Jonas Vingegaard looks forward to 'super hard' Tour de France 2024 after route revealed
Defending champion thinks the course is good for him, but reserves judgement on gravel sectors


Next year's Tour de France route is "super hard", according to defending champion Jonas Vingegaard.
The Jumbo-Visma rider was present in the audience at Paris's Palais des Congrès on Wednesday to hear the details of the course he will have to be the fastest on if he is to take a third Tour de France title next summer.
The route includes five summit finishes at Pla d'Adet, the Plateau de Beille, Superdévoluy, Isola 2000 and the Col de la Couillole, and 59 kilometres of time trialling across stages seven and 21. Isola 2000 and the Col de la Couillole fall on the antepenultimate and penultimate stages, respectively, before a hilly final day time trial in Nice.
“I’m really excited about it. It seems super hard, especially the third week, it seems super hard,” Vingegaard said, according to Wielerflits. “I think it’s a good parcours for me. Obviously I’m looking forward to it.”
"Whether the two time trials are also in my favour depends a bit," the Jumbo-Visma rider continued. "If I have the legs from the last time trial in the Tour, certainly. But if I have the legs from the time trial in the Vuelta [a España], then not."
On stage 16 of this year's Tour, the Dane crushed his competition, putting 1-38 into Tadej Pogačar to all but seal his second yellow jersey, while at the Vuelta a España Vingegaard lost a minute to Remco Evenepoel.
“The stages in the Pyrenees also look very tough," he continued. "The stage with a finish on Plateau de Beille will be special. That's definitely a ride I'm looking forward to. In general, I see a lot of difficult stages. That works to my advantage. The fact that we have a time trial on the last day is new. It actually means we have to race an extra day.”
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
For the first time since 1989, the race ends in a time trial. The 34km time trial will tackle La Turbie and the Col d'Eze on its way to a finish on the Promenade des Anglais on the seafront of Nice.
One of the other striking features of the 111th Tour is the 32km of gravel sectors on stage nine from Troyes to Troye. It is the most amount of gravel to ever feature in the race, and comes across 14 sectors.
“It's a new element," Vingegaard said. "It's nice, but on the other hand you can lose everything one day. If one of the favourites suddenly loses five minutes that day, I would find that a great shame. As a team we will have to be well prepared for this.”
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Adam is Cycling Weekly’s news editor – his greatest love is road racing but as long as he is cycling, he's happy. Before joining CW in 2021 he spent two years writing for Procycling. He's usually out and about on the roads of Bristol and its surrounds.
Before cycling took over his professional life, he covered ecclesiastical matters at the world’s largest Anglican newspaper and politics at Business Insider. Don't ask how that is related to riding bikes.
-
I love SRAM AXS electronic shifting, but I always forget to charge my batteries – luckily, this SRAM Powerpack with two extra batteries has an electrifying 29% off
Deals Grab $56 off in this brilliant SRAM deal on essential extras for AXS groupset owners
-
Identical start, diverging destinies? The story of Adam and Simon Yates as they both race for pink at the Giro d'Italia
Adam and Simon Yates head to the Giro d’Italia on different teams and with different prospects. As their career paths diverge, does the brotherly bond endure?
-
Identical start, diverging destinies? The story of Adam and Simon Yates as they both race for pink at the Giro d'Italia
Adam and Simon Yates head to the Giro d’Italia on different teams and with different prospects. As their career paths diverge, does the brotherly bond endure?
-
Who could complete the Grand Tour hat-trick at the men’s Giro d’Italia?
Six male riders could become stage winners in all three Grand Tours this month
-
Tadej Pogačar was dominant at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, but I hope for a competitive Tour de France
The Slovenian has finished on the podium of the last six Monuments, the first man to do so - when will he stop dominating?
-
Jonas Vingegaard confirms race schedule ahead of Tour de France
Danish climber will only ride the Critérium du Dauphiné in June, but will take part in two altitude camps
-
Remco Evenepoel hails end of 'dark period' and announces racing return
Olympic champion says comeback from training crash has been 'the hardest battle of my life so far'
-
'We need to keep the biggest race in the sport free' - Petition calling for Tour de France to remain on free-to-air television reaches 10,000 signatures
As things stand, the Tour will be not be free to watch in 2026, but a petition is seeking to change the way it is categorised by the UK government
-
Could Caleb Ewan be Ineos Grenadiers' first Tour de France sprinter since Mark Cavendish? 'That's my goal'
"All I can do is try to win as much as possible and prove that I deserve to be there," says Australian
-
Extra wildcard team approved for Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España
Number of teams to increase from 22 to 23 at men's Grand Tours