TDF 2024 – Other Regions

Tour de France LogoMy focus for the Tour de France 2024 will be on the previously covered areas.

I have listed more climbs in the Savoie than I have in the Haute-Savoie, but any in the latter is new.

Those will have to go on the “must do” list – well, most of them anyway 🤪

If I have time left, which is doubtful, I can look elsewhere.

I have three options to choose from: parts of the Isère and of the Maurienne valley.

The Isère is discussed in another post, because my Prologue will start there. This post is about the climbs in the Maurienne region.

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TDF 2024 – Haute-Savoie

Tour de France LogoThe Haute-Savoie, north of the Savoie, is also part of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.

Its prefecture is Annecy and the first Winter Olympics in 1924 were held in Chamonix(-Mont-Blanc)

There are no less than 158 entries for the cols in the Haute-Savoie on Climbfinder.

I’ve pinned some of the more famous ones and/or those on VeloViewer’s “100 Greatest” list on the map and will list a few more in this post.

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Tour de France 2024

Tour de France LogoOur Tour de France 2024 base camp was Albertville.

This is my 4th Tour de France in a row and the 6th in total, double the number of Giro d’Italia‘s.

Despite my love for the Italian Alps / Dolomites, another Giro remains a financial challenge.

But, I’m not complaining 🙂

We found a charming apartment in the medieval town of Conflans, which is part of Albertville.

You may remember the XVI-th Winter Olympics being hosted by Albertville and no less than 9 other venues in the area:

Courchevel, La Plagne, Les Arcs, Les Menuires, Les Saisies, Méribel, Pralognan-la-Vanoise, Tignes and Val d’Isère.

Of those, I’ve only had not been in Pralogan-la-Vanoise, although Courchevel deserved a rematch, i.e. a proper climb of its own and not a flyby after a murdering climb up Col de la Loze.

Crest of Albertville

Albertville is – like Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne – a subprefcture of the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.

The town is at the confluence of the Isère and its tributary Arly, marking the junction of the valleys of the Tarentaise, Beaufortain, Val d’Arly and the Combe de Savoie.

Because of this geographical location, Albertville has earned the nickname of Carrefour des Quatre Vallées.

Albertville is as strategically located as Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne.

And other than closer to the – climbs in the – valleys mentioned above, it’s also closer to an area I’ve previously discussed, but which I’ve never visited, the Haute-Savoie.

You can read more about that in my Tour de France 2022 recon – see the menu of that Tour.

The Tour de France 2024 was two weeks, or 15 stages, and I managed to mostly stick by my road book for once…

View on Albertville from Fort Tamié
Florian Pépellin — Personal work
View of Albertville from Fort Tamié, at the end of the Haute Combe de Savoie and at the beginning of the Tarentaise valley (opposite), in the Savoie.

TDF 2024 – Greater Albertville

Tour de France LogoI stated in my previous Tour de France 2024 post:

“As base camp for my Tour de France 2024, Albertville is as strategically located as is Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne.”

If you look at the map of the area, you’ll understand why: it’s riddled with climbs.

I’ve marked a lot of them, some more famous than others.

The (more) famous ones and/or those on VeloViewer’s “100 Greatest” should end up on the “must do list” and I’ll construct stages with them later on.

However, there are many, many more.

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Announcing the Tour de France 2024

Tour de France LogoThe Tour de France 2024 official route has just been revealed and I’m certainly going to be watching that with great interest.

And I will leave discussing the ins and outs and possible scenarios for potential (stage) winners to more capable bloggers out there…

More interesting for my followers – or so I keep telling myself, but who am I kidding? – would be the announcement my own Tour de France 2024.

Yes, I would prefer another Giro d’Italia, but that means I will have to forfeit (many) cycling adventures to be able to be finance that in a few years.

So, I’m happy to announce that the location of the Tour de France 2024 base camp will be in…

* drumroll *

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