The 2024 Tour de France will finish in Nice rather than Paris in order to avoid a possible clash with Olympic preparations in the French capital.
For the past 110 editions of the prestigious 23-day race, riders have crossed the finish line in the ceremonial final stage at the Parc des Princes, the Cipale velodrome or on the Champs-Elysees.
The closing stage 2024 Tour de France is set to take place on July 21, but the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games is due to commence five days later.
As a result, a final time trial will end in Nice in two years' time, meaning that the winner of the general classification category could remain undecided right until the last.
The leader is generally left unchallenged in the final stage of the Tour de France, and not since 1989 has the event ended with a time trial, where Greg LeMond pipped Laurent Fignon to the yellow jersey in the closing event.
"Nice is a city that shines, it's known around the world. There is the beauty of the setting and the mountains nearby. The city offers an exceptional setting and a great course," BBC Sport quotes tour director Christian Prudhomme as saying.
Nice previously hosted the start of the Tour de France - known as the Grand Depart - in 1981 and 2020, with the 2022 edition, which was won by Jonas Vingegaard, beginning in Copenhagen.
Ben Knapton
