The Tour de France 2024 will kick off from Florence for the first big start in Italy in its history, Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport said on Wednesday.
Italy is the only neighboring country that has never hosted a major start since 1903, the year the event took place.
When questioned by the AFP, ASO, the company organizing the race, declined to comment.
According to the Italian sports daily, which cited the intervention of public and private investors to finance the operation, the event will begin on June 29, 2024 from Florence, the city of champion Gino Bartali (two -time Tour winner before and after World War II), for the first stage ending in Rimini on the Adriatic coast.
The 2nd stage will link Cesenatico, the city of another former winner (Marco Pantani, in 1998) to Bologna before a 3rd stage is also announced in Emilia-Romagna near Modena and Piacenza and the start of the 4th stage in Pinerolo (Piedmont) for a follow-up on French territory.
The Italian newspaper also confirms that the Tour will also arrive for the first time in its history in a city other than Paris, which will begin with the Summer Olympics less than a week later. The venue to be chosen for the end of this 111th edition is Nice.
France Media Agency
Source: Radio-Canada
