The Tour of the Alps now bears this name for the seventh time. Until 2016, the tour, which was limited to Italy at the time, was called the Giro del Trentino. Its roots go back to the 1960s. Damiano Cunego is the record holder with three victories, and the Italians have also won the most overall victories.
However, since the name change, the British and French have decided the race among themselves. Geraint Thomas, Thibaut Pinot, Pavel Sivakov, Simon Yates, Romain Bardet and, last year, Tao Geoghegan Hart were the last winners.
Tour of the Alps: preparatory race for the Giro d'Italia
Due to its timing, the Tour of the Alps has emerged in recent years as a round trip that offers the participants of the Giro d'Italia as the final test before the three-week highlight of the season. Many pros who are among the front runners in the Grand Tour put the finishing touches to their racing in the Alps and usually prove to be in good form there. Like Geoghegan Hart, who had to leave the 2023 Giro in third place after a crash on stage 11. Or Lennard Kämna, who won the queen stage and then also finished in the top 10 at the Giro.
Tour of the Alps 2024: The route - all stages at a glance
The Tour of the Alps comprises five stages and will once again be part of the UCI Pro Series, the most important category after the World Tour, in 2024. The organisers are staying true to themselves and focusing mainly on short stages. Only the cross-border section from Italy to Austria is out of line at just under 190 kilometres. The race connects the regions of South Tyrol with Tyrol and Trentino.
Stage 1 | Monday, 15 April | Neumarkt - Kurtinig an der Weinstraße | 133.3 kilometres
After starting in North Tyrol and Trentino in the past two years, the tour will now kick off in the southern tip of South Tyrol. The starting shot for the first 133 kilometres will be fired in Neumarkt, a few kilometres south of Bolzano.
To reach the day's destination in Kurtinig on the wine route, you first have to master the climb to Andalo. At 15 kilometres, it is long, but even and not too steep at 5.3 percent on average.
After 80 kilometres, Kurtinig is reached for the first time. But before the first winner of the tour can be crowned, there is still a loop to be completed twice. The highlight is the climb to Penon. It gets really steep here, especially at the start, with a gradient of more than 14 per cent. After passing the mountain a second time, there are still 17 kilometres to go to the finish. Once there, the first 2060 metres of climbing of the tour have been completed.
Stage 2 | Tuesday, 16 April | Salurn - Stans | 190.7 kilometres
The second stage of the Tour of the Alps in South Tyrol begins not far from the finish of the first day. The route leads from Salurn to Stans in Austria. And it is almost all uphill until the climax of the stage, even if it is very gentle at first. But then the Brenner Pass awaits at the border, with a gradient of up to seven per cent. After that, the route through the Inn Valley and past Innsbruck tends to be rather downhill.
Until you reach Gnadenwald. The second climb of the day awaits in the municipality 15 kilometres before the finish, which at around four and a half kilometres is one of the shorter but steeper climbs at more than seven per cent.
But whoever arrives at the top first must also have some energy left to be able to celebrate victory in Stans. Because the last 500 metres of the day are once again uphill and include the last of the 2510 metres of altitude of the stage.
Stage 3 | Wednesday, 17 April | Schwaz - Schwaz | 124.8 kilometres
The peloton spends the third day entirely on Austrian roads. The stage begins in Schwaz am Inn. And that's also where it ends. The first 90 kilometres of the 127 kilometres are slightly undulating, but should not cause any major problems. But that changes abruptly. Because before heading back to Schwaz, a short extra lap is planned.
Via Weerberg, the route climbs up to Pillberg - twice. Four climbs await, each with an average gradient of a good ten per cent over three kilometres. This adds up to a total of 2360 metres in altitude.
Stage 4 | Thursday, 18 April | Laives - Borgo Valsugana | 141.3 kilometres
After a transfer back to South Tyrol, the queen stage awaits the riders. Stage 4 starts in Laives/Leifers and therefore back in South Tyrol. The day's finish is in Trentino, more precisely in Borgo Valsugana. Hardly any of the 141.3 kilometres are flat. But somehow the 3830 metres in altitude have to be covered.
The riders first head south and have to cross two giants, the Passo San Lugano and the Passo del Redebus, before a long descent to Pergine Valsugana. Once at the bottom, it's straight back uphill to the Passo del Compet, which has a gradient of more than eight per cent over a good ten kilometres.
This is immediately followed by the descent to Levico Terme, where the Tour of the Alps ends a day later. However, on stage 4, the town is only a transit point on the way to the Passo del Vetriolo, which will be crossed for the first time in the history of the tour. 9.4 kilometres long and 8.7 per cent steep - a preliminary decision in the battle for overall victory is likely to be made here, although after another descent, the Colle San Marco and the last downhill kilometres to the finish must also be covered.
Stage 5 | Friday, 19 April | Levico Terme - Levico Terme | 118.6 kilometres
The final chord around Levico Terme is anything but a quiet finish. The 118.6 kilometres, the shortest of the tour, include another 2490 metres of climbing. Initially, the terrain remains flat and the finishing straight is passed twice on a circuit before another loop is tackled, which has to be completed twice.
This is around 25 kilometres long and features the climb to Palu del Fersina. It is 12.5 kilometres long and 6.2 per cent steep, but very even. The long descent is also the approach to the last ramp of the tour.
Five kilometres before the end, there is another short and steep climb. If only a few seconds play a role in the overall standings, they can still be gained there.
Tour of the Alps 2024: TV broadcast & live stream
In Germany, the Tour of the Alps can be seen on free TV on Eurosport 1 to see. At Discovery Plus (for a fee) there is also a live stream of all stages.
The TV broadcast times at a glance
- 15.04. | Tour of the Alps men 1st stage | from 13:40 Eurosport 1
- 16.04. | Tour of the Alps men 2nd stage | from 13:35 Eurosport 1
- 17.04. | Tour of the Alps men 3rd stage | from 12:35 Eurosport 1
- 18.04. | Tour of the Alps men 4th stage | from 13:35 Eurosport 1
- 19.04 | Tour of the Alps men 5th stage | from 13:35 Eurosport 1
