Cycling in Paris 2024: the “longest race in history” in the midst of emblematic scenarios

The Tour de France was the ideal setting for the announcement of the route of the cycling events at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, which will remain in history because for the first time men and women will share the circuit in the time trial.

The road test will be one of the longest in the history of the Olympic Games, although the route does not in theory present major complications for cyclists beyond the demanding distance: men must travel 273 kilometers before reaching the finish line, while the competition for women will be 158 km.

“Road cycling races in cities are exceptional, and they are also free for spectators. We have a combination of great spectacle and great sports competition. It will also be the longest cycling race in the history of the Olympic Games. It will be a difficult race, with an exciting finish,” said Tony Estanguet, president of the Paris 2024 Organizing Committee.

The route of the road test at the Olympic Games

The Trocadero will be the starting point of the road test and before leaving Paris, the runners will pass through the Eiffel Tower, the Seine, The Invalides and the Latin Quarter, among other spectacular scenarios.

Cyclists will cross the Hauts-de-Seine department via the Côte des Gardes, will be able to see the Palace of Versailles and will enter the Chevreuse Valley. The monument to Jacques Anquetil (the first cyclist to win the Tour de France five times) will be another of the emblematic points of the route before returning to the French capital.

The Louvre, with its Pyramid and the Opéra Garnier, will be the main protagonists of the last 50 km of the race. The hill of Montmartre, which they must climb three times, appears to be the last battle before facing the descent to the Jena Bridge, the scene of the final 230-meter sprint to Trocadero. Olympic champions will receive their medals with the Eiffel Tower in the background.

“Spectators and those watching the race on television will be impressed by such magnificent places as the Palace of Versailles, the Chevreuse Valley, the Vincennes Forest, the Invalides and the Eiffel Tower. We are also proud that road cycling is taking the Games to new territories such as Val-de-Marne or Essonne,” said Estanguet.

The time trial in Paris 2024 will remain in the history of Olympic cycling

The time trial will begin on the Invalides esplanade and cyclists must cover 32.4 km before reaching the finish line, with the peculiarity that, for the first time in the history of the Olympic Games, both men and women will participate in the same circuit.

The test, which does not appear to be very demanding for the competitors because it will have no slopes, will cross the Seine over the Sully Bridge and reach the Place de la Bastille; after the Vincennes Forest, they will pass through the Jacques Anquetil Vélodrome, the Vincennes Polygon and the National Institute of Sport and Performance (INSEP), which will mark the point of return.

The competition will return to the Place de la Bastille after passing through Val-de-Marne and the Vincennes Forest; then it will be the turn of the Place de la Nation and the Pont Alexandre III will be the point of arrival for the time trial.

Cycling at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will start on Saturday, July 27 with the time trial, in which 35 men and 35 women will participate.

Meanwhile, Saturday, August 3, will be the road test for men and the next day the women will race. For the first time in the history of the Olympic Games, there will be the same number of cyclists in each genre: 90 in each branch.

The Dutch Annemiek van Vleuten and the Slovenian Primož Roglič were the time trial champions at Tokyo 2020, while the Austrian Anna Kiesenhofer and the Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz won the gold medal in the road test.