distances and challenging routes over three weeks.
Reigning Giro d'Italia champion and two-time Tour de France winnerTadej Pogacar is the clear favourite for 2024, and deservedly so.
However, last year's victor Jonas Vingegaard will look to defend his crown, recovering in time from a nasty crash in April, which saw him break his collarbone and ribs and suffer a collapsed lung.
MORE: When does the Tour de France start?
The Sporting News brings you the key details for this year's race.
How to watch the Tour de France: TV channel, live stream
- USA:NBC Sports holds the broadcast rights, with all stages available via streaming platforms Peaco*ck and Fubo. Stages eight, 14 and 20 will be broadcast live on NBC.
- UK:The Tour de France will be live onDiscovery+and Eurosport.It will also be shown on free-to-airchannelITV 4 and streaming service ITV X.S4C will air the actionin Wales.
- Australia:Once again, SBS has exclusive free-to-air and digital broadcast rights. Fans can watch the action on SBS' TV channel and stream via SBS On Demand.
Tour de France 2024 schedule, route, stages, start times
As has become tradition, the 'Grand Depart' will be held outside of France, with Stage 1 to begin in the Italian city of Florence.
Riders will make their way into France by Stage 4 where they will stay for the remainder of the Tour.
A few flat stages will follow, with the sprinters set to battle it out in frantic finishes.
The focus will turn to the general classification in the back half of the Tour, with three mountain stages on either side of the second rest day.
An individual time trial from Monaco to Nice will cap off this year's race.
| Stage | Date | Length | Location (type) | Start(local/CEST) |
| 1 | June 29 | 206 km (128 miles) | Florence to Rimini (hilly) | 12:30 p.m. |
| 2 | June 30 | 199.2 km (123.8 miles) | Cesenatico to Bologna(hilly) | 12:05 p.m. |
| 3 | July 1 | 230.8 km (143.4 miles) | Piacenza to Turin (flat) | 12:50 p.m. |
| 4 | July 2 | 139.6 km (86.7 miles) | Pineroloto Valloire (mountain) | 1 p.m. |
| 5 | July 3 | 177.4 km (110.2 miles) | Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne to Saint-Vulbas(flat) | 12:55 p.m. |
| 6 | July 4 | 163.5 km (101.6 miles) | Macon to Dijon(flat) | 1 p.m. |
| 7 | July 5 | 25.3 km (15.7 miles) | Nuits-Saint-Georges to Gevrey-Chambertin (individual time-trial) | 1:10 p.m. |
| 8 | July 6 | 183.4 km (114 miles) | Semur-en-Auxois to Colombey-les-Deux-Églises(flat) | 12 p.m. |
| 9 | July 7 | 199 km (123.7 miles) | Troyes to Troyes(hilly) | 1:05 p.m. |
| Rest day | July 8 | -- | -- | -- |
| 10 | July 9 | 187.3 km (116.3 miles) | Orleansto Saint-Amand-Montrond(flat) | 12:55 p.m. |
| 11 | July 10 | 221 km (137.3 miles) | Evaux-les-Bains to Le Lioran(mountain) | 12:55 p.m. |
| 12 | July 11 | 203.6 km (126.5 miles) | Aurillac to Villeneuve-sur-Lot(flat) | 12:55 p.m. |
| 13 | July 12 | 165.3 km (102.7 miles) | Agen to Pau(flat) | 1:30 p.m. |
| 14 | July 13 | 151.9 km (94.3 miles) | Pau to Saint-Lary-Soulan/Pla d'Adet(mountain) | 12:30 p.m. |
| 15 | July 14 | 198 km (123 miles) | Loudenvielle to Plateau de Beille(mountain) | 12:55 p.m. |
| Rest day | July 15 | -- | -- | -- |
| 16 | July 16 | 188.6 km (117.1 miles) | Gruissan to Nimes(flat) | 12:50 p.m. |
| 17 | July 17 | 177.8 km (110.5 miles) | Saint-Paul-Trois-Chateaux to SuperDevoluy(mountain) | 12:05 p.m. |
| 18 | July 18 | 179.5 km (111.5 miles) | Gap to Barcelonnette(hilly) | 12:55 p.m. |
| 19 | July 19 | 144.6 km (89.8 miles) | Embrun to Isola 2000(mountain) | 1:05 p.m. |
| 20 | July 20 | 132.8 km (82.5 miles) | Nice to Col de la Couillole(mountain) | 1:35 p.m. |
| 21 | July 21 | 33.7 km (20.9 miles) | Monaco to Nice(individual time-trial) | 4:10 p.m. |
Getty Images
Tour de France 2024 route, map
This year's Tour consists of eight flat stages, four hilly stages and seven mountain stages, broken up by a pair of time trials and rest days.
— AG2R LA MONDIALE (@AG2RLAMONDIALE) June 27, 2024🚴🏽♀️ J-2 avant le @LeTour de France !
Ce sont 3 492 km que vont parcourir les #cyclistes sur cette édition du #TourdeFrance2024.
Le top départ sera donné, samedi à Florence, en Italie, pour une première étape de 206 km sur des routes accidentées. 21 étapes plus tard... le Tour… pic.twitter.com/gjrsCCKWfl
Thefull route can be viewed here.
