tour de france 2023 stage 4 last km

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Tour de France: Jasper Philipsen motors to win after late crashes on stage four – as it happened

A long, boring day on the Tour ended in high drama at the Nogaro racing circuit as Belgian sprinter Jasper Philipsen prevailed for the second day in a row

• Read our stage four race report
• 4 Jul 2023 Mark Cavendish speaks ...
• 4 Jul 2023 Top five on General Classification
• 4 Jul 2023 The top five in stage four
• 4 Jul 2023 It's another win for Jasper Philipsen!
• 4 Jul 2023 Jasper Philipsen wins stage four!!!
• 4 Jul 2023 Intermediate sprint result
• 4 Jul 2023 Finally, an attack!!!
• 4 Jul 2023 They're off and racing in stage four!
• 4 Jul 2023 General Classification: the top five
• 4 Jul 2023 Philipson survives sprint scrutiny to win in Bayonne
• 4 Jul 2023 Stage four: Dax to Nagaro (181.8km)

Mark Cavendish speaks ...

“Carnage it was,” says the Astana rider. “Every team will have had a plan for that final and I bet there wasn’t any that it went right for, apart from Jumbo getting their guys into that narrow road [at the entrance to the race circuit] early. It was a melting pot of riders in the final and I was constantly analysing who was there, who had other teammates and just jumping from train to train.

“Finally I seen that Mads [Pedersen] had [Jasper] Stuyven with him and they usually go early so I thought I’d use that, but it didn’t happen. In the end the rest of them got the jump on me and it was all about me getting the best finishing position for myself.”

It’s a remarkable bit of analysis, considering the chaos that was unfolding around him. He goes on to express his concern for the welfare of his teammate Luis Leon Sanchez, who was one of several riders to hit the deck in the final couple of kilometres of today’s race.

Top five on General Classification

Adam Yates (UAE Emirates) 18hr 18min 01sec

Tadej Pogacar (UAE EMirates) +06sec

Simon Yates (Jayco AlUla) +06sec

Victor Lafay (Cofidis) +12sec

Wout van Aert +16sec

🏆 🇧🇪 @JasperPhilipsen wins in Nogaro! 🏆🇧🇪 @JasperPhilipsen double la mise à Nogaro ! #TDF2023 pic.twitter.com/X06zq1v7N2 — Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 4, 2023

The top five in stage four

Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) 4hr 25min 23sec

Caleb Ewan (Lotto–Dstny)

Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious)

Bryan Coquard (Cofidis)

Mark Cavendish (Astana)

Jasper Philipsen speaks: “It was a really easy stage,” says the stage winner. “I think everyone was trying to save some legs for the Pyrenees tomorrow. In the final kilomtre entering the circuit I heard several crashes around me so I hope everybody is OK and safe. It was a bit of a hectic final with the turns and I lost my team as well but in the ifnal straight I found Mathieu Van der Poel again and he did an amazing pull to get me to victory. My legs were cramping and Caleb was coming close.”

It's another win for Jasper Philipsen!

In chaotic scenes with riders strewn all over the road in the home straight, Mathieu Van der Poel provides another perfect lead-out for Philipsen, who wins by half a wheel from Caleb Ewan. Phil Bauhaus was third for Bahrain Victorious.

Jasper Philipsen wins stage four!!!

The Alpecin–Deceuninck sprinter looks to have won his second consecutive stage by inches from Caleb Ewan.

1km to go: Cofidis are doing a fine job for Bryan Coquard as the riders enter the 800m-long home straight. There’s another crash but Mark Cavendish is still upright.

1.6km to go: Fabio Jakobsen crashes! he won’t be winning today!

3.1km to go: Jumbo-Visma lead the peloton into the entrance of the Nogaro circuit with various riders near the front looking over their shoulders to see where their team-mates are.

4.6km to go: It’s getting more and more technical and the riders from various teams are getting separated from each other and starting to panic a little. Mark Cavendish is still in a good position about 12 riders from the front but Wout van Aert has lost about 30 places.

