Tour de France starts in Italy for the first time

Amaury Sport, the organizer of the Tour de France, confirmed this information on December 22. Florence will be where the cyclists start at the 2024 tournament - the 100th anniversary since Ottavio Bottecchia became the first Italian to win the Tour de France. The first three stages of 2024 have a total route of 630km, from Florence to Rimini, Cesenatico to Bologna and Piacenza to Turin.

"The tournament has started in almost every country that shares a border with France, even six times in the Netherlands - a country that does not border France," said race director Christian Prudhomme. "But the Tour de France never started in Italy. This absurdity will disappear by 2024."

Italy has hosted many stages of the Tour de France in its history, the first time since 1948 and most recently in 2011, but never held the first stage. In 2024, with the route of the first leg from Florence to Rimini, the tournament also goes through San Marino for the first time. Previously, the Tour de France traveled through 13 different countries.

The Tour de France 2024 will not end at the Champs-Elysees in Paris as the 121-year tradition of the tournament. The final destination will be in Nice, as the organizers want to ensure security for the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games, which will take place in Paris just five days after the Tour de France ends. In the 111th edition, the Tour de France also witnessed the final stage as an individual timed leg for the first time.

The 2024 tournament starts on June 29 and ends on July 21. Tour de France 2023 will start in Bilbao, Spain on July 1 and end in Paris 22 days later. Jonas Vingegaard is the defending champion.