Paris 2024 Olympics: Route map for men’s and women’s cycling road races revealed during Tour de France

In just over a year, many riders will be competing in the Tour de France with their attention also on the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, which will start just five days after the finish of the Tour in Nice.

This Tuesday, the organisers of the Paris 2024 Olympics have unveiled the routes for the road cycling events. Whoever ends up being champion will have shown themselves to be the strongest on the day, with the race set to end on the famous hill of Montmartre.

The Trocadero, the Eiffel Tower, the Chateau de Versailles, the National Velodrome, the Jacques Anquetil Monument and finally Montmartre…for the routes of the cycling events, unveiled this Tuesday alongside the running of the Tour de France by Games chief Tony Estanguet, Paris 2024 will give a window into the history of France, and that of cycling in the country.

For the women’s race (August 4), as for the men’s race (August 3), the routes will provide a challenging, spectacular race with the steep finish of Montmartre set to decide the winner.

As a playground for many cycling enthusiasts, the Chevreuse valley will serve as an exciting appetiser after the start in the streets of Paris. Both the men and the women will have the Eiffel Tower and the Trocadero behind them for a picture-perfect postcard at the start. It will be worth letting that soak in as the rest of the course could strike fear into the pack given the very hilly profile with no less than 14 climbs for men – adding up to 2,800 meters of elevation gain (over the 273km total parcours) – and nine climbs for the women for 1,700m of ascending (over a 158 km route).

After the Parisian departure, the men will head in the direction of Yvelines to pass in front of the Château de Versailles, then that of Saint-Germain-en-Laye. Later, they will pay homage to Jacques Anquetil, five-time winner of the Tour de France and to whom a headstone is dedicated at the top of the Cote de Chateaufort. Then they will pass in front of the National Velodrome, located in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, which will host the track events during the Olympic Games, before returning to the capital in the direction of Montmartre. The shorter women’s route will only do the Chevreuse valley.

On the hill of Montmartre, so popular with tourists, the riders will have to climb to the Sacre Coeur via an 18.4km circuit, technical and punchy, culminating in a cobbled hill (1km at 6.5%). Both men and women will go through that section three times but will do two laps of the circuit before diving towards the finish at the Pont d’Iena, facing the Eiffel Tower, ten kilometres after the top of the last climb for the women, nine for the men. Beware of errors in the descent!

The time trial route

The time trial course (July 27) will be the same for both men and women.

At 32.4km long, it will be almost flat, and will be notable for its visit to the Bois de Vincennes with a new tribute to Jacques Anquetil via the Cipale, the legendary velodrome, but also a passage in front of the National Institute of Sport, Expertise and Performance (INSEP).

The start will be on the Esplanade des Invalides, the scene of the archery events at the Olympic Games, while the race will finish opposite on the Pont Alexandre III after passing through the Place de la Nation and that of the Bastille.

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