To the delight of cycling fans, the 2023 Tour de France starts this Saturday on July 1 and ends after three glorious weeks with and exciting final stage finishing on the Champs-Elysées in Paris on July 23, 2023. The Grand Départ will be the second to take place in the autonomous region of the Basque Country after Saint-Sébastien’s in 1992 and the 25th to be held abroad.
After three stages on the western side of the Pyrenees, the rest of the Tour will take place in France. It will visit 6 regions and 23 departments.
Below is a preview of the upcoming stages of the 2023 Tour de France & Tour de France Femmes Avec Zwift.
2023 Tour de France
STAGES
There will be 21 stages:
- 8 flat stages
- 4 hilly stages
- 8 mountain stages with
- 4 summit finishes (Cauterets-Cambasque, Puy de Dôme, Grand Colombier and Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc)
- 1 individual time trial
- 2 rest days
NEW STAGE TOWNS
Out of a total of 40, 12 new stage towns and other locations will appear on the 2023 Tour map:
- Bilbao (start and finish of stage 1)
- Amorebieta-Etxano (start of stage 2)
- Nogaro (finish of stage 4)
- Vulcania (start of stage 10)
- Moulins (finish of stage 11)
- Belleville-en-Beaujolais (finish of stage 12)
- Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne (start of stage 13)
- Les Gets Les Portes du Soleil (start of stage 15)
- Passy (start of stage 16) – Combloux (finish of stage 16)
- Poligny (finish of stage 19)
- Le Markstein Fellering (finish of stage 20)
FEATURED MOUNTAINS
The race will visit all five of France’s mountain massifs. They are, in the order they occur, the Pyrenees, the Massif Central, the Jura, the Alps and the Vosges.
There are three new climbs: the Côte de Vivero (Basque Country), the Col de la Croix Rosier (Massif Central) and the Col du Feu (Alps).
The Puy de Dôme, which hasn’t appeared on the Tour route since 1988, will be making an eagerlyawaited return after its 35-year absence.
The Col de la Loze (2,304m) will be the “roof” of the Tour de France 2023
TIME TRIALS
There will be just a single individual test on the programme of the 110th edition. It will be held in the Alps, at altitude and in steep terrain, on the Passy > Combloux 16th stage, and over a distance of 22,4 km.
TIME BONUSES AND BONUS POINTS
Time bonuses will be awarded at the finish of each stage and will amount to 10, 6 and 4 seconds, respectively, for the first three classified riders.
Bonus points will be located on passes or summits at strategic points along the route. The first three classified riders will be awarded bonuses of 8, 5 and 2 seconds, respectively (subject to approval by the International Cycling Union). These bonus points will not count towards the points classification.
PRIZE MONEY
A total of 2,3 million euros will be awarded to the teams and riders including € 500,000 to the final winner of the overall individual classification.
2023 Tour de France Femmes Avec Zwift
After an exciting inaugural edition, the Tour de France Femmes Avec Zwift is returning again on July 23 – July 30 where the best women’s cycling teams in the world will once again compete.
LOCATION
THIS SECOND EDITION OF THE TOUR DE FRANCE FEMMES AVEC ZWIFT WILL HEAD SOUTH.
3 regions – Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Occitanie – and 11 departments will feature on the race route.
STAGES
There will be 8 stages:
- 4 flat stages
- 2 hilly stages
- 1 mountain stage with a summit finish on the Tourmalet
- 1 individual time trial
- The 4th stage, Cahors > Rodez (177km), will be the race’s longest.
MOUNTAINS
The route features two mountain ranges, the tests getting progressively harder. The riders will cross from one side of the Massif Central to the other during the first six stages, their profiles alternating between rolling and very hilly. There will then be longer climbs in the Pyrenees during stage 7 in the shape of the Aspin and Tourmalet passes, the latter being the “roof” of the Tour at an altitude of 2,110m.
Time Trial
This second edition will conclude with a 22km individual time trial around Pau.
TEAMS
7 riders per team.
TELEVISION
A live broadcast for two-and-a-half hours each day on France Télévisions’ channels and internationally;
PRIZE MONEY
A total of €250,000 will be awarded across the different stage, jersey and team competitions, including €50,000 to the winner of the final general classification.
