The 2024 Tour de France route was unveiled earlier this week and featured a familiar blend of mountains, sprint stages, hills and time trials. Not very familiar with the Grand tour of the 7th month, but it is the 9 sectors of the gravel road on Stage 14 in Trois.

In addition to 2,000 meters above sea level, 32.2 km of gravel roads are packed into the 199 km stage, and the gravel and hills of the Champagne region of France remind us of the difficulties of Stradevianche.

The inclusion of gravel in the Tour de France route caused some controversy, with Richard Pradge and Sudar Quick of Jumbo Bismar

However, Tour de France route designer Thierry Guvenou making the first half of the atypical tour route a major challenge. In order to split the long・term flat stage into two stages, it is necessary to include such a stage.

"We promised that we would never hold multiple sprint stages in a row on the tour," Gouvenou told L'Equipe during a visit to see the dirt roads after the 2024 Tour de France presentation.

"The composition of the route in 2024 shows that we are on the plain from the Alpine exit in Stage 4 to the Cantal in Stage 11. So, we had to come up with something clever.

The gravel sector of 14 starts after 47 km, 8 of which are in hilly vineyards. The final 30km is packed with 6 sectors, but it is on a flat road. However, tarmac roads between the gravel sector pose their own challenges, with L'Equipe confirming that those roads are narrow and not always in the best condition.

Overall, the stages – hills, twisted roads and the tough gravel sector – have the potential to significantly shake up the race and GC standings.

"If some big team decides to do everything for the leader, there will be a lot of tension on the back and the elasticity will snap, that's for sure," Gouvenou predicted.

"There is a lot of tension and we can expect a race of elimination. With changes in direction, gradient, surface, and perhaps wind, not everyone is able to keep pace.

The gravel road in the Champagne area was featured in the 2022 Tour de France Femme, with Stage 4 12.9 km of gravel causing chaos and carnage.

The gravel road was almost included in the men's race in 2019, but for safety reasons the idea was abandoned, Gouvenou said.

"The descent was too steep and dangerous to abandon this idea for safety reasons," he said in Stage 3 of the race that year, where Julian Alaphilippe won

Gouvenou and his team will nevertheless be in the race to cross the vineyards to the south-east of Trois, in the next year's race. I figured out how to include the gravel sector in the route.

Roads in the area are maintained by local winemakers and farmers. Tour deputy director Yves Tuo said a special set of rules will be put in place to protect the gravel road when the race passes next year.

"There are no advertising caravans, there are no parking lots, there are no strict rules – only race fleets pass on 'D-Day'," he said.

Tour director Christian Prudhomme said he hopes the gravel roads of Trois will become an iconic part of the race that attracts fans and cyclists to the area.

"In the next few years, when people come to the area, if they can use these roads regularly, I will do it." "I would like to thank you for your support," he said. "I want the general public and cycling enthusiasts to think about the white road of "Oh, Trois"!

"It would be a bit similar to the return of cobblestone in 2010. We spent in 2004 2 years without cobblestones, except for 20 sectors. I hope that at such a stage Tadej Pogañar and Remco Evenepoel can mess things up."