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Tour de France 2023: When does race start and end? Dates, times and full schedule

Everything you need to know ahead of the start of the world’s most famous cycling race, article bookmarked.

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The Tour de France , cycling’s premier race, is fast approaching with action set to get underway in a few weeks.

The multi-stage race will see the best cyclists in the world race across different terrains and locations throughout France and the Basque country.

Defending champion, Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard will be looking to retain his yellow jersey with his main threat likely to be two-time Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar , despite the 24-year-old seeing his early year form and tour preparations hampered by a fractured wrist.

Here is everything you need to know about the Tour de France.

When is the Tour de France?

The 2023 Tour de France will take place between July 1-23 with the riders completing a series of different stages across varying terrain.

Where does the Tour de France start?

The first stage of the Tour de France, known as the Grand Départ, will take place in Bilbao which is located in the Basque Country in northern Spain. The first three stages will all start in Spain before the riders cross over into France for the conclusion of stage three in Bayonne.

How many stages are there in the Tour de France?

There are 21 stages in the Tour de France, with two rest days sandwiched in between. Across the three weeks of racing, the riders will have 6 flat stages, 6 hilly stages, 8 mountain stages and one individual time trial.

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How long is the Tour de France?

This year’s Tour de France will be raced over 3,404 kilometres (2,115 miles). The longest day will be stage two from Vitoria-Gasteiz to San Sebastian, which is 209km while the shortest - besides the time trial - at just 115km is the final stage from Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines to Paris Champs-Elysees

How many teams and riders are in the Tour de France?

There are 22 teams that make up the Tour de France. Each team is made up of eight riders meaning 176 cyclists will compete in this year’s race.

How to watch the Tour de France?

For UK viewers, the Tour de France will be available to watch on Eurosport with a valid subscription as well as ITV4.

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• Tour de France

Tour de France coverage from Cycling Weekly, with up to date race results, rider profiles and news and reports.

The Tour de France 2024 begins on Saturday 29 June 2024 and marks the 111th edition of cycling's flagship race. In the first Grand Départ for Italy, the race starts in Florence and traces a path east across the country, before heading back west towards France and into the Alps. 

The race also tackles the Apennines, Massif Central and Pyrenees mountain ranges, and passes through Italy, San Marino, Monaco and France. This edition breaks from tradition, finishing not in Paris but in Nice, due to the 2024 Paris Olympics. 

The three-week event is the second in the trio of Grand Tours, coming after the Giro d'Italia and before the Vuelta a España .

Tour de France 2024: Overview

Tour de france 2024: the route.

One for the climbers, the 2024 Tour de France route incorporates four summit finishes, spans four mountain ranges, and features the hilliest opening stage in history. One of the most interesting and intriguing routes of recent years, sitting between the predominantly hilly week one and week three sits a flatter week two, and stage nine - with an abundance of white roads; 14 sectors in total. There's plenty for the sprinters as well as the general classification and climbing specialists, although there are going to be some tough mountains to get over to reach the sprint stages, and to finish the three weeks. For the first time in 35 years, a final day time trial means the yellow jersey won't be decided on the penultimate day. 

• Tour de France 2024 route: Two individual time trials, five summit finishes and gravel sectors
• Opinion: Is the 2024 Tour de France too hard?
• FAQs of the Tour de France: How lean? How much power? How do they pee mid-stage? All that and more explained

Tour de France 2024 route: Stage-by-stage

Tour de france 2024: the teams.

There will be 22 teams of eight riders at the 2024 Tour de France. This includes all 18 UCI WorldTour teams, as well as the two best-ranked UCI ProTeams, and two further squads invited by the organiser, ASO. 

Tour de France 2024: General classification riders

The general classification riders set to appear on the start line in Florence on June 29 are as of yet unconfirmed.

Reigning champion Jonas Vingegaard is extremely likely to be there to defend his title, and there should be no challenges from within the team since Primož Roglič's move to Bora-Hansgrohe. However, Roglič will be making his own bid for the win as the new team leader, with the route suiting him well. 

Following the route announcement in October, Tadej Pogačar said that the "end of the journey makes me smile", with the final 2 stages starting and finishing close to his home in Monaco. Pogačar is hoping to take back the top step in 2024 after two years of missing out on yellow to Vingegaard.

Remco Evenepol intends to make his Tour de France debut in 2024. Although he took a win in 2022 at the Vuelta, his performance in other Grand Tour races has been either inconsistent or blighted by illness. If he's to compete against the likes of Vingegaard and Pogačar, he'll have to up his game. It's not yet known who Ineos Grenadiers will hand the reins to, but, coming 5th overall and taking a stage win in his Tour debut in 2023 , Carlos Rogríguez seems a likely choice.

Tour de France 2024: Sprinters

It's going to be a tough year for the sprinters. Jasper Philipsen of Alpecin-Deceuninck was one of the star men of last year's Tour de France, taking four stage wins and the green sprinter's jersey at the end of the three weeks. If the Belgian returns in 2024 then he will definitely be looking to defend his jersey.

