The one in 2024 will be a historic edition for the Tour de France. According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the competition will start, for the first time, on Italian soil, and will not end in Paris, but in Nice. An unprecedented situation caused by the temporary proximity of the Olympic Games, which will be held in the months of July and August of the same year in the French capital.
The one in 2024 will be the 111th edition of the biggest cycling competition in the world. In the previous 110, including those of 2022 and 2023, still to be played, the goal has been set in Paris. The Olympics will modify this historical tradition, moving the arrival to Nice. In addition, he has had to advance the celebration of the race a week, with the new official dates for the start and finish being June 29 and July 21, since it overlapped with the Games, which start only five more days. afternoon.
In Italy they were eager to host the start of the competition born in 1903. In La Gazzetta dello Sport they consider that "it is incredible that a cradle of cycling like Italy, mother of the Giro, has never shared the joy of the Grand Départ of the Tour de France ". According to the Italian media, former coach Davide Cassani has been the main promoter of the project that, for two years, in collaboration with the authorities of Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna and Piedmont, "created the political and economic network to bring the event to Italy ".
The choice of Florence as a starting point has not been random: it is the "winning symbol of Renaissance Italy" and the birthplace of Gino Bartali, two-time Tour de France champion; and Gastone Nencini, yellow jersey in 1960. Another purpose of the opening of the race in Italy is to pay tribute to other great historical figures of cycling in the country, such as Marco Pantani or Fausto Coppi.
In the absence of official confirmation, the tour is planned. As La Gazzetta points out and Ciclo 21, a specialized cycling medium, points out, "the first three stages of the test would be held entirely" on Italian territory. They would pass through Rimini, Cesenatico, Bologna, Modena, Piacenza and Pinerolo, all before leaving for France, ending in Nice.
Although the agreement is very close, it is not yet official. From Ciclo 21 they report that the Dutch cities of Rotterdam and The Hague are going to present themselves jointly as an alternative to Florence to host the departure of the Tour and, in the event that their candidacy does not bear fruit, they will try again in the following edition, the of 2025.
