Tour de France 2024 JUNE 29 - JULY 21 The 111th edition of cycling’s most prestigious race begins in the historic city of Florence, as Italy stages the Grand Départ for the first time. Nice hosts the final-stage time trial, reminiscent of the famous Greg LeMond- Laurent Fignon duel in 1989 Elite Club Four riders have conquered Le Tour five times, with Bernard Hinault’s 1985 win providing most recent French victory. 5 Jacques Anquetil FRA 1957, 61, 62, 63, 64 15 5 Eddy Merckx BEL 1969, 70, 71, 72, 74 5 Bernard Hinault FRA 1978, 79, 81, 82, 85 5 Miguel Induráin ESP 1991, 92, 93, 94, 95 4 Chris Froome GBR 2013, 15, 16, 17 2023 winner Jonas Vingegaard Danish rider, racing for Visma-Lease a Bike, set to challenge for third successive title after recovering from broken collarbone and collapsed lung sustained in April 2024 Route Stage 1 Start Finish Start / finish Rest day Individual time-trial Mountain stage Sprint stage Transfer START: June 29, Florence 1 Rimini Cesenatico 2 Bologna Piacenza 3 Turin Pinerolo 4 Valloire St-Jean-de Maurienne 5 St-Vulbas Mâcon 6 Dijon Nuits-St-Georges 7 Gevrey-Chambertin Semur-en-Auxois 8 Colombey-les-Deux-Églises Troyes 9 Orléans 10 St-Amand-Montrond Évaux-les-Bains 11 Le Lioran Aurillac 12 Villeneuve-sur-Lot Agen 13 Pau 14 St-Lary-Soulan Loudenville 15 Plateau de Beille Gruissan 16 Nîmes St-Paul-Trois-Château 17 Superdévoluy Gap 18 Barcelonnette Embrun 19 Isola 2000 Nice 20 Col de la Couillole Monaco 21 FINISH: July 21, Nice Paris ITALY Total race distance 3498.3km Stage June km 1 29 206.0 2 30 199.2 3 Jul 1 230.8 4 2 139.6 5 3 177.4 6 4 163.5 7 5 25.3 8 6 183.4 9 7 199.0 10 9 187.3 11 10 211.0 12 11 203.6 13 12 165.3 14 13 151.9 15 14 198.0 16 16 188.6 17 17 177.8 18 18 179.5 19 19 144.6 20 20 132.8 21 21 33.7 Giro d’Italia winner Tadej Pogačar Slovenian targeting rare double ambition of winning both Giro and Le Tour in same year. Only seven riders have achieved historic feat, most recently Marco Pantani (ITA) in 1998 Race Classifications Overall leader: Yellow Awarded to race winner and worn by current race leader at start of each stage, calculated by totalling each day’s finishing time Yellow jersey first awarded in 1919 to help spectators identify race leader. Instantly recognisable and highly sought after, it has since been worn by total of 278 riders from 25 countries HIGHEST NUMBER OF DAYS IN YELLOW JERSEY Eddy Merckx (1969-72, 1974-75) Including half stages 111 Bernard Hinault (1978-82, 1984-86) 79 Miguel Induráin (1991-95) 60 Chris Froome (2013, 2015-17) 59 Jacques Anquetil (1957, 1961-64) 52 Mark Cavendish (GBR, above), racing for Astana Qazaqstan Team, needs just one stage win in his final Tour de France to become outright record holder with 35 victories, surpassing Merckx (34) Points leader: Green Fastest sprinters compete for points at end of each stage - points adjusted by terrain King of the Mountains: Polka dot Held by rider who proves to be best climber, with more severe climbs offering most points Best young rider: White Awarded to highest placed rider aged 24 or younger on first day of year. Prize returned in 2000 after 10-year hiatus Le Tour: Start to finish 1903: Henri Desgrange (right), editor of L’Auto sports newspaper, creates Tour de France to boost sales. Maurice Garin of France is first winner 1904: Cheating crisis – some riders take trains and sabotage rivals’ bicycles 1905 Inaugural mountain climb, on Ballon d’Alsace 1919 Desgrange introduces yellow jersey (L’Auto is printed on yellow paper) 1930 Manufacturers’ teams replaced by national squads 1937: Derailleur systems permit gear changes without removing wheels 1952 Fausto Coppi wins by postwar record of 28 mins, 27 secs 1967: Drug tests introduced after British cyclist Tom Simpson dies on Mont Ventoux 1969 In stunning debut, Belgian Eddy Merckx (right) wins all three main jerseys – only rider ever to do so 1986: American Greg LeMond becomes first non-European winner 1989: LeMond defeats Laurent Fignon by eight seconds, smallest margin of victory in Tour history 1991-95 Spaniard Miguel Induráin becomes first man to win five consecutive Tours 1998: Major doping scandal involving Festina team rocks Tour – team ejected from race. Later investigations reveal systematic doping within sport 1999-2005: Lance Armstrong (above) wins seven Tours in a row but is stripped of his titles in 2012 after lengthy doping investigation 2012-18 Bradley Wiggins (inset) becomes first British winner. Compatriots Chris Froome (4) and Geraint Thomas (1) win five of next six Tours for Team Sky 2019: Egan Bernal, 22, is first Colombian to win Tour de France 2024: Race finishes outside French capital for first time, due to Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games Coupe Omnisports Designed in 1971 Source: Le Tour, Encyclopedia of the Yellow Jersey Pictures: AP, Getty Images, Nationaal Archief, National Library of France © GRAPHIC NEWS