Mads Pederson of Trek-Segafredo has won stages in all three Grand Tours and is likely to gain victory again in some of the harder sprint stages in 2024.

All eyes will be on Mark Cavendish in the 111th Tour de France after he postponed retirement to target the Tour win record, currently shared with Eddy Merckx, and gain his 35th win. He said, however, that he was "in shock" and that this was the "toughest course" he had ever seen , when it was revealed in October. 

Tour de France 2024: On TV

As you'd expect the Tour de France will be avialable to watch in a lot of places this July.

The race is expected to be live-streamed on GCN +, Discovery+ and Eurosport , as well as ITV4, in the UK and in Europe. Subscription costs are £6.99/month or $8.99/month, and £39.99 or $49.99 for a year.

A Flobikes  annual subscription will cost you $209.99 if you want to watch in Canada, while in the USA  NBC Sports  via Peacock Premium ($4.99 per month) will show the race. Australians can can watch the Tour for free on SBS on Demand.

And, of course, if you want to watch your local stream from anywhere in the world you'll need a VPN from a trusted company like ExpressVPN .

Tour de France: The jerseys

Much like every year in recent memory, the Tour de France jerseys and classifications are yellow for the overall leader, green for the leader in the points standings, polka-dot for the mountain classification, and white for the best young rider.

Along with the jersey prizes, there is an award for the most combative rider of each stage, with the winner wearing a red number on the following day. This is awarded each day, with a 'Super Combativity' award decided by a jury at the end of the race for the most active rider throughout the entire event.

There is also a team classification where the time of the first three riders from each team is put together to create a single time. This is then done in a similar way as the individual general classification.

In addition, there are plenty of bonus seconds up for grabs at the race. There are ten, six and four bonus seconds available at the end of each stage for the first three riders, as well as bonus sprints that are dotted throughout the race on key climbs to try and make the racing more entertaining for spectators.

Of course, there's also prize money up for grabs. For winning the 2023 edition of the race, Jonas Vingegaard collected €535,220 (£463,100), a sum which is customarily shared out among the team's riders and staff.

Tour de France past winners in the last 12 years

• 2012: Bradley Wiggins (GBr) 
• 2013: Chris Froome (GBr) 
• 2014: Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) 
• 2015: Chris Froome (GBr) 
• 2016: Chris Froome (GBr) 
• 2017: Chris Froome (GBr) 
• 2018: Geraint Thomas (GBr) 
• 2019: Egan Bernal (Col) 
• 2020: Tadej Pogačar (Slo) 
• 2021: Tadej Pogačar (Slo)  
• 2022: Jonas Vingegaard (Den)
• 2023: Jonas Vingegaard (Den)

Tour de France FAQ

How does the tour de france work.

The Tour de France is one of a trio of races that are three weeks long, known as the Grand Tours, alongside the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España. The Tour is the best known and arguably the most prestigious.

It is the second of the three races in the calendar with the Giro taking place in May, the Tour usually in July, and the Vuelta in August and September.

The Tour, like all Grand Tours, takes on varying terrain with flat days for sprinters, hilly days for punchers and mountains for the climbers and GC riders, along with time trials, so that a winner of the race has to be able to perform on all types of road.

The main prize in the race, known as the general classification, is based on time with the overall leader wearing the yellow jersey. The race leader and eventual winner is the rider who has the lowest accumulated time over the 21 days of racing. Riders can win the Tour de France without winning a stage, as Chris Froome did in 2017. Time bonuses of 10, six, and four seconds are given to stage winners though, creating incentive for those general classification riders to chase individual victories and lower their overall time.

In 2020 it took race winner Tadej Pogačar 87 hours 20 minutes and 5 seconds to complete the race with the second-place rider overall 59 seconds slower. That continues all the way down to the last place rider, which was Roger Kluge (Lotto-Soudal) who finished 6 hours 7 minutes and 2 seconds behind.

The white best young rider's jersey is worked out in the same way but only riders under the age of 26 are eligible for the jersey.

The polka-dot mountains jersey and the green points jersey are based on a points system and not time. The only reason time would come into account would be if riders are tied on points, then it would go to who is the best placed in the general classification.

The team classification is based on the general classification times of the first three riders of a team on each stage. The time of those three riders is added up and put onto their team's time, creating a GC list much like in the individual classifications. The leading team gets to wear yellow numbers and helmets on each stage.

The final classification available is the combativity prize. This is decided by a race jury or, in more recent years, Twitter. This takes place just before the end of each stage and often goes to a rider from the breakaway who has put in a daring performance or attempted to liven up the stage by attacking. The winner of the combativity award gets to wear a special red race number on the following day's stage.

