Il Tour de France 2024 starts today, for the first time in Italy. The departure is in Florence at 12.10. After the unofficial start at the Cascine park, the group will arrive in Piazza della Signoria for the institutional greetings and will then head towards Bagno a Ripoli and Viola Park, in front of which there will be the km 0. In the caravan, together with 7 other Italians, there is also the Brescian Michael Gazzoli25 year old from Ospitaletto at his baptism at the Tour.
“Take part to the largest stage race in the world with all the best runners at the start it’s a debut on the three-week races that I basically didn’t expect. I was thinking of a softer debut, but instead I’m leaving immediately with a bang.”
The Brescia native, former European online champion in the Junior category, is among the starters of the team Astana directed by the dean of sports directors, the other Brescian Beppe Martinelli. Gazzoli will be at the service of Mark Cavendishthe eternal British sprinter who jointly holds the record for stage victories in the yellow race with the cannibal Eddie Merckx and is seeking, at the age of 39, the absolute record.
The stage
The first 30 km will be flat, then the 7 climbs begin. The first is the Valico dei Tre Faggi (12.5 km at 5.1%), followed by a long and gentle descent passing through Premilcuore that will take the group to the foot of Monte delle Forche (2.5 km at 6.2%).
At that point you will face the climb to the Passo del Carnaio, 10.5 km long with an average gradient of 4.6%. There are still 108 km to go to the summit. After a long ups and downs, at -77 you reach the foot of the Barbotto climb (5.8 km at 7.6%). Descent and new climbs: San Leo (4.6 km at 7.7%) and Montemaggio (4.2 km at 6.6%), with passage to the top at -39. It will then be the turn of San Marino (7.1 km at 4.8%, summit 26.3 km from the finish line), where the last Mountain Grand Prix will take place: from there it will be all downhill and flat towards the finishing straight on the Di Vittorio seafront, in Rimini, in front of Bagno 72. In total there is a difference in altitude of over 3,500 metres. one of the hardest opening stages that the Grande Boucle has ever had.