Tour de France 2024 stages, winners
| Stage | Date | Length | Location (type) | Winner |
| 1 | June 29 | 206 km (128 miles) | Florence to Rimini (hilly) | |
| 2 | June 30 | 199.2 km (123.8 miles) | Cesenatico to Bologna(hilly) | |
| 3 | July 1 | 230.8 km (143.4 miles) | Piacenza to Turin (flat) | |
| 4 | July 2 | 139.6 km (86.7 miles) | Pineroloto Valloire (mountain) | |
| 5 | July 3 | 177.4 km (110.2 miles) | Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne to Saint-Vulbas(flat) | |
| 6 | July 4 | 163.5 km (101.6 miles) | Macon to Dijon(flat) | |
| 7 | July 5 | 25.3 km (15.7 miles) | Nuits-Saint-Georges to Gevrey-Chambertin (individual time-trial) | |
| 8 | July 6 | 183.4 km (114 miles) | Semur-en-Auxois to Colombey-les-Deux-Églises(flat) | |
| 9 | July 7 | 199 km (123.7 miles) | Troyes to Troyes(hilly) | |
| Rest day | July 8 | -- | -- | |
| 10 | July 9 | 187.3 km (116.3 miles) | Orléansto Saint-Amand-Montrond(flat) | |
| 11 | July 10 | 221 km (137.3 miles) | Evaux-les-Bains to Le Lioran(mountain) | |
| 12 | July 11 | 203.6 km (126.5 miles) | Aurillac to Villeneuve-sur-Lot(flat) | |
| 13 | July 12 | 165.3 km (102.7 miles) | Agen to Pau(flat) | |
| 14 | July 13 | 151.9 km (94.3 miles) | Pau to Saint-Lary-Soulan/Pla d'Adet(mountain) | |
| 15 | July 14 | 198 km (123 miles) | Loudenvielle to Plateau de Beille(mountain) | |
| Rest day | July 15 | -- | -- | |
| 16 | July 16 | 188.6 km (117.1 miles) | Gruissan to Nimes(flat) | |
| 17 | July 17 | 177.8 km (110.5 miles) | Saint-Paul-Trois-Chateaux to SuperDevoluy(mountain) | |
| 18 | July 18 | 179.5 km (111.5 miles) | Gap to Barcelonnette(hilly) | |
| 19 | July 19 | 144.6 km (89.8 miles) | Embrun to Isola 2000(mountain) | |
| 20 | July 20 | 132.8 km (82.5 miles) | Nice to Col de la Couillole(mountain) | |
| 21 | July 21 | 33.7 km (20.9 miles) | Monaco to Nice(individual time-trial) |
How long is the Tour de France? Miles, kilometres for 2024
In the 111thedition of the Tour de France, riders will cover a total distance of 3,492km (2,170 miles).
This makes it the longest of the three Grand Tours in 2024, with the Giro d'Italia at 3,317km and the Vuelta a Espana at 3,265km.
Tour de France teams 2024
We have 22 teams competing in the 2024 edition of the Tour de France.
Each team has eight riders, meaning there is a total of 176 riders in the field.
Jumbo–Visma (nowVisma-Lease a Bike) took out the team classification last year.
| Team | Country |
| Alpecin-Deceuninck | Belgium |
| Arkea-B&B Hotels | France |
| Astana-Qazaqstan | Kazakhstan |
| Bahrain-Victorious | Bahrain |
| Bora-Hansgrohe | Germany |
| Cofidis | France |
| Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale | France |
| dsm-firmenich PostNL | Netherlands |
| EF Education-EasyPost | United States |
| Groupama-FDJ | France |
| Ineos Grenadiers | Great Britain |
| Jayco-AlUla | Australia |
| Intermarche-Wanty | Belgium |
| Israel-Premier Tech | Israel |
| Lidl-Trek | United States |
| Lotto-Dstny | Belgium |
| Movistar | Spain |
| Soudal Quick-Step | Belgium |
| Totalenergies | France |
| UAE Team Emirates | United Arab Emirates |
| Uno-X Mobility | Norway |
| Visma-Lease a Bike | Netherlands |
Tour de France past winners
Danish rider Jonas Vingegaard claimed his second consecutive Tour de France victory in 2023.
He defeated rival Tadej Pogacar by 7 minutes and 29 seconds – the largest margin of victory since2014.
Lance Armstrong won seven straight races from 1999 to 2005, but his victories have been vacated due to doping.
| Year | Winner | Nationality |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Jonas Vingegaard | Denmark |
| 2022 | Jonas Vingegaard | Denmark |
| 2021 | Tadej Pogacar | Slovenia |
| 2020 | Tadej Pogacar | Slovenia |
| 2019 | Egan Bernal | Colombia |
| 2018 | Geraint Thomas | Wales |
| 2017 | Chris Froome | England |
| 2016 | Chris Froome | England |
| 2015 | Chris Froome | England |
| 2014 | Vincenzo Nibali | Italy |
| 2013 | Chris Froome | England |
| 2012 | Bradley Wiggins | England |
| 2011 | Cadel Evans | Australia |
| 2010 | Andy Schleck* | Luxembourg |
| 2009 | Alberto Contador | Spain |
| 2008 | Carlos Sastre | Spain |
| 2007 | Alberto Contador | Spain |
| 2006 | Oscar Pereiro** | Spain |
| 2005 | Lance Armstrong*** | USA |
| 2004 | Lance Armstrong*** | USA |
| 2003 | Lance Armstrong*** | USA |
| 2002 | Lance Armstrong*** | USA |
| 2001 | Lance Armstrong*** | USA |
| 2000 | Lance Armstrong*** | USA |
| 1999 | Lance Armstrong*** | USA |
| 1998 | Marco Pantani | Italy |
*Alberto Contadorwon the race, but later failed a drug test.
**Floyd Landis won the race, but later failed a drug test.
***Lance Armstrong had all his titles vacated due to doping. No winner was named in his place.
