Which city hosted the Grand Départ for the first time in 2024?

Florence hosted the Grand Départ for the first time in 2024. The Tour de France began in Italy on 29 June, with the opening stage running from Florence to Rimini over 206 kilometers.

This was historically significant because Italy became the first country outside France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, and other previous host nations to stage the Tour’s opening in this way. The start also marked the centenary of Ottavio Bottecchia’s 1924 victory, the first Tour de France win by an Italian rider.

Florence was the launch point for a three-stage Italian opening. Stage 2 connected Cesenatico with Bologna, while Stage 3 ran from Piacenza to Turin before the race crossed into France. A common mix-up is to answer “Italy,” which identifies the host country, or “Rimini,” the finish city of Stage 1. The canonical city answer is Florence.