The 2023 Tour de France begins on Saturday 1st July in Bilbao, Spain and finishes in Paris on Sunday 23rd July, with Jumbo-Visma’s Jonas Vingegaard set to defend his title against rival Tadej Pogačar, who will be looking for revenge after losing the Tour for the first time in his career.
This year’s route opens with three hard stages in the Basque Country region of northern Spain and only gets harder from there with the first mountain day on Stage 5, the Col du Tourmalet on Stage 6, the return of Puy de Dôme on Stage 9, then climbs including the Grand Colombier, Col de Joux Plane and Col de la Loze shake things up before the climax in the Vosges mountains near the German border.
British riders will probably be focussed on stage wins, with the likes of Tom Pidcock, Adam Yates and Simon Yates capable of strong results overall but unlikely to challenge for the yellow jersey. Mark Cavendish should be selected by his Astana Qazaqstan team for what would be his final Tour de France before retiring, and his last chance to break the stage win record he currently shares with Eddy Merckx.
Live TV and streaming coverage will be available worldwide on GCN+, Eurosport, ITV4, S4C, NBC, Peacock, SBS, Sky Sport and more. Netflix crews will also be following the race to film the second series of the new Tour de France: Unchained series.
Tour de France 2023: Key information
Dates: Saturday 1st July to Sunday 23rd July 2023
Grand Départ: Bilbao, Basque Country
Finale: Champs-Élysées, Paris
UK television coverage: ITV4, Eurosport, GCN+, S4C
2022 winner: Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma)
Most overall wins: Jacques Anquetil, Bernard Hinault, Miguel Indurain, Eddy Merckx (all 5)
Most stage wins: Eddy Merckx, Mark Cavendish (34)
Tour de France 2023 route
The 2023 Tour de France will begin on 1st July 2023 with the Grand Départ in the Basque Country region in northern Spain, starting with two hilly stages in Bilbao and San Sebastian before a flat stage brings the race across the border into France.
An early assault on the Pyrenees soon follows, with this year’s race taking riders through all five of France’s mountain massifs: the Pyrenees, the Massif Central, the Jura Mountains, the Alps and the Vosges.
Key stages include Stage 6’s double-punch of the Col d’Aspin (12km, 6.5%) and Col du Tourmalet (17.1km, 7.3%) – which will also feature in the Tour de France Femmes – Stage 16 as the only time-trial of the race, Stage 17 featuring over 5,000m of elevation gain, and Stage 20’s last chance saloon to Le Markstein.
The race will once again finish with a flat, processional stage and a probable sprint finish on the Champs-Élysées. Make the most of it, as the 2024 finale won’t be in Paris.
2023 Tour de France by numbers:
- 3,404 total kilometres
- 8 flat stages
- 4 hilly stages
- 8 mountain stages, 4 summit finishes
- 1 individual time-trial
- Longest stage: 209km (Stage 2)
- €2.3million prize pot
Tour de France 2023 route: stage-by-stage
Stage 1: Saturday 1st July, Bilbao – Bilbao, 182km
Bilbao hosts the opening of the 2023 Tour de France with a lumpy stage (3,300m of elevation) and an uphill finish that could see a showdown between Julian Alaphilippe, Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert. The bonus seconds at the top of the steep Côte de Pike have actually been removed.
Stage 2: Sunday 2nd July, Vitoria-Gasteiz – Saint-Sébastien, 209km
Stage 2 is the longest stage of the race and there’s no let-up for the sprinters yet. Five categorised climbs and bonus seconds on the final one should see this come down to a reduced bunch as its unlikely whoever’s in yellow will want to give it up to a breakaway just yet.
Stage 3: Monday 3rd July, Amorebieta-Etxano – Bayonne, 185km
Finally the sprinters will get their chance as the race heads across the border into France. Early hills may influence things. Expect Wout van Aert.
Stage 4: Tuesday 4th July, Dax – Nogaro, 182km
Another sprint, much less climbing – one for the pure sprinters. Fabio Jakobsen.
Stage 5: Wednesday 5th July, Pau – Laruns, 165km
An HC climb on Stage 5? Bonkers. The first proper yellow jersey shake-up will probably go to the breakaway with the contenders likely to save their legs considering what’s up next…
Stage 6: Thursday 6th July, Tarbes – Cauterets-Cambasque, 145km
Hold onto your hats – it’s a week one beast. The Col d’Aspin will soften the legs, the Col du Tourmalet will split the groups and the climb up to the Plateau du Cambasque will decide a new leader. The sheer amount of climbing here suggests it will be one for the true GC contenders.
Stage 7: Friday 7th July, Mont-de-Marsan – Bordeaux, 170km
The next sprint. Jasper Philipsen.
Stage 8: Saturday 8th July, Libourne – Limoges, 201km
A pair of short climbs 10km out will shake things up for the bunch and Van Aert will likely win the stage.
