Saturday June 29th the Tour de France, the most important and followed cycling competition in the world and one of the most important sporting events ever, will start from Italy for the first time, with the stage Florence-Rimini. The race will continue with the second stage from Cesenatico to Bolognathen the third, from Piacenza to Turin. The next day the runners will start from the nearby one Pinerolo to reach France, in the locality ValloireAuvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.
It is an event that goes well beyond the purely competitive dimension, with tributes to the protagonists of history, not only sporting, as in the case of Gino Bartalia champion in sport and in life who put risking his own existence to save many Jews persecuted by the Nazi-fascist regime. The departure from Italy, as well as a marketing and tourism promotion operation, is supported by the meanings it evokes and is a recognition of the great historical sporting heritage of our country. No small feat for the French.
The arrival of the race is destined to generate a great media impact and create a huge impact, with over 200 TVs connected from all over the world. It is estimated that there will be 1.8 million spectators present along the route between Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna and Piedmont, and there will be over 300 thousand presences in hotels for the first three stages with an impact that exceeds 120 million euros.
The Italians who did the feat
The arrival in our country of the Grand Dèpart in Italy also coincides with the centenary of the first Italian victory at the Grand Boucle (Large curl), that of Ottavio Bottecchia in 1924. From that year on in a century there were ten Italian victories at the Tour de France (Ottavio Bottecchia 1924 and 1925, Gino Bartali 1938 and 1948, Fausto Coppi 1949 and 1952, Gastone Nencini 1960, Felice Gimondi 1965, Marco Pantani 1998 , Vincenzo Nibali 2014), three of which by cyclists from the province of Florence, or an edition for Gastone Nencini and two for Gino Bartali. The first stage of the 2024 Tour de France will be dedicated to Ginettaccio, who the French also recognize as the man who won the Tour before and after the Second World War. It’s just a shame that it wasn’t possible for the riders to pass through Ponte a Ema, the place where Bartali lived his early years.
We will therefore leave from Florence on Saturday, with a preview of the Grande Boucle Thursday 27 June, when the teams will be presented. The event takes place from 6.30pm to 8pm. Departure of the cyclists from Palazzo Vecchio. Then the crossing of Lungarno Generale Diaz, Ponte alle Grazie, Lungarno Serristori, Piazza Giuseppe Poggi, Viale Giuseppe Poggi, up to Piazzale Michelangelo.
Walkway over the Ponte Vecchio
Saturday 29 June, the start of the Tour de France 2024. The cyclists will start pedaling from the Villaggio delle Cascine, around 12 pm, in non-competitive mode and will reach Piazza Signoria where they will stop for an institutional start. After cycling along the streets of the center passing through the Ponte Vecchio, the runners will arrive in Viale del Pian di Ripoli – Bagno a Ripoli where the official start of the race will take place.
Ready to go, it will already be a show
The first stage will already be challenging: the runners will have to face almost 4,000 meters of difference in altitude, they descend from Florence and in Tuscan territory they take the Passo dei Tre Faggi, a long climb, then a descent towards Galeata, in the Forlivese area, but not without having first faced another asperity, the Passo delle Forche. Then the Passo del Carnaio, from Santa Sofia downhill towards Bagno di Romagna, then Mercato Saraceno, where with the climb of the Barbotto we enter the hot phase of the race. The runners will then climb up to Perticara, then descend towards Novafeltria, then there is the challenging climb to San Leo. The yellow caravan will move towards San Marino for the last 50 kilometers of the race. Once the climb has been overcome there will still be around thirty kilometers to reach the final stage in Rimini.
The second stage, from Cesenatico, in the first part it is all flat, then you encounter the short and challenging climbs of Monticino, in Brisighella, and of Gallisterna in Riolo Terme. Then the riders will enter the Imola racetrack and then off along the Via Emilia until Bologna. To make, selection, before arrival, there will be the iconic climb of Saint Luke.
Tour de France 2024: the tribute to Coppi
The third stage from Piacenza to Turin, 230 kilometers long, is the longest of the Tour and is a real treat for sprinters. The fourth stage starts from Pinerolo, first climb of the Tour to the 2035 meters altitude of the Colle del Sestriere and, following, Montgenevre, Galibier up to the finish line in Valloire. The runners will pass the Colle del Sestriere in front of the monument dedicated to Fausto Coppithe Campionissimo who signed the victory in the epic 1952 stage, Le Bourg-d’Oisans – Sestriere, a stage which saw the town enter the finish line of the race in yellow for the first time.
Angelo De Lorenzi