There is a final prize added to this with the Super Combativity prize being awarded on the podium in Paris. This is decided in a similar fashion to pick out the most aggressive, entertaining, and daring rider of the whole three weeks. Again, usually going to a rider who has featured regularly in the breakaway.

Stage winners do not wear anything special the day after apart from getting a small yellow jersey to stick on their number on their bike, this can be replaced if they win multiple stages.

Teams used to come to the race with nine riders but the UCI, cycling's governing body, decided that nine riders from each team was too dangerous and dropped it to eight, however more teams now take part.

How long is the Tour de France?

The Tour de France takes place over 23 days with 21 of them being race days. The riders get two days of resting; they usually fall on the second and third Monday of the race.

This year's race is 3,492km long, which is 2,170 miles, around the same distance from Washington DC to Las Vegas, or Helsinki to Lisbon. 

Road stages can range from anything around 100km to something approaching 250km, sometimes more. This year the shortest road stage is stage 20, from Nice to Col de la Couillole, with the longest being 229km on stage three in Italy, from Plaisance to Turin.

Road stages often take around four to five hours with the longer days sometimes nudging over seven hours.

Time trials are always much shorter. Team time trials have long since gone out of fashion in the world of road racing so individual time trials are the main focus these days. 

In 2024, the Tour has two individual time trials for the riders to tackle, the first on stage seven at 25km long from Nuits-Saint-Georges to Gevrey-Chambertin, and the second on the final stage from Monaco to Nice, at 34km long.

When does the Tour de France start?

The 2024 Tour de France starts on June 29 in Florence, Italy, with a road stage. There will be three full stages in Italy, before the fourth heads into France. The race finishes in Nice three weeks later.

The 2024 edition of the race runs from 29 June - 21 July, covering 21 stages. 

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"Maillot Jaune" Collection

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2023 rankings

Stage 1 | 06/29 Florence > Rimini

Stage 2 | 06/30 cesenatico > bologne, stage 3 | 07/01 plaisance > turin, stage 4 | 07/02 pinerolo > valloire, stage 5 | 07/03 saint-jean-de-maurienne > saint-vulbas, stage 6 | 07/04 mâcon > dijon, stage 7 | 07/05 nuits-saint-georges > gevrey-chambertin, stage 8 | 07/06 semur-en-auxois > colombey-les-deux-églises, stage 9 | 07/07 troyes > troyes, rest | 07/08 orléans, stage 10 | 07/09 orléans > saint-amand-montrond, stage 11 | 07/10 évaux-les-bains > le lioran, stage 12 | 07/11 aurillac > villeneuve-sur-lot, stage 13 | 07/12 agen > pau, stage 14 | 07/13 pau > saint-lary-soulan pla d'adet, stage 15 | 07/14 loudenvielle > plateau de beille, rest | 07/15 gruissan, stage 16 | 07/16 gruissan > nimes, stage 17 | 07/17 saint-paul-trois-châteaux > superdévoluy, stage 18 | 07/18 gap > barcelonnette, stage 19 | 07/19 embrun > isola 2000, stage 20 | 07/20 nice > col de la couillole, stage 21 | 07/21 monaco > nice, tour culture, grand départ florence émilie-romagne 2024, grand départ lille-nord de france 2025, 2024 tour de france finale in nice, riding into the future, all the news, official tour operators, history of tour de france, accessories.

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2023 Tour de France: A visual guide to cycling’s most challenging race

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story misstated the number of competing teams in the Tour de France. The correct number is 22.

The 110th edition of the Tour de France , the most challenging and best-known bicycle race in the world, starts July 1 in Bilbao, Spain, and ends 2,115 grueling and painful miles later on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris on July 23.

In France, the tour is more than a three-week race – it's a cultural phenomenon . Ten million to 12 million racing fans will line the roads of the course to cheer on 176 riders among 22 teams.

Around the world, millions will watch on broadcast TV or streaming services. 41.5 million viewed the 2022 race on the French public service broadcaster France Télévisions alone.

And while nearly 200 riders compete, only one will win.

The race: More than 2,100 miles in 21 days

The Tour de France is actually a collection of 21 single-day races, called stages, over 23 days. (Two rest days are built in.) The stages range from:

• Flat (8 stages): While the route is not always flat, racers usually ride together in a large group called a peloton . Flat stages end with riders breaking away by themselves or a large group sprinting together.
• Hilly (4 stages): Considered more arduous than a flat stage but less difficult than a mountain stage.
• Mountain (8 stages): First introduced in 1910, mountain stages are the most challenging. This year, riders will climb the 6,939-foot Col du Tourmalet in the Pyrenees.
• Time trial (1 stage): Individual riders race against the clock. The 2023 time trial is 13.7 miles. The other stages average to 105 miles, and the longest stage is 130 miles.

Tour route is different every year

The Tour de France has been held annually – except for war years – since 1903. While the format stays the same, the route changes every year, alternating between a clockwise and counterclockwise circuit of France.

