Tour de France 2024: an update on the activities in the City of Nîmes which will host the stage on Tuesday July 16

En 2021, lors de la dernière arrivée du Tour de France devant les 7 Collines, l'Allemand Politt s'était imposé. MIKAEL ANISSET

Ce mardi 5 mars, à l'Hôtel de ville, la municipalité nîmoise a présenté les animations et l'étape du 16 juillet 2024 du Tour de France cycliste.

Tuesday July 16, 2024, Nîmes will host the sixteenth stage of the cycling Tour de France and a peloton which will set off from Gruissan (Aude) for a journey of 187 kilometers.

The famous cycling event will pass through the Gard prefecture for the 20th time, the sixth of the Fournier mandates since 2001 (with the intervention of 1st deputy Julien Plantier). "Nîmes is in love with the Tour and ASO de Nîmes", enthuses sports assistant Nicolas Rainville.

The City paid 150,000 € to the organizer of the TDF and invested in the activities (municipal agents, materials, security, etc.) for juicy spinoffs worth several million euros. But to attract the public, what does this stage have in store for us ?

Mayor Jean-Paul Fournier surrounded by elected officials Véronique Gardeur-Bacel and Nicolas Rainville. MIKAËL ANISSET

L'stage

Runners will arrive from the south, more precisely by the Chemin des canals, then take the Route de Beaucaire before heading towards Boulevard Allende. The finish will be judged, as in 2021 during the victory of the German Nils Politt, in front of the 7 Collines shopping center. "The ASO organizer asked that this be a stage for sprinters, there may be borders", recalled sports assistant Nicolas Rainville.

Difficult to envisage, despite the possibility of a strong wind, a solitary raid on such a flat route in its final… straight line.

Which explains the fact that the end of this stage will not take place in front of the Maison Carrée. So much the worse for the nod to this monument, listed as a UNESCO world heritage site since September 2023! "It'was difficult to pass through the boulevards of l'Ecusson which were too narrow, it risked rubbing", specifies Nicolas Rainville.< /p>

"Now, the Tour no longer arrives in city centers", insists Mayor Jean -Paul Fournier before adding: "It's the third most watched event in the world, a popular festival. Our monuments and our city will be broadcast throughout the world."

Dictation of the Tour

The activities for the arrival of the Tour de France will not be concentrated only in the summer. From Friday March 22, 650 CM2 students from eleven Nîmes schools, including six in priority education, will work at the Costières stadium to the dictation of the Tour.

A text of around ten lines which will use the lexical field of cycling and propose a question about this discipline. The disabled cyclist Violaine Harani and the archer Pierre Plihon, who participated in the Olympics, will read the texts. The sixteen best will be able to follow the stage behind the scenes: "Discovering the taste of effort in this event gives them stars in their eyes", confided Véronique Gardeur-Bancel, elected delegate for education and academic success.

Le P'tit tour nîmois

Thursday June 6 and Friday June 7, the City is offering a 3 km route around the Écusson to 600 CM2 students in order to educate them about knowing how to ride. Departure will be from the Esplanade before enjoying a festive and informative day.

La Fête du Tour

The novelty comes in two major highlights on Saturday July 13. There will first be a large stroll from 10 a.m. supervised by the municipal police and cycling associations which will be open to all those who use non-motorized two-wheeled means of mobility (bicycles, skateboards, roller) and will be dressed in yellow that day, from 10 a.m. to noon.

The route: a tour of the historic center of Nîmes, a passage through the Maison Carrée, the Arènes, passage through Boulevard Allende, end of the stage on July 16, and arrival at the village of Round. Registrations will be open from April on the website nimes.fr

The second highlight will be focused on the Esplanade with multiple activities from the departmental cycling committee and Nîmes associations, initiations, games workshops, repairs, cycle professional stands, demonstrations of BMX, trial mountain biking, exhibition of old bikes, exhibition on Olympics and TDF with ASO.

Let’s give them to the bike

Monday July 15, at 5:30 p.m., at Le Bosquet, the association Donnons des Elles au Vélo, which is performing the Tour stage, will be welcomed by the city Nimes. A beautiful moment to promote women through sport. There too, activities are on the program.