Tour de France 2024: the route and events not to be missed
Starting June 29 from Florence, Italy, the legendary bicycle race starts for the first time
For the first time in its century-long history, the Tour de France will start in Italy, with three initial stages winding through Tuscany, Emilia Romagna and Piedmont. The Grand Départ is set for Saturday, June 29, starting in Florence and then stopping in Rimini, crossing the natural beauty of the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines and the sandy Adriatic coastline, before moving on to Piedmont and from there entering France. Also unprecedented is the finale, which, because of the late July Olympics in Paris, ends on July 21 exceptionally in Nice instead of the French capital, with an individual time trial.
Il Grand Départ
Since the 1950s, the Tour de France has been kicking off away from Paris, where it traditionally ends, and since 1954 outside France as well, with the first Grand Départ in Amsterdam. Since that time, 55 countries and cities have experienced the excitement of the final preparations and arrival of the teams, giving each edition a unique flavor and atmosphere. The Grand Départ is a special event within the Tour, where the prestige and popularity of the race is intertwined with the history, traditions and environment of the host cities and regions.
Tour de France 2024 - Grand Départ (photo credit: A.S.O./Aurélien Vialatte)21 stages and many road races to win the iconic yellow jersey. The first stage, Florence-Rimini (206 kilometers of the race) is dedicated to Gino Bartali, one of the greatest cyclists ever, who was born in 1914 in Ponte A Ema, 10 kilometers from Florence, and won the Tour de France twice.
On June 29, the cyclists set off, in défilé and time trial off, from the Cascine Village around 12 noon to reach the historic center (Piazza Duomo, Piazza Signoria at 12. 10 and Ponte Vecchio) then climbing up to Gavinana from Porta Romana, toward Piazzale Michelangelo; from here the descent along the Viale dei Colli, passing through Piazza Gino Bartali (not far from the Cycling Museum in Ponte a Ema, named after the great champion) until reaching Viola Park (Bagno a Ripoli, about 12.30 p.m.) from where the race proper begins. The route in Tuscan territory continues, touching the following municipalities: Pontassieve, Pelago, Rufina, Dicomano and San Godenzo (in Mugello land, in honor of champion Gastone Nencini). From the Colle dei Tre Faggi the Grande Boucle trespasses into Emilia Romagna.
Tour de France 2024 - Grand Départ (photo credit A.S.O./Aurélien Vialatte)Detailed city route in Florence
Village - Piazzale delle Cascine - Viale degli Olmi - Piazzale Thomas Jefferson - Viale del Visarno - Via del Fosso Macinante - Via Luciano Berio - Piazza Vittorio Veneto - Viale Fratelli Rosselli - Piazzale di Porta al Prato - Il Prato - Via Curtatone - Lungarno Amerigo Vespucci - Piazzale Carlo Goldoni - Via della Vigna Nuova - Piazza di San Giovanni - Piazza del Duomo - Via dei Calzaiuoli - Piazza della Signoria (official departure) - Via Vacchereccia - Via Por Santa Maria - Ponte Vecchio - Via dei Guicciardini - Piazza dei Pitti - Piazza di San Felice - Via Romana - Piazza della Calza - Piazzale di Porta Romana - Viale Niccolò Machiavelli - Piazzale Galileo - Piazzale Michelangelo - Viale Michelangelo - Via Carlo Marsuppini - Via Coluccio Salutati - Piazza Gavinana - Viale Donato Giannotti - Viale Europa - Piazza Gastone Nencini - Viale Europa - Viale del Pian di Ripoli - Bagno a Ripoli (official start) - Rimini.
Side events in town
Until June 28 at the Stazione Leopolda we find BeCycle, a large event realized in collaboration with Pitti Immagine dedicated to the universe of cycling. The Fan Park is set up in Piazza Santa Croce, with numerous stands also for the distribution and sale of gadgets.
Appointment on June 28 and 29 at Manifattura Tabacchi, as part of the (Non Solo) Cinema in Manifattura festival promoted by the Stensen Foundation with the Bicycle Film Festival, which offers free film screenings and parties celebrating cycling. Until June 29, film screenings and book presentations on cycling are also held in Piazza Ognissanti.
The Florentine Civic Museums and MUS.E are organizing a series of themed events for cycling enthusiasts and others. From special visits to the Gino Bartali Museum to guided tours of the Deportation Memorial, a specific enhancement program revolves precisely around the world of two wheels, with the aim of bringing adults and children closer to the history of cycling. The Gino Bartali Museum in Ponte a Ema is open to the public free of charge until June 30 with special hours: Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 6 p.m.; and on June 29, Grand Départ day, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Children's activities and guided tours are planned at the museum. Also scheduled for the same period is the extraordinary opening of the Deportation Memorial, located right in Bartali Square, in tribute to the efforts Gino Bartali made between 1943 and 1944 to save Jews, so much so that he was awarded the honor Righteous Among the Nations: the museum is open from June 22 to June 30 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., with free and guided tours every day at h10, h11, h12. Reservations are required for all visits, tours and activities: info@musefirenze.it 055-2768224