Tour de France 2023 preview: Full schedule and how to watch live
Another thrilling battle at the 2023 Tour de France is in sight as Tadej Pogacer will try to take back the Tour de France crown that he lost to Jonas Vingegaard last year. Here is all you need to about this year’s race which begins on 1 July in Bilbao, Spain.
Cycling Road
The Tour de France 2023 has all the makings of another road cycling thriller.
Will the world’s most prestigious race be the third act in the epic battle between defending champion Jonas Vingegaard of Denmark and 2021 champion Tadej Pogacar?
Soon we will have all the answers with the 110th edition of the French Grand Tour starting on Saturday (1 July) in Bilbao, the largest city in the Basque Country, Spain.
Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) is hoping to be crowned champion again, after he won last year’s race as just the second Dane in history ahead of Slovenia’s two-time Tour de France winner, Tadej Pogacar
It is the 110th edition of the French Grand Tour that will feature Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion Richard Carapaz,silver medallist Wout van Aert and bronze medallist Pogacar.
La Grande Boucle will cover 3,404 km over the 21 stages, with the final stage taking place at the Champs-Élysées in Paris on 23 July. There are eight flat stages, four hilly stages, one time trial and eight mountain stages. Four of these have summit finishes, including the stage to the mythical Puy de Dôme.
176 riders will be on the start line at the Guggenheim Museum, one of Bilbao’s major tourist attractions, with eight riders for each of the 22 teams.
Below you will find everything you need to know about this year’s Tour de France.
Tour de France 2023 General Classification riders to watch
In 2022, we witnessed a breathtaking duel between Vingegaard and Pogacar, and they are coming into this year’s race as the two big favourites.
The 26-year-old Dane has participated in four stage races this season, having won three of them in dominant fashion - O Gran Camiño, Itzulia Basque Country, and most recently the Critérium du Dauphiné.
Pogacar and Vingegaard last faced each other at the Paris-Nice in March, where the 24-year-old Slovenian claimed victory ahead of David Gaudu and Vingegaard.
UAE Tean Emirates captain Pogacar has claimed no less than 14 victories this season including Paris-Nice, Tour of Flanders, Amstel Gold Race and La Flèche Wallonne, before he crashed and broke his wrist at the Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
The two-time Il Lombardia winner made his comeback last week, claiming both the Slovenian national time trial and road race championship.
2022 Giro d’Italia winner Jai Hindley is going to be the leader on a strong BORA - Hansgrohe team. At the Critérium du Dauphiné, 27-year-old Hindley finished fourth behind Adam Yates of the UAE Team Emirates and his compatriot Ben O'Connor of AG2R Citroën Team.
With his win at last year’s Giro, the Australian has shown that he has the endurance needed to compete in a three-week Grand Tour.
22-year-old Mattias Skjelmose (Denmark) stunned the world of cycling by winning the Tour de Suisse earlier this month ahead of the likes of Remco Evenepoel and Juan Ayuso.
He continued his impressive run and was crowned Danish road race champion on Sunday (25 June), after a spectacular solo effort in the final kilometres.
The Trek-Segafredo rider has participated in one Grand Tour previously as he rode the Giro d’Italia last year finishing just 40th. This year’s Tour de France will be a test of his stamina.
And dont count out Enric Mas. The 28-year-old Spaniard has finished second in the general classification at the Vuelta a España three times and is hoping to make the podium at the Tour.
The Movistar rider came in top six overall in three stage races this season.
Other key riders at the Tour de France 2023
Green jersey
Last year's points competition winner Wout van Aert has already announced that the green jersey will not be a target for him as he aims to win stages and prepare for the UCI Cycling World Championships that takes place just two weeks after the finish in Paris.
That leaves Jasper Philipsen of Alpecin-Deceuninck as the favourite to take the crown. The Belgian clinched two stages last season - including the most prestigious sprint finish on the Champs-Élysées - and he has already six race wins this season. His versatile teammate Mathieu van der Poel seems to be in the shape of his life, and if the Paris-Roubaix winner gets the freedom to chase the green jersey, watch out for the Dutchman.
The biggest threat might come from Soudal-Quick Step that always target stage wins with their sprinter. Fabio Jakobsen will be their trusted sprinter, like last year. The Dutchman is supported by a strong sprint cast with the most experienced lead-out man in the peloton, Michael Mørkøv, to set him up.
Sprinter’s teams like Team Jayco Alula with Dylan Groenewegen and Lotto Dstny with Caleb Ewan will also chase stage wins and are contenders for the green jersey.
Denmark’s Mads Pedersen and Biniam Girmay of Eritrea are not only great sprinters but also good climbers. That ability can secure points for the green jersey classification on the more hilly stages. Pedersen took his first Tour de France stage win in last year’s edition and claimed the green jersey in the Vuelta a España, but like van Aert he has announced his focus is to arrive in top shape at the UCI Cycling World Championships in Glasgow.
Polka dot jersey
In the last three editions of the Tour de France, the winner of the king of the mountains classification has also been the overall winner of the Tour de France. Therefore, Pogacar and Vingegaard are the top contenders this year.
