2024 Tour de France
Updated: Wikipedia source
The 2024 Tour de France was the 111th edition of the Tour de France. It started in Florence, Italy, on 29 June, and finished in Nice, France, on 21 July. The race did not finish in (or near) Paris for the first time since its inception, owing to preparations for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Tadej Pogačar won the general classification, his third victory after 2020 and 2021 and a return to the top spot after placing second in 2022 and 2023. Pogačar won six stages, including the last three. Second and third place were taken by Jonas Vingegaard (Visma–Lease a Bike) and tour debutant Remco Evenepoel (Soudal–Quick-Step). Pogačar's team, UAE Team Emirates, won the team classification. The race began with three stages in Italy before entering France. The first two stages were won by French riders. Romain Bardet narrowly won the opening stage from a breakaway with teammate Frank van den Broek, five seconds ahead of the peloton, to earn the first yellow jersey. Kévin Vauquelin won the second stage, but Pogačar claimed the race lead. In Stage 3, Pogačar relinquished the race lead to Richard Carapaz, but then won Stage 4, from Pinerolo (Italy) to Valloire, to regain it. He remained in yellow all the way to the finish in Nice, winning five more stages along the way, including the final time trial. Sprinters Biniam Girmay and Jasper Philipsen won three stages each. Pogačar, who finished 6 minutes and 17 seconds ahead of two-time winner Vingegaard, became the first rider to win both the Tour de France and Giro d'Italia in the same year since Marco Pantani in 1998. Girmay won the points classification; Carapaz won the mountains classification and the overall combativity award; and Evenepoel won the young rider classification. Mark Cavendish won the 5th stage, his 35th stage victory at the Tour de France, breaking the record of 34 stage wins held by Eddy Merckx since 1975. In recognition of both this record and his long and popular career in the Tour a special presentation was made to Mark Cavendish on the final podium, a framed black cycling jersey bearing the Tour de France logo and the letters "CAXXXV" (XXXV being Roman numerals for 35).