It's designed by two men, Christian Prudhomme , a former TV journalist who is general director of the tour, and Thierry Gouvenou , a former pro racer who is the tour's race director. Prudhomme decides the general route and Gouvenou maps out details , linking towns and cities together.

The tour was confined to France in the early years but has expanded beyond French borders. The Grand Départ , the start of the race, was held outside France for the first time in 1954, in the Netherlands.

Other nations have hosted the Grand Départ, including the U.K. in 2007 and 2014.

Since 1975, the final stage has ended in Paris . In 2024, however, the race will finish in Nice .

Do women compete in the Tour de France?

Women have competed, but not directly with men and not over the same distances. Women have raced on smaller editions of the tour over the years, once in 1955 and again from 1984 to 1989. That series was canceled over financial problems.

Other equivalent events such as la Grande Boucle Féminin were held, but these did not last.

The women's tour was revived in 2022 with 144 women competing in the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift , a smaller version of the men's event with 640 miles over eight days.

Femmes avec Zwift returns this year , with women riders racing eight days over a 594-mile course.

Which riders are favored to win this year?

The top three contenders according to Cycling News are:

How does a rider win the Tour de France?

The overall winner is the rider with lowest accrued time over the 21 stages of the race. It's possible to win the tour without winning a single stage – American rider Greg LeMond won in 1990 without a stage win. Roger Walkowiak of France won in 1956 without winning a stage.

Overall leaders wear a distinctive yellow jersey as long as they're in the lead. The jersey can be worn by a number of riders throughout the race. Its use was introduced in 1919.

There are also secondary honors, such as the award given to the rider who scores the most points, earned by finishing among the top 15 in a specific stage.

There's also the King of the Mountains award for the rider who gets the most points in categorized mountain climbs.

Domestiques are the tour's unsung heroes

Winning riders don't win by themselves. They get crucial support from teammates, called "domestiques," the French word for servants, who support the lead rider and the team overall.

Domestiques assist by:

• Bringing food and water to teammates.
• Helping leaders with flat tires and mechanical breakdowns, including giving top riders their own wheels or even bikes to continue the race.
• Riding in front of top riders to provide a windbreak.
• If a top rider falls behind, domestiques will lead him back to the pack.

The windbreak technique is called drafting, in which domestiques cut the wind ahead of the top rider. Cycling sources say the top rider conserves 15% to 40% of his energy in drafting.

Riding in front of the pack is exhausting. Domestiques often trade off places in front of the top rider.

How physically demanding is it?

The race is considered one of the most difficult athletic events in the world. Participants are:

Riders can be injured in collisions or crashes. Broken bones, concussions and dislocated shoulders are common.

What do the jersey colors signify?

Tour riders wear the distinctive uniforms of their teams, but you'll see four jerseys with special colors and significance.

Tour de France terms you should know

• Peloton: A French term meaning "group." It refers to the main pack of riders.
• Breakaway: One rider or a group of riders who have outdistanced the peloton.
• Attack: When a rider or riders race away from the group.
• Team leader: The best rider on the team.
• Time trial: A race against the clock.
• Rouleur: A steady rider with a consistent pace.
• Slipstream: The relatively still air behind a rider, used by followers to overcome air resistance.
• Drafting: Taking shelter in the slipstream of the rider ahead.
• Sag wagon: A vehicle that picks up riders who are no longer able to continue.

What do the riders win?

The tour says, "A total of  2.3 million euros  (about $2.5 million) will be awarded to the teams and riders including €500,000 (about $531,820) to the final winner of the overall individual classification."

Who are the legends of the Tour de France?

Past multiple winners include:

• Fausto Coppi | Italy, 1949, 1952
• Jacques Anquetil | France, 1957, 1961-64
• Eddy Merckx | Belgium, 1969-74
• Bernard Hinault | France, 1978-79, 1981-82, 1985
• Greg LeMond | U.S., 1986, 1989-90
• Miguel Indurain | Spain, 1991-95
• Chris Froome | Kenya, 2013, 2015-17

American Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France a record seven times from 1999 to 2005, but he was stripped of his victories by the International Cycling Union in 2012 over allegations of using illegal drugs. He admitted to years of performance-enhancing drug use to Oprah Winfrey in a televised interview. 

How to watch the Tour de France

Coverage of the 2023 Tour de France will be carried on :

• NBC Sports: Will broadcast select parts of race.
• Peacock : Will stream all race stages.
• USA Network: Will show condensed live coverage.

SOURCE USA TODAY Network reporting and research; Associated Press; VeloNews; letour.com; bicycling.com; cyclingnews.com

Tour de France 2024: Route and stages

Read about the route of the 2024 Tour de France.

Another interesting read: records & winners Tour de France.

Please click on the links in underneath scheme for in-depth information on the stages.

Tour de France 2024 – stages

Tour de france 2024: route, profiles, more.

