The Tour de France 2024 embarks from Florence, Italy, next Saturday with the route, riders and finale shaping up to provide a spectacular edition, as Jonas Vingegaard goes for a third successive title.

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AFP Sport looks at four things to watch during the 2024 race, which culminates on the French Riviera, rather than on the streets of Paris, where the build-up to the Olympics will be taking place.

Fab Four

Defending champion Vingegaard of the Visma team is banking on his love of high mountains and heat, but he arrives in Florence still shaking off injury and staring down the barrel of a triple threat.

Former two-time champion Tadej Pogacar is the form man, having captured the Giro d'Italia, and is backed by talented support in his UAE Emirates team. 

Veteran all-rounder Primoz Roglic has won the Giro and the Vuelta and is targeting the Tour under Red Bull's colors, also boasting powerful support. Roglic is, however, hampered by a reputation for self-destruction.

Remco Evenepoel of Belgium claims he'll be satisfied with the best young rider jersey and a tilt at the podium. 

While Evenepoel is as talented as his three rivals, his Soudal Quick-Step team may struggle to provide him with support in the mountains, but his maverick modus operandi should see him steal at least some of the thunder.

Italian Flavor

The Tour de France has never before started in Italy, and the Grand Depart from Renaissance jewel Florence will provide a striking panorama.

It also takes in a run along the Adriatic coast, before heading back across Italy through Bologna.

Italian riders will be desperate to take the yellow jersey before Stage 4, when Vingegaard and the rest leave the industrial capital of Turin toward the Alps and back into France.

The Tour de France is no stranger to starts in other European countries -- Copenhagen was the early host in 2022 and Bilbao in 2023.

Peaks And Plains

The seven mountain stages include four high-altitude finales, with the highest at a lung-busting 2,802 meters on Stage 19 that will be to the liking of Vingegaard, who has twice vanquished Pogacar at altitude.

The peaks also may suit 2019 Tour de France champion Egan Bernal, who grew up at 2,700 meters in Colombia and is at ease in the rarefied atmosphere above the tree line. Pogacar and Evenepoel are expected to be severely tested on this type of terrain.

Conversely, there are few flat sprint stages for British veteran Mark Cavendish to clinch what would be a record 35th stage win. He currently sits level with the 34 of Eddy Merckx.

Late Twist In Nice

Instead of the traditional last-day procession along the Champs-Elysees in Paris, where there is almost no chance of an upset, fans can anticipate the potential for a decisive shakeup, with an individual time trial along the Riviera coastline over the winding corniche from Monaco. The race ends along the Promenade des Anglais in Nice.

This final stage will evoke memories of the 1989 Tour, when American Greg LeMond started a final-day time trial 50 seconds behind French leader Laurent Fignon and ended up winning the race by eight seconds.

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