Road cycling’s iconic Tour de France will finish away from Paris for the first time in its 121-year history in 2024 when riders will cross the finish line of the final stage in Nice.
The finale of the Tour, which is traditionally now on the Champs-Elysées in the French capital, has previously been held outside the center of the city but never far from it.
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However, Paris’ staging of the Olympic Games from July 26 to August 11 in 2024 has necessitated the relocation of the final stage of the Tour's 111th edition.
Nice has featured on the Tour’s program since the fourth edition in 1906 and hosted the race’s Grand Départ as recently as 2020, having also done so in 1981.
The first three editions of the Tour from 1903 to 1905 culminated at Ville-d'Avray. The finish was then moved to the Parc des Princes until 1967 and then to the Vélodrome de Vincennes between 1968 and 1974. It has been on the Champs-Elysées since 1975.
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It was reported in June that Nice would stage the finish in 2024 due to the Olympics – and also that Florence would host the Grand Départ.
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By GlobalDataIt has also been revealed that the final stage in 2024 will be an individual time trial.
In its announcement yesterday (December 1), the Tour said: “It is said that records are made to be broken, and the context of a battle of mere seconds takes on a new dimension when looking at the final weekend in general.
“The riders will be on the region's roads on Saturday, 20 July. They are all aware that the Nice backcountry lends itself to unbridled, high-intensity rides, almost systematically on the final stage of Paris-Nice. So, there could be opportunities just until the very end to rattle the Yellow Jersey.”
Meanwhile, Carrefour, the French retailer and supermarket, has renewed and expanded its partnership with La Vuelta, another of road cycling’s iconic grand tours.
The new deal will see Carrefour continue as a main sponsor of the race and sponsor the general classification leader’s jersey, prolonging a relationship that began in 2010.
In addition, Carrefour has taken on title sponsorship of the women’s edition of the race, La Vuelta Femenina. From 2023, it will be known commercially as La Vuelta Femenina by Carrefour.es, with the retailer sponsoring the leader’s jersey for the women’s race too.
The race becomes La Vuelta Femenina in 2023 having been known as the Challenge by La Vuelta since its inception in 2015.
Alexandre de Palmas, executive director of Carrefour Spain, said: “La Vuelta allows us to extol the very values that are our reason for being: closeness, competitiveness, sustainability, the promotion of healthy lifestyle habits, diversity, inclusion, and equal opportunity for all.
"For this reason, during each edition over the past 10 years, we do our utmost to involve clients, partners, and spectators in this competition. It is our honor to continue to support La Vuelta, and to also extend our support to women and to women’s sports.”
Javier Guillén, general director of La Vuelta, added: “Carrefour is already an essential part of La Vuelta. The identity of La Roja, and all of the values associated with the leader’s jersey, would not be what it is without Carrefour printed on its chest. This sponsorship renewal is doubly exciting for us as, a decade after it first sponsored the red jersey,
“Carrefour now extends its support by sponsoring the leader’s jersey for La Vuelta Femenina. This gives us security and a guarantee that allows us to project our work well into the future in order to make this race even bigger.”
Among La Vuelta’s other partners are Cofidis, Loterías, Škoda, Plenitude, Correos, and ElPozo.
Image: ASO/P.Ballet