Stage 9: Sunday 9th July, Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat – Puy de Dôme, 184km
After 35 years the Puy de Dôme returns to the Tour de France in what should be a spectacular finish in a big test for the overall favourites before the first rest day.
Stage 10: Tuesday 11th July, Vulcania – Issoire, 167km
Stage 10 couldn’t be more fit for a breakaway win.
Stage 11: Wednesday 12th July, Clermont-Ferrand – Moulins, 180km
Yet another sprint stage with a couple of small softeners will likely see another stage win for Philipsen.
Stage 12: Thursday 13th July, Roanne – Bellevillie-en-Beaujolais, 169km
The hills are alive with the sound of another day for a breakaway. Expect the yellow jersey to be gifted on one of these hills to take pressure off the erstwhile leader’s team.
Stage 13: Friday 14th July, Châtillon-Sur-Chalaronne – Grand Colombier, 138km
Tadej Pogačar won the last (and first) summit finish up the Col du Grand Colombier in 2020 and he’ll be looking to do it again… injury-permitting, and if the breakaway doesn’t get there first (it will, bonjour retiring Thibaut Pinot on Bastille Day, bonjour Netflix episode).
Stage 14: Saturday 15th July, Annemasse – Morzine Les Portes du Soleil, 152km
Stage 14 is the route for this year’s L’Étape du Tour and it’s unrelenting. The historic Col de Joux Plane will see the climax of the action before a descent into the finish. An attack over the summit should happen and it will probably be in the breakaway as the favourites will be keen to save energy for the following day…
Stage 15: Sunday 16th July, Les Gets Les Portes du Soleil – Saint-Gervais Mont Blanc, 180km
Stage 15 tops off week two with a tough summit finish for a big shake-up on GC, although it’s slightly less savage than Stage 14, a summit finish and a rest day to come is prime opportunity for gaps.
Stage 16: Tuesday 18th July, Passy – Combloux, 22km
The only time-trial of the 2023 Tour de France is just 22.4km, with 2.5 of those up the Côte de Domancy. This profile makes it look easier than it will be, though: that climb will have an impact.
Stage 17: Wednesday 19th July, Saint-Gervais Mont Blanc – Courchevel, 166km
The queen stage of this year’s Tour sees riders battling it out over 5,000m of climbing including the Col de la Loze for only the second time ever – the car-free road was only built a few years ago – with Miguel Ángel López beating out both Primož Roglič and Tadej Pogačar on its debut in 2020. The Souvenir Henri Desgrange signifies the highest point of the race with a prize for the rider that crests it first.
Stage 18: Thursday 20th July, Moûtiers – Bourg-en-Bresse, 186km
For those who haven’t missed the time cut, Stage 18 is a reward for the sprinters and so Jakobsen will surely bag another win.
Stage 19: Friday 21st July, Moirans-en-Montagne – Poligny, 173km
A few more hills on this sprinters’ stage may make it one for a surprise, it may also make it another for Philipsen.
Stage 20: Saturday 22nd July, Belfort – Le Markstein Fellering, 133km
The final proper stage of this year’s Tour de France reflects one of the 2022 Tour de France Femmes stages with the Vosges hosting what could be the decider for yellow.
Stage 21: Sunday 23rd July, Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines – Paris (Champs-Élysées), 115km
The final day, the same processional format, the same bunch sprint on the Champs-Élysées. Mark Cavendish, history, sunset, legend, Netflix.
Tour de France 2023 live TV and streaming
The Tour de France will be broadcast live in the UK on ITV4, S4C and Eurosport, with streaming on GCN+ and Discovery+ (with the same coverage, times TBA).
GCN+ costs £6.99 paid monthly, or £39.99 per year and Discovery+ costs £6.99 per month or £59.99 per year for sports and entertainment (for fans of shows like Wheeler Dealers and Naked and Afraid).
Streaming coverage via GCN+ will be available in select territories worldwide but not Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the USA, double-check territory restrictions if you’re watching elsewhere to avoid disappointment.
Highlights packages will also be available from most broadcasters including nightly ITV4 shows and short highlights on YouTube.
Tour de France 2023 broadcasters full list
Australia: SBS
Belgium: RTBF, VRT
Canada: Flobikes
Central and South America: ESPN
China: CCTV
Colombia: Caracol TV
Czech Republic: Czech TV
Denmark: DKTV2
Europe: Eurosport, GCN+
France: France Televisions
Ireland: TG4
Italy: RAI
Japan: J Sports
Luxembourg: RTL
Middle East and North Africa: Bein Sport
Netherlands: NOS
Norway: TV2 Norway
Portugal: RTP
Slovakia: RTVS
Slovenia: RTV Slovenija
Spain: RTVE
Sub-Saharan Africa: Supersport
Switzerland: SRG-SSR
United Kingdom: ITV
USA: NBC
Wales: S4C
Worldwide: TV5Monde
Tour de France 2023 start list
Data powered by FirstCycling.com
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