With the clock ticking down on the Tour de France 2024 start from Florence, Italy, on Saturday, race director Christian Prudhomme told AFP he was expecting an action-packed 111th edition.

Prudhomme said Tuscan city Florence was the perfect launch pad for the Tour staged in the weeks before Paris hosts the Olympic Games.

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"It's an exceptional platform and should produce an outright brawl from Day 1," he said of the four-way struggle for supremacy between defending champion Jonas Vingegaard (of the Visma team), main challenger Tadej Pogacar (UAE), Belgian debutant Remco Evenepoel (Quick Step) and Slovenian veteran Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora).

"With these four competing, with the back up of four different teams, is amazing. The Tour has a habit of crowning the great champions and bringing new one's into the spotlight."

Prudhomme reiterated that the challenges would begin on the opening stage.

"Florence to Rimini, with all the climbing and defending and then with the route taking us through the Apennines, means the fight starts on Day 1" he predicted.

The 2024 edition avoids Paris, and instead ends on the Riviera, with a long and arduous individual time trial that could produce a last-day shake-up of considerable proportions.

"Replacing Paris was a huge challenge, and the usual last day race on the Champs-Elysees is a huge television draw the world over.

"So, we needed a place that shines as brightly as (South Coast city) Nice does, but one that also provided a sporting aspect in terms of who wins the overall title.

"This stage not only has a unique backdrop between the sea and the mountains, but it will also sort out the form riders from the fading ones."

The 34-kilometer 21st stage will run along what is known in France as the corniche, an ever undulating coastal run between tax haven Monaco and Riviera capital Nice.

Unruly Fans

With over 10 million roadside fans showing up each year, recent editions of the Tour have attracted a new generation of fans in a phenomena put down to the popular Netflix television documentaries.

"The new fans tend to be between 15-35 and are much more enthusiastic in their way of supporting," Prudhomme said. "This is both good and bad, and the new fans who love the Tour are going to have to accept some new measures of security.

"There will be more barriers where the sporting action is expected to be hotly contested," he said of the mountain stages, which traditionally are the wildest ones.

The larger crowds and the more enthusiastic support also have contributed to accidents involving race motorbikes Prudhomme said. Last year, one blocked a Pogacar attack.

"There will be fewer motorbikes in the race, fewer race officials and fewer press photographers on motorbikes," he added.

Prudhomme insisted that the world's greatest bike race must remain open to the public.

"Over 95% of the 3,498 kilometers of road along the 2024 route will be open access and barrier-free," he said.

Along with the four days in Italy, the route crosses the Alps twice, with seven mountain slogs, features a race on white gravel for the first time and ends with an eye-catching individual time trial along the French Riviera on July 21.

How To Watch Tour de France 2024 In The United States 

A live broadcast of the 2024 Tour de France will be available on Peacock for those watching from the United States. 

Peacock is the exclusive home of the event in the United States through 2029, with start-to-finish coverage of every stage, though select stages also will air on NBC.

How To Watch Tour de France 2024 In Canada 

FloBikes will provide a live broadcast for Canadian audiences.

Viewers in Canada will be able to watch all 21 stages of the Tour de France 2024 live on FloBikes and the FloSports app.

FloBikes also will provide updates, highlights and behind-the-scenes coverage throughout the entire event for all Flo subscribers. 

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