Tour de France 2024 route revealed: No Paris finish for first time as race ends with time trial from Monaco to Nice

The 2024 Tour de France route was announced on Wednesday afternoon, with the Grand Tour set to finish outside of Paris for the first time.

With the Olympic Games set to be held in the French capital next year, an alternative conclusion to the most prestigious Grand Tour has been introduced.

Logistical complications mean that the Champs-Elysees will be blocked off a few days before the Olympics begin on July 26.

Instead, the climactic Stage 21 will be a 34km individual time trial from Monaco to Nice on the south coast.

The hotly-anticipated Grand Depart takes place in Florence, Italy, where the team presentation takes place, along with the start of Stage 1 on June 29.

This takes in climbs over the Apennines to the Adriatic coast, with the final climb coming 25km away from the finish line in Rimini.

Stage 3 will be preferred by the sprinters after beginning the Tour with two uphill climbs, as the riders cover 225km between Piacenza and Turin.

The first time trial comes on Stage 7 between Nuits-Saint-Georges and Gevrey-Chambertin, in a route spanning 25km, while Stage 8 is another to be savoured by the sprinters.

Those with General Classification aspirations face a punishing Stage 9 route, starting and ending in Troyes, that includes 14 sectors of gravel.

A well-deserved rest day comes after that in Orleans on July 8, before the riders begin week two of the Tour with a four-day journey south into the Pyrenees.

Stages 12 and 13 between Aurillac and Villeneuve-sur-Lot, and Agen to Pau respectively, will favour the sprinters, while Stage 15 sees 4,840 metres of climbing.

This begins at the notorious Col de Peyresourde, before climbs at Portet d’Aspet and Col d’Agnes, ahead of a descent into a valley and finish up towards the Plateau de Beille.

The final mountain stages begin at Stage 19 in the southern Alps, and this short 145km route certainly packs a punch, with the Cime de la Bonette – the highest road in France at 2,802 metres – packed into the route.

The race reaches its climax with a 34km time trial from Monaco to Nice, instead of the traditional sprint finish down the Champs-Elysees in Paris.

Time trial climbs will be made at La Turbie and Col d’Eze, before riders make their way down hill towards Nice, when the race finishes on July 21.

It is a very technical conclusion to the race, with riders needing to hone their uphill time trialling capabilities and be ready to time their descents to perfection.