2023 Tour de France route
From the Basque Country to Paris and all the stages in between
The 2023 Tour de France got underway on July 1st in Bilbao, Spain with another demanding route that includes only a single 22km hilly time trial in the Alps and mountain stages in all five of France’s mountain ranges. From the Grand Départ in the Basque Country to the finish in Paris, Cyclingnews has all the route details.
The very limited amount of time trialling and preponderance of mountains no doubt suits French riders Thibaut Pinot , David Gaudu and Romain Bardet. As a result, Remco Evenepoel, Primoz Roglič and Geraint Thomas targeted the Giro d’Italia, which had three times the amount of time trialling and fewer mountains.
Official information from race organiser ASO claimed the 3,404km route includes eight flat stages for the sprinters, four hilly stages suited to breakaways and eight mountain stages. Four of these include summit finishes: in the Pyrenees at Cauterets-Cambasque, on the legendary Puy de Dôme volcano in the Massif Central, on the Grand Colombier in the Jura and at Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc in the Alps.
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The other mountain stages are also extremely difficult, even if some are short and extra intense.
Stage 14 to Morzine includes 4,200m of climbing, alongside the mighty Col de Joux Plane and its testing descent to the finish. Stage 15 ends with the 11% ‘wall’ of Côte des Amerands and then the 7km 7.7% climb up to Saint-Gervais in view of Mont-Blanc.
Stage 17 to Courchevel is arguably the queen stage, climbing the 2,304m-high Col de la Loze and then descends to finish on the altiport runway. Stage 20 is a final brutal multi-mountain stage in the Vosges between Belfort and Le Markstein ski resort.
The only time trial is on stage 16 in the Arve Valley near Sallanches after the second rest day, but the 22km route between Passy and Combloux will test riders' bike handling skills and climbing as much as their time trialling. The stage includes the Côte de Domancy, where Bernard Hinault forged his 1980 Worlds victory, and which also featured as part of the final week time trial in the 2016 Tour.
2022 Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard was arguably the best climber of the last two editions of the Tour and he appears to have plenty of opportunities to go on the attack on the steep ascents in 2023.
Two-time winner Tadej Pogačar will no doubt relish the route on offer for next July’s challenge against Vingegaard, Jumbo-Visma, Ineos Grenadiers and anyone else.
For an in-depth analysis of this year's major contenders, check our regularly updated guide to the favourites of the 2023 Tour de France .
For a detailed description of each stage, click on the link in the table below.
Stage 1: Bilbao-Bilbao, 182 km - Hilly
Stage 2: vitoria-gasteiz to san sebastián, 208.9km - hilly, stage 3: amorebieta-etxano to bayonne, 193.5km - flat, stage 4: dax to nogaro, 181.8km - flat, stage 5: pau to laruns, 162.7km - mountain, stage 6: tarbes to cauterets-cambasque, 144.9km - mountain, stage 7: mont-de-marsan to bordeaux, 169.9km - flat, stage 8: libourne to limoges, 200.7km - hilly, stage 9: saint-léonard- de-noblat to puy de dôme, 182.4km - mountain, stage 10: vulcania to issoire, 167.2km - hilly, stage 11: clermont-ferrand to moulins, 179.8km - flat, stage 12: roanne to belleville-en-beaujolais, 168.8km - hilly, stage 13: châtillon-sur-chalaronne to grand colombier, 137.8km - mountain, stage 14: annemasse to morzine les portes du soleil, 151.8km - mountain, stage 15: les gets les portes du soleil to saint-gervais mont blanc, 179km - mountain, stage 16: passy to combloux, 22.4km - itt, stage 17: saint-gervais mont blanc à courchevel, 184.9km - mountain, stage 18: moûtiers to bourg-en-bresse, 184.9km - hilly, stage 19: moirans-en-montagne to poligny, 172.8km - flat, stage 20: belfort to le markstein fellering, 133.5km - mountain, stage 21: saint-quentin-en-yvelines to paris champs-élysées, 115.1km - flat.