5km to go: Aussie sprinter Sam Welsford (DSM-Firmenich) elects to go the “wrong” side of a traffic island and drops to near the back of the bunch, having been riding third wheel and in a brilliant position.

8km to go: Some of the teams are riding in train formation, while others are grouped around their sprinter. Mark Cavendish is in the second row of the bunch, riding on the wheel of his teammate Luis Leon Sanchez.

9km to go: The peloton is tightly bunched with riders from eight different teams spread out across the front as we hit the final 10 klilometres of the race. The focus, obviously, is on the sprinters but everybody has his own particular job to do to help deliver their man to the front of the race near the finish line at the most opportune moment.

13km to go: Here, in no particular order, are the names to look out for in the final couple of hundred metres of today’s stage: Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco AlUla), Fabio Jakobsen (Soudal- Quick Step), Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Mark Cavendish (Astana), Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious), Wout van Aert (Jumbo Visma), Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X) and Sam Welsford (DSM-Firmenich).

17km to go: Having reeled in today’s somewhat half-hearted breakaway, the peloton continue to make their way towards the Nogaro racing circuit, where there’s something of a pinch-point at the entrance, three kilometres from the finish line. They’re riding seven abreast in the peloton at the moment at a speed of 57km per hour.

23km to go: The cycle in the washing machine has started and packed tightly across the road, the riders of Alpecin-Deceuninck, Jumbo Visma, Lotto Dstny, Bahrain Victorius and Bora-Hansgrohe are conspicous in their little groups near the front.

💚 70 years ago, the green jersey was first introduced on the Tour de France. The best sprinters in the history of cycling have fought for it since! 💚 Le maillot vert est né il y a 70 ans sur le Tour ! Depuis, les meilleurs sprinteurs du monde se sont battus pour. #TDF2023 pic.twitter.com/ioJyoMXY9e — Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 4, 2023

27km to go: In the breakaway, Anthony Delaplace takes the solitary King of the Mountains point available on today’s stage. The gap to the bunch is down to 16 seconds.

28km to go: The riders are tackling today’s only categorised climb, the Cat 4 Cote de Dému, which is two kilometres long and 218m high.

3okm to go:

34km to go: Anthony Delapplace (Arkea Samsic) and Benoit Cosnefory (AG2R Citreon) remain in front of the chasing posse, with a lead of 35 seconds. At the back of that posses, Astana’s Luis Leon Sanchez has a problem with his chain and stops to fix the problem with the help of a passing Cofidis mechanic. He gets back on his back and sets off in pursuit of the bunch.

Peloton politics: “I’m fairly sure that back in the 80s and before, one of the grizzled elder statesmen of the Tour (think Bernard Hinault or Gilbert Duclos-Lasalle) would decide how hard the peloton would ride at any given point,” writes Thomas Atkins. “And if they decided that the peloton was going to have an easy day, then woe betide anyone who attacked and upped the tempo when they weren’t supposed to.”

“It might not be great for viewers and advertisers but it’s arguably no worse than it being dictated by directeurs sportives who have crunched the numbers before the start and decided on precisely the mix of riders who would be allowed to ride off the front until a controlled and entirely predictable catch in the last 20-30kms.”

39km to go: We’re heading towards the business end of the stage, with the entrance to the Nogaro motor racing circuit where today’s race will be concluded approximately three kilometres from the finish.

Here’s Fabio Jakobsen on today’s finish: “Today looks good,” he told Eurosport this morning. “You’ve got a few corners but it’s wide. The last 750m is in as straight line so if you have the horses and the position then you can do it and at least [unlike yesterday] a straight line is a straight line, eh?”

46km to go: “On this slow news day, in Tour de France terms at least, I was wondering what your thoughts were regarding Jasper Philipsen having the ultimate cheat-code for the sprints with Mathieu Van der Poel as lead-out man extraordinaire?” asks Sam Huscroft. “I wonder if Cav’s best bet is to tag on to this ‘train’ and give it the beans?”

