More mountains, more ITT kilometers and plenty of gravel roads next year.
Separated by roughly 400 kilometers, Florence and Nice will host the start and finish, respectively, of next year’s Tour de France. It will be for the first time that Italy gets the Grand Départ, and it will happen one century after Ottavio Bottecchia wrote history for his country, becoming the first Italian to win the iconic yellow jersey after a truly dominant display.
Covering a total of 3492 kilometers, the route of the 111th edition will include five summit finishes – including Saint-Lary-Soulan, Plateau de Beille and Isola 2000 – a visit at over 2800 meters on Cime de la Bonette – 60 kilometers of individual time trial, 35 of which come on the final stage between Monte Carlo and Nice, and an incredibly hard stage 9 around Troyes featuring 32 kilometers of gravel roads spread over 14 sectors.
Next July, the race will also visit three locations inextricably linked with our very own Julian Alaphilippe: Saint-Amand-Montrond, where he was born, Imola, the site of his first world title in 2020, and Nice, where in the same year – just a few weeks before conquering the rainbow jersey – he took a spectacular and emotional stage win together the yellow jersey.
“We have a bit of everything on the menu. A very hard start in Italy and a demanding opening week, with the individual time trial in Gevrey-Chambertin and those tricky dirt roads, followed by a couple of tough mountain stages and even some days where the crosswinds could wreak havoc later in the race. Then there’s also the final weekend, where without Paris, anything can happen. This means that a rider going for a good general classification at this edition needs to be really strong and on top of his game all the time”, said Soudal Quick-Step sports director Wilfried Peeters.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