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Laura Weislo has been with Cyclingnews since 2006 after making a switch from a career in science. As Managing Editor, she coordinates coverage for North American events and global news. As former elite-level road racer who dabbled in cyclo-cross and track, Laura has a passion for all three disciplines. When not working she likes to go camping and explore lesser traveled roads, paths and gravel tracks. Laura's specialises in covering doping, anti-doping, UCI governance and performing data analysis.
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Tour de France Stage 8 Preview: Get Ready for a Technical Sprint Finish
The final hour or so will resemble a spring Classic during a stage that will no doubt end in another intense sprint finish.
Stage 8 - Libourne to Limoges (200.7km) - Saturday, July 8
Stage 8 takes the 2023 Tour de France from Libourne to Limoges with a long stage with a jagged finale that looks like a perfect opportunity for the Tour’s breakaway specialists and Classics riders to win a stage.
The first two thirds of stage are rather gentle, with flat to rolling roads as the race heads northeast out of Libourne, who’s hosting the Tour for the fifth time this year. A breakaway should go early, but we won’t be surprised if the peloton keeps it in check as the final third of the stage is rather hilly, with three categorized climbs and several uncategorized ramps and hills.
So if the initial break is caught, expect another to go up the road–possibly on the Category 3 Côte de Champs-Romain, which the riders summit at about 70km from the finish line in Limoges. This climb marks the beginning of the hardest portion of the stage and if the initial break is caught, this is where a new, more powerful one, could pull away.
The final hour or so will resemble a spring Classic, with short, punchy climbs that could provide the perfect springboard for attacks from riders looking to win the stage. Two Category 4 climbs come in relatively quick succession inside the final 20km: the Côte de Masmont and the Côte de Condat-sur-Vienne at 16km and 9.3km to-go, respectively.
The run-in to the finish line has some technical moments, with a few roundabouts and another tight loop-de-loop as the riders cross under and then over a bridge across the River Vienne at about 3km to-go. The final kilometer rises uphill all the way to the finish line, which means riders will need to time their final accelerations just right in the event of small group sprinting for the win together.
Riders to watch
The finish of Stage 8 is perfect for the Tour’s Classics riders, men who can follow attacks on the climbs and hold their own in a small group sprint if no one’s able to get away. Slovenia’s Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious) won a stage into Limoges in 2020, and the winner of last year’s Milan-Sanremo is the perfect type of rider for a stage like this one.
This could also be the day for Belgium’s Wout van Aert to finally snag a stage win (this year) after coming up short earlier in the week. He dropped off the back at the end of Stage 7, perhaps to keep himself fresh for a shot at Stage 8. And his nemesis, the Netherlands’ Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), will likely have a green light to play his own card after working so hard (and so well) for his teammate, Belgium’s Jasper Philipsen, during the Tour’s first few field sprints.
We’re also keeping on eye on Eritrea’s Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty)and Denmark’s Mad Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), who are strong enough to handle the climbs at the end of the stage and fast enough to win the sprint from a smaller group.
When to Watch
We’re expecting an exciting battle to win the stage, so we’ll be tuning in at about 10:30 a.m. EDT to watch it unfold. The race is expected to end around 11:20 a.m. EDT.
Since getting hooked on pro cycling while watching Lance Armstrong win the 1993 U.S. Pro Championship in Philadelphia, longtime Bicycling contributor Whit Yost has raced on Belgian cobbles, helped build a European pro team, and piloted that team from Malaysia to Mont Ventoux as an assistant director sportif. These days, he lives with his wife and son in Pennsylvania, spending his days serving as an assistant middle school principal and his nights playing Dungeons & Dragons.
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The 2023 Tour de France got underway on July 1st in Bilbao, Spain with another demanding route that includes only a single 22km hilly time trial in the Alps and mountain stages in all five of ...
Stage 8 - Libourne to Limoges (200.7km) - Saturday, July 8. Stage 8 takes the 2023 Tour de France from Libourne to Limoges with a long stage with a jagged finale that looks like a perfect ...