Click on the images to zoom

More about the Tour de France

Tour de france 2024: the route.

Tour de France 2024 Route stage 1: Florence - Rimini

Tour de france 2024 route stage 20: nice - col de la couillole, tour de france 2024 route stage 21: monaco - nice, tour de france 2024 route stage 2: cesenatico - bologna.

• Associated Press ,

• Brentley Romine ,

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2023 tour de france tv, live stream schedule.

• OlympicTalk ,
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NBC Sports airs every stage of the 110th Tour de France, including live daily start-to-finish coverage on Peacock .

Additional encores of each stage air on USA at 2 a.m. ET most days. All NBC and USA Network coverage also streams on NBCSports.com/live and the NBC Sports app. Complete broadcast information is here .

Peacock will also air daily live pre-race shows setting up each stage.

The Tour began July 1 with the Grand Départ in Spain before crossing into France on the third stage.

The Tour covers France’s five biggest mountain ranges, including eight mountain stages and four summit finishes.

The Tour will not have a time trial on the penultimate day as it did the last three years. Instead, the 20th stage, usually the last competitive stage for the yellow jersey, includes five significant climbs.

This is the first Tour since 2009 to include the last three men to win a Tour. That’s Dane Jonas Vingegaard, who went from a fish-packing facility worker years ago to the top of pro cycling in 2022; Slovenian Tadej Pogacar, who in 2020 became at 21 the second-youngest winner in race history, then repeated in 2021, and Colombian Egan Bernal, who in 2019 became the first South American to win the Tour.

Mark Cavendish, a 38-year-old Brit aiming to break his tie for the career Tour de France stage wins record of 34, crashed out in the eighth stage of his final Tour.

2023 TOUR DE FRANCE LIVE BROADCAST SCHEDULE

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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.

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 110 th 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 110 th 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.

How to qualify for road cycling at Paris 2024. The Olympics qualification system explained

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 40 th . 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.

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

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

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A history of foreign starts at the Tour de France

As Copenhagen marks the 24th foreign Grand Départ, we take a look back at memorable starts through the years

Friday's Tour de France Grand Départ in the Danish capital of Copenhagen will mark the 24th time the race has kicked off with a start outside of its home country, a tradition dating back all the way to 1954.

The 2022 Tour start will be the most far-flung yet, even if it doesn't quite match up to the Giro d'Italia's starts in Greece and Israel over the years. It's the first time the race – or any Grand Tour – has started in Denmark.

Over the past 68 years, the Tour has begun in almost every major western Europe country, barring Italy (which could host the 2024 Grand Départ ). The likes of Switzerland, Ireland, Germany, and Spain have all hosted Tour starts in that time.

This weekend, the peloton will take in three stages in Denmark, with a time trial and two sprints on the menu before they fly back to the north of France on Monday. Ahead of the 2022 start and all the action that lies ahead, we've taken a look back at some of the most memorable Grand Départs of years gone by.

1954: Amsterdam, Netherlands

The 1954 Tour would eventually be won by Louison Bobet, the second victory of the first Tour three-peat. The Frenchman was already on the podium on stage 2, winning as the peloton raced from the Flemish city of Beveren to Lille in northern France.

A day earlier, the race had kicked off in Amsterdam, where Dutch rider Wout Wagtmans gave the home crowds something to celebrate as he took the second of four career stage victories at the race just over the Belgian border in Brasschaat.

Massive crowds lined the roads for the opener, which saw Wagtmans attack to the win late on, just about holding off the peloton. He would hold yellow for three days before ceding it to Bobet, and later enjoyed another four days in the lead as the race snaked down to the Pyrenees. (DO)

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1973: Scheveningen, Netherlands

Joop Zoetemelk had already stood on the final Tour de France podium on two occasions before he had the opportunity to start the 1973 Tour – his fourth – at home, just minutes away from his hometown of The Hague.

He hadn't won a stage of the race by this point, having already accrued two runner-up spots in addition to his two overall second places, but pulled out all the stops on home ground for the short 7.1km prologue.

Under 10 minutes after setting off, Zoetemelk would have his first career Tour stage win, getting the beating of 'the eternal second' Raymond Poulidor by just one second.

He'd end the race fourth overall, and would have to wait seven more years to seal the yellow jersey, while the 1973 race spent three more (half) stages working its way across the Netherlands and Belgium, including a mini 12.4km time trial. (DO)

1987: West Berlin, Germany

By the late 1980s, the Tour was regularly visiting neighbouring countries for Grand Départs, with three in the Netherlands, two apiece in Belgium, and West Germany, and one in Switzerland.

1987 brought a third start in West Germany, and what would be the final visit to the country before reunification. It would be the most far-flung Tour start at the time, and there would be a full five days of racing in Germany before the race even hit the border and returned to France.

A 6km prologue on the opening day brought glory for Dutchman Jelle Nijdam, who utilised two disc wheels to take the win by three seconds as eventual race winner Stephen Roche rounded out the top three.

