Tour de France 2024 start: time, channel and how to watch Grand Depart on TV
Jonas Vingegaard
The Tour de France promises plenty of intriguing with a peloton packed with storylines battles across three weeks of racing.
For the first time, the Grand Tour will begin in Italy, with Florence hosting the Grand Depart and San Marino becoming the 14th country to be visited by a stage.
The finish to the race will look rather different, too, as a time trial in Nice replaces the traditional Champs-Elysees sprint due to the ongoing preparations for Paris 2024.
The individual time trial will be the first to conclude the Tour since 1989, when Greg LeMond memorably pipped Laurent Fignon in the closest edition in history.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the 2024 Tour de France.
When is the Tour de France?
The 2024 Tour de France will be held between June 29 and July 21 and consist of 21 stages, with two rest days included in the itinerary. The race will not finish in (or near) Paris for the first time since its inception as Nice is instead utilised — the French capital is out of action due to the Olympics later this summer.
Where is the Grand Depart?
The Grand Depart will be held in Italy for the first time, with Florence in Tuscany selected to begin the route. Stage 1 will finish in the coastal resort of Rimini, while the next three stages will also begin in Italy before the race crosses the border.
How long is the Tour?
In all, the peloton will cover 3,492km (2,170 miles) across 21 days of racing. Stage 3 (Piacenza to Turin) is the longest stage at 229km (142 miles), while the 133 km (83 miles) route on Stage 20 (Nice to Col de La Couillole) is the shortest road stage. There are two individual time trials: Stage 7 is 25km (16 miles), and the final stage from Monaco to Nice will be contested over 34km (21 miles).
How can I watch it?
Viewers in the United Kingdom will again have the choice of two broadcasters. ITV will provide free coverage on ITV4 and ITVX, while the Tour de France will also be available to subscribers on Eurosport and discovery+.
Eurosport’s coverage of the opening stage begins at 10.30am BST on Saturday 29 June, while ITV viewers can tune in from 10.45am.
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Who are the favourites for victory?
There are set to be four main contenders for general classification victory, though each of the quartet arrives with significant questions about their readiness for the year’s second Grand Tour. Defending champion Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) will seek a three-peat but has not raced since sustaining a broken collarborne and other injuries in a serious crash at the Tour of the Basque Country in April.
Primoz Roglic (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) were also injured in the incident, though the pair returned to racing at the recent Criterium du Dauphine as Roglic took overall victory.
Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) meanwhile enters attempting a Giro-Tour double having secured the maglia rosa in Italy earlier this year — no male rider has won both races in a single season this century.
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