It should be noted that it will also be the first time since 1989 that the final day will be a competitive race. Since that epic day when Greg LeMond beat Laurent Fignon, we saw the race end in a procession and then a sprint to the finish on the Champs-Élysées.
The press release from ASO states: “This new finish, conditioned by the logistical imperatives that will already block the Champs-Elysées just a few days before the start of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, is accompanied by a significant sporting challenge as the last stage will be an individual time trial. The sporting qualities of the riders likely to win mean that the Tour could remain undecided until the last few kilometres.”
“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.”
The last-day time trial is sure to invite a lot of drama into play. In 2020, the Tour was decided during the final competitive stage – a time trial where Tadej Pogačar won over Primož Roglič. Could something along those lines happen again? What do you think? We cannot wait for it to begin.
The 2024 edition of Le Tour is very likely to start in Italy, as the governor of the Piedmont region in Northern Italy all but confirmed last week.