Nijdam's countryman Nico Verhoeven won stage 1, sprinting home from a small breakaway group, while Roche's Carrera Jeans squad beat Saronni's Del Tongo in the stage 2 time trial.

Portuguese rider Acácio Da Silva and solo breakaway man Herman Frison won stage 3 and 4 into Stuttgart and Pforzheim before the race headed to Strasbourg on stage 5, concluding what would be the last Grand Départ in Germany for three decades. (DO)

1992: San Sebastián, Spain

While the Vuelta a España was at this point in the midst of what would be a 33-year avoidance of the Basque Country (the race returned in 2011), the Tour chose the region to host its first Spanish Grand Départ three decades ago.

The prologue was overshadowed by a bombing in an underground car park in Fuenterrabia the night before, a reminder of the tensions in the region that saw the Vuelta stay away.

The race itself, however, went off without any such problems, and was instead a celebration of reigning champion Miguel Indurain, who hailed from the town of Villava in the eastern Basque Country.

The Banesto leader duly pleased the home crowds with a victory in the 8km prologue, beating ONCE's Alex Zülle by two seconds. Indurain would cede the lead to the Swiss rider on the first road stage a day later, though he'd be back in yellow in the Alps en route to a dominant four-minute overall victory. (DO)

1998: Dublin, Ireland

The 1998 Tour start in Ireland was not completely overshadowed by the Festina scandal that almost caused the entire race to grind to a halt, but the storm clouds were looming fast.

Festina soigneur Willy Voet had been arrested earlier that week on the French border with a trunkload of doping products in his car, the team had already gone into full denial mode over his whereabouts, and riders were already pouring their doping products down the wash-basins and toilets of their hotels.

Given the meltdown that then unfolded in that Tour, with the glorious gift of hindsight it almost seemed irrelevant that Chris Boardman claimed his third Tour prologue win in five years on a rain=soaked Dublin Friday evening. Or indeed that Boardman, while in the leader’s jersey, then crashed out en route to Cork and the ferries assembled to take the race back to France that evening.

But at the time, the massive crowds that lined the route in Dublin despite the weather, and again on the stages taking the race inland that followed, seemed to hold out hope that the Tour start in Ireland would be remembered as a success. But that was all quickly eclipsed by what unfolded in France. (AF)

2007: London, United Kingdom

Pre-empting the British cycling explosion that saw the founding of Team Sky, the 2012 Olympic Games, and the rise to superstardom of Mark Cavendish, Bradley Wiggins, Geraint Thomas, and Chris Froome, the Tour headed to Britain for the first time 15 years ago.

The home start came a year too early for Cavendish, who broke out with four stages in 2008, though time triallists Wiggins and David Millar – as well as Liquigas domestique Charly Wegelius and Barloworld neo-pro Thomas were also holding up the home end.

Wiggins and Millar were both among the favourites for the opening prologue around the streets of central London, though it was Swiss star Fabian Cancellara who dominated the day (as he had in 2004 and as he would in 2009, 2010, and 2012) to win by 13 seconds as Wiggins was the top Brit in fourth.

The next day Millar gave home crowds something to cheer, taking the polka dot jersey from the break on the flat stage to Canterbury as Robbie McEwen sprinted to victory. Three weeks later, Alberto Contador claimed his first Tour win after a controversial race which saw Iban Mayo, double stage winner Alexandre Vinokourov, and yellow jersey Michael Rasmussen all leave the race under doping clouds. (DO)

2010: Rotterdam, Netherlands 

Three days across the Low Countries kicked off the 2010 Tour as the Netherlands hosted the Grand Départ for the fifth time.

Once again it was Fabian Cancellara's time to shine as the Swiss rider, hot off a superb spring with wins at E3 Harelbeke, the Tour of Flanders, and Paris-Roubaix, beat Tony Martin by 10 seconds over the 9km course in Rotterdam. 

Alessandro Petacchi shot to sprint glory on stage 2 in Brussels, while the hilly third stage to Spa was perhaps the most memorable of the lot. There, Sylvain Chavanel soloed to the yellow jersey as the peloton staged a go-slow after the carnage and mass crashes on the wet, slippery roads.

The Frenchman would hand yellow back to Cancellara the next day as the race hit France – and the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix – but would be back in the lead for another day with another breakaway win on stage 7. In Paris, it was Alberto Contador (later Andy Schleck) who took the overall glory. (DO)

2014: Leeds, United Kingdom

Seven years on from the London start, the Tour revisited the UK once more, with two days in Yorkshire followed up by one into London before the race travelled back across the Channel.

It was the year following the triumphs of Wiggins and Froome, and so the roads of Yorkshire were packed with fans there to cheer on Team Sky as well as Cavendish, who by that point had 26 Tour stage wins to his name.