For the French riders it will be a special achievement to be on the podium in Paris wearing the polka dot jersey. Thibaut Pinot, who was king of the mountains classification at the Giro d’Italia in May is keen on challenging the two top guns as is 2019 polka dot jersey winner Romain Bardet.
Tour de France 2023 route and important stages
The 2023 Tour de France begins with a hilly stage containing some 3,400 metres of climbing. Contenders for the overall win will have to be ready from the start on the hills around Bilbao. The stage suits classics specialist like Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert and Julian Alaphilippe who all want to be the first rider to wear the yellow jersey at this year’s Tour de France.
After another hilly stage in the Basque Country to San Sebastian on stage two, the peloton will cross the French border and resume the race with flat stages on day three and four.
Stage five will take the peloton on the first mountain stage in the Pyrenees which includes Col du Soudet and Col de Marie Blanque. The following day, the riders will tackle the mythical mountain Col du Tourmalet before finishing the stage on the category 1 climb Cauterets-Cambasque. Week one concludes with an eagerly anticipated summit finish to the volcano Puy de Dôme that returns to the Tour after a 35-year absence.
On stage 13 in week two, the teams face a gruelling finish to Col du Grand Colombier in the Jura mountains. The two following days will also test the riders’ climbing skills with stage 15 featuring a summit finish to Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc in the Alps to end week two.
The final week kicks off with stage 16, the only individual time trial in the race. It is just 22 kilometres long but contains a fair amount of climbing, especially in the second part of the route. After the time trial, the queen stage of the Tour de France with more than 5000 metres of climbing is sure to generate plenty of drama. Colo de la Loze, the highest point of the race at 2304m, is the biggest obstacle on this stage being 28 kilometres long, with an average gradient of six percent.
Two flatter stages follow ahead of a short but mountainous penultimate stage in the Vosges on stage 20. It will be the last chance for the general classification contenders to gain time before the celebrations in Paris.
Day-by-day route of the 2023 Tour de France
Saturday 1 July: Stage 1 - Bilbao-Bilbao (182km)
Sunday 2 July: Stage 2 - Vitoria-Gasteiz - Saint-Sebastian (208.9km)
Monday 3 July: Stage 3 - Amorebieta - Etxano-Bayonne (187.4 km)
Tuesday 4 July: Stage 4 - Dax - Nogaro (181.8 km)
Wednesday 5 July: Stage 5 - Pau - Laruns (162.7 km)
Thursday 6 July: Stage 6 - Tarbes - Cauterets-Cambasque (144.9 km)
Friday 7 July: Stage 7 - Mont-de-Marsan - Bordeaux (169.9 km)
Saturday 8 July: Stage 8 - Libourne - Limoges (200.7 km)
Sunday 9 July: Stage 9 - Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat - Puy de Dôme (182.4 km)
Monday 10 July: Rest Day
Tuesday 11 July: Stage 10 - Vulcania - Issoire (167.2 km)
Wednesday 12 July: Stage 11 - Clermont-Ferrand - Moulins (179.8 km)
Thursday 13 July: Stage 12 - Roanne - Belleville-en-Beaujolais (168.8 km)
Friday 14 July: Stage 13 - Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne - Grand Colombier (137.8 km)
Saturday 15 July: Stage 14 - Annemasse - Morzine Les Portes du Soleil (151.8 km)
Sunday 16 July Stage 15 - Les Gets les portes du soleil - Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc (179 km)
Monday 17 July: Rest Day
Tuesday 18 July: Stage 16 - Passy - Combloux (22.4 km individual time trial)
Wednesday 19 July: Stage 17 - Saint-Gervais-Mont-Blanc - Courchevel (165.7 km)
Thursday 20 July: Stage 18 - Moûtiers - Bourg-en-Bresse (184.9 km)
Friday July 21: Stage 19 - Moirans-en-Montagne - Poligny (172.8 km)
Saturday July 22: Stage 20 - Belfort - Le Markstein Fellering (133.5 km)
Sunday July 23: Stage 21 - Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines - Paris Champs-Élysées (115.1 km)
How to watch the 2023 Tour de France live
The Tour de France will be shown live in 190 countries. Here is a list of the official broadcast partners across different territories.
Europe:
Basque Country - EiTB
Belgium - RTBF and VRT
Czech Republic - Česká Televize
Denmark - TV2
Europe - Eurosport Eurosport
France - France TV Sport France TV Sport and Eurosport France
Germany - Discovery+ and ARD
Ireland - TG4
Italy - Discovery+ and RAI Sport
Luxemburg - RTL
Netherlands - Discovery+ and NOS
Norway - TV2
Portugal - RTP
Scandinavia - Discovery+
Slovakia - RTVS
Slovenia - RTV SLO
Spain - RTVE
Switzerland - SRG-SSR
United Kingdom - Discovery+ and ITV
Wales - S4C
Americas
Canada - FloBikes
Colombia - CaracolTV
Latin America & Caribbean: ESPN
South America - TV5 Monde
United States - NBC Sports and TV5 Monde
Asia Pacific
Australia - SBS
China - CCTV and Zhibo TV
Japan - J Sports
New Zealand - Sky Sport
South-East Asia - Global Cycling Network and Eurosport
Middle East and Africa
The Middle East and North Africa - BeIN Sports and TV5 Monde
Subsaharan Africa - Supersport and TV5 Monde