As was the case in 2007, though, there would be little home glory for the Brits. In Harrogate and London, Marcel Kittel, the dominant sprinter of the previous year, would take the wins, while eventual winner Vincenzo Nibali nipped away to stage 2 victory in the hills of Sheffield.

Cavendish, meanwhile, left the race after stage 1 after crashing hard in Harrogate, while defending champion Froome made it to France and the cobbled stage – but not the cobbles – 5 before crashing out. 

The Grand Départ had a lasting effect on cycling in the region, spawning the Tour de Yorkshire men's and women's race before COVID-19 and financial problems saw both events cancelled from 2020 through this year. (DO)

2019: Brussels, Belgium

The last Tour to start outside of France came three years ago with the fifth Grand Départ from Belgium – the first time the race had kicked off in the capital, Brussels, since 1958.

The city hosted both the opener and the second stage of the race, before a third stage from the Walloon town of Binche took the peloton on a hilly stage into France.

Jumbo-Visma dominated the first two days of the race as Wout van Aert (who would later win stage 10 in Albi) making his Tour debut. The opening stage, which featured the Muur van Geraardsbergen early on, would be prime Van Aert territory today, but then it was Dylan Groenewegen set to sprint for the Dutch squad.

He was taken down by a mass crash late on, though, and instead it was Mike Teunissen who took a surprise victory, holding off Peter Sagan and Caleb Ewan to take yellow. The squad would go on to dominate the stage 2 TTT, too, putting a full 20 seconds into second-placed Ineos over the 27.6km course. (DO)

Foreign starts at the Tour de France

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Alasdair Fotheringham has been reporting on cycling since 1991. He has covered every Tour de France since 1992 bar one, as well as numerous other bike races of all shapes and sizes, ranging from the Olympic Games in 2008 to the now sadly defunct Subida a Urkiola hill climb in Spain. As well as working for Cyclingnews , he has also written for The Independent ,  The Guardian ,  ProCycling , The Express and Reuters .

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https://www.barrons.com/news/florence-celebrates-100-day-countdown-to-tour-de-france-s-grand-depart-d84d2031

• FROM AFP NEWS

Florence Celebrates 100-day Countdown To Tour De France's 'Grand Depart'

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Tour de France Director Christian Prudhomme in front of 2024 route map

With just 100 days to go before cycling's Tour de France sets off, organisers described the 2024 Grand Depart in Florence as "a dream come true".

At the foot of the Palazzo Vecchio the director of the Tour, Christian Prudhomme, savoured the dream coming true "in an open-air museum".

This year marks the 111th running of the Tour de France with the peloton embarking from Italy for the first time in its history on June 29.

"Seeing the banners and the countdown clocks for the Tour de France here, in one of the most beautiful cities in the world, an open-air museum, is powerful," Prudhomme said.

The fact no Italian city has ever hosted the event was described as an incongruity given some of the great champions in the race are Italian such as Marco Pantani, Vincenzo Nibali, Fausto Coppi and Gino Bartali.

Florence came close 10 years ago to hosting the start but Bradley Wiggins' victory in 2012 pushed organisers to favour the UK, thus putting the Tuscan candidacy on hold.

Florentine mayor Dario Nardella however reached out, in the middle of Covid confinement, sending a text message to Prudhomme saying: "Florence so beautiful and so deserted. I have not forgotten the dream of the Grand Depart."

Celebrating the countdown, Florence is draped in the Tour de France yellow and even the Palazzo Vecchio was lit-up in the colour worn by the race leader.

"It's deeply satisfying, we feel a great sense of pride," said two-time Tour stage winner Daniele Bennati, now coach of the Italian national team.

"I would have dreamed of taking this start when I was a rider. Florence offers a picture-postcard setting. For the public it will be extraordinary."

The first stage will run over a hilly 205km from Florence to Rimini on the Adriatic coast while the second leaves the Emilia-Romagna town of Cesena and ends in University town Bologna. The third goes from Piacenza to Turin.

Nardella added the event would "remain, I hope, as an unforgettable thing in the history of the Tour de France."

"We want to set up the fan zone in Piazza Santa Croce, in front of one of the most beautiful churches in the world. And the start line will be in Piazza della Signoria where we will have works of Donatello and Michelangelo," he said.

Nardella added he hoped the event would boost professional cycling in the region.

"The three Italian stages pass through three UNESCO world heritage sites, the centre of Florence, the arcades of Bologna and the landscapes of southern Piedmont," he said.

"The Tour de France is too important an event to be reduced to a tourist promotion tool. We lack great champions. Relaunching cycling in Italy is for us more important than promoting tourism," insisted the mayor.

The fourth stage will again start in Italy at Pinerolo, and then head to France where the Tour finishes in Nice this year, due to the Olympics in Paris.

Florence Celebrates 100-day Countdown To Tour De France's 'Grand Depart'

With just 100 days to go before cycling's Tour de France sets off, organisers described the 2024 Grand Depart in Florence as "a dream come true".

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Tour of Flanders live stream 2024: How to watch Flemish cycling, start time

I t's safe to say that for Belgian cycling fans the Tour of Flanders is bigger than Christmas — way bigger. The climax to the Flemish cycling 'holy week' and the second cycling Monument of 2024 will see the worlds best Classics riders cover an epic 271 kilometers between Antwerp and Oudenaarde, taking in no less than 17 brutal cobbled climbs. 

Read on and we'll show you how to watch Tour of Flanders 2024 live streams from anywhere with a VPN , and potentially for FREE .

The build up is over and it’s time for the big one, the ‘Ronde van Vlaanderen’. The hype has been growing since opening weekend in late February and has now reached fever pitch with the whole of Belgium buzzing in anticipation. 

Leaving Antwerp, the first half of the race is predominantly flat. Then, after 136 kilometers, the route arrives at the first of three ascents of the Oude Kwaremont and from here on it's brutal. The climbs and cobbled sectors come in rapid succession, each one hitting the riders hard and testing their strength and skill to the absolute limit.

The Koppenberg, the Mariaborrestraat, Steenbeekdries and Stationsberg will lead the riders to the climbs of the Taaienberg and Oude Kruisberg before hitting the Oude Kwaremont for a second time. Then the final combination of the Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg coming just 13 kilometers from the finish line is where the killer blows will almost certainly be dealt.

Last year’s winner Tadej Pogačar has decided to skip the race this year so the role of favorite passes over to Mathieu van der Poel who is in scintillating form having destroyed the field to win the E3 Saxo classic and also take second behind Mads Pederson at Gent Wevelgem. It’s Pederson who will lead the challenge against Van der Poel.

Read on to see how to catch the action from wherever you live.

FREE Tour of Flanders live streams

If you live in Belgium then you can look forward to a FREE Tour of Flanders live stream in 2024. Belgium's Sporza is set to serve up a free stream of this one-day UCI World Tour race.

Another great option for those in need of an English language commentary is the Tour of Flanders free live stream on SBS On-Demand in Australia.

But what if you're based in Belgium or Australia but aren't at home to catch that free Tour of Flanders coverage? Maybe you're on holiday and don't want to spend money on pay TV in another country, when you'd usually be able to watch for free at home?

Don't worry — you can watch via a VPN instead. We'll show you how to do that below.

Tour of Flanders 2024 live streams around the world

It's only natural that you might want to watch a 2024 Tour of Flanders live stream from your home country, but what if you're not there when the race is on?

Look no further than a VPN, or virtual private network. A VPN makes it look as if you're surfing the web from your home country, rather than the one you're in. That means you can access the streaming services you already pay for, from anywhere on Earth. Or anywhere that has an internet connection, at least.

They're totally legal, inexpensive and easy to use. We've tested lots of the best VPN services and our favorite right now is NordVPN . It's fast, works on loads of devices and even offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.

There's a good reason you've heard of NordVPN. We specialize in testing and reviewing VPN services and NordVPN is the one we rate best. It's outstanding at unblocking streaming services, it's fast and it has top-level security features too. With over 5,000 servers, across 60 countries, and at a great price too, it's easy to recommend.

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Using a VPN is incredibly simple.

1. Install the VPN of your choice . As we've said, NordVPN is our favorite.

2. Choose the location you wish to connect to in the VPN app. For instance if you're in the U.S. and want to view an Australian service, you'd select Australia from the list.

3. Sit back and enjoy the action. Head to SBS or another streaming service and watch the action.

How to watch a Tour of Flanders live stream in the U.S.

Cycling fans in the U.S. can watch the 2024 Tour of Flanders on  FloBikes . A subscription will set you back US$149.99 for the year or US$29.99 on a monthly basis.

And if you're currently out of the U.S. but still want to watch the race, then don't forget to explore  NordVPN  set out above.

How to watch a Tour of Flanders live stream in the U.K.

Live coverage of Tour of Flanders will be broadcast on Eurosport and Discovery+.

A 'standard' subscription to Discovery+ which includes Eurosport's cycling coverage will set you back £6.99 per month. The package includes year-round cycling streams as well as other live sports including snooker, tennis, motorsports, the Paris Olympic Games, and more.

A premium subscription, which includes all that plus TNT Sports (Premier League, Champions League and Europa League football plus rugby, wrestling, UFC, and MotoGP) costs an additional £30.99 per month.

If you're currently traveling overseas, don't worry, as you can use NordVPN to watch from abroad.

How to watch a Tour of Flanders live stream in Canada

Cycling fans in the Canada can watch the 2024 Tour of Flanders on  FloBikes . A subscription will set you back CAN$150 for the year or CAN$29.99 on a monthly basis.

Not at home right now? Use NordVPN or another VPN service to trick your device into thinking you're still in Canada.

Tour of Flanders 2024 route map

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