I’m not sure that a 38-year-old Cav no longer has the “beans” required to get near Philipsen in an out-and-out sprint. In terms Tory MPs Lee Andrews and Brendan Clarke-Smith might struggle to understand, Philipsen’s beans are of the Heinz variety, compared to the own brand version Cav is reduced to giving these days. The gap is down to 36 seconds.

53km to go: Messrs Cosnefroy and Delaplace are a minute clear of the bunch, which is being led by the riders of Alpecin-Deceuninck at a speed of 57km per hour.

Intermediate sprint result

With so much going on out on the road, it’s taken a while to cobble together the result of the intermediate sprint.

1. Jasper Philipsen (20pts) 2. Bryan Coquard (17) 3. Caleb Ewan (15) 4. Mads Pedersen (13) 5. Jordi Meeus (11) 6. Mark Cavendish (10) 7. Favio Jakobsen (9) 8. Peter Sagan (8) 9. Alexander Kristoff (7) 10. Biniam Girmay (6) 11. Corbin Strong (5) 12. Michal Kwiatkowski (4) 13. Cees Bol (3) 14. Mathieu Van der Poel (2) 15. Jonas Abrahamsen (1)

69km to go: “Belgian TV have just been on the phone with Eddy Merckx,” writes Franky Vlaeminck. “Apparently he’s totally cool with Cavendish potentially beating his record number of wins.”

On Eurosport, former sprinter Robbie McEwan gives Cavendish a “one per cent chance” of winning the stage he needs to beat Merckx’s record during this Tour.

71 km to go: It’s a highlight of the afternoon for the riders as they pass through the feed zone and collete their musttes full of grub.

73km to go: “I’m having a laugh over people’s complaints about the lack of pace and attacks on today’s stage,” writes Dave Hill from Indiana. “These riders, the most extreme athletes in the world, whittle their bodies down to nubs over the course of 2,200 miles at speeds we couldn’t achieve in our dreams, and we’re complaining because they take a few hours to brace themselves for the trials to come? If nothing else, let’s just enjoy the scenery. Or get outside yourself on a ride today. Some people are never satisfied!”

It’s a fair point, well made. After all, some of these riders have spent two whole days whittling their bodies down to nubs in this year’s Tour since it started way, way back last Saturday. The gap is 50 seconds.

81km to go: In an interview with Eurosport, AG2R Citreon team manager Vincent Lavenu says that French TV were complaining that nothing is happening today and want to see some French riders at the head of the race, so he gave Benoit Cosnefroy permission to launch an attack.

His fellow Normandy native, Anthony Delaplace either agreed or was ordered to go with him, although the Arkea Samsic rider looked far less enthused by the prospect of embarking on what will almost certainly be little more than an energy-sapping kamikaze mission.

Finally, an attack!!!

84km to go: Benoit Cosnefroy (AG2R Citreon) and Anthony Delaplace (Arkea Samsic) throw their chapeaux into the ring for today’s combativity award by jumping off the front of the bunch and attacking. It’s Cosnefroy who is in the box-seat for the race number encased in perspex, as he went first before looking over his shoulder to see if anyone might join him. They quickly open a gap of a minute.

88km to go: More excitement! At the front of the bunch, Quinn Simmons puts the hammer down to lead out Mads Pedersen for the intermediate sprint but it’s yesterday’s stage winner Jasper Philipsen who takes maximum points.

92km to go: “Historically, the Tour has been a force for fairness, non-cheating and following the spirt of cycling,” writes Ruaidhrí Groom. “But is there a chance that the peloton are taking it handy today to hand the stage to Cavendish? He should refuse to win such a stage!”

I can’t remember off the top of my head who it was but sone of our readers suggested yesterday that, given the paucity of talent in Cavendish’s team when it comes to leading out their sprinter, it’s not inconceivable that at some point later in the race, assorted mates of his from various teams might go rogue in order to form a train to help him win one of the later stages, much like happened in Rome at the Giro. On that occasion, Geraint Thomas put in a big shift to help deliver Cav to where he needed to be on the final day.

96km to go: Tell Franky (102km to go) that I am 62, have been cycling since I took the stablisers off and I am still bored,” writes Jem Lee. “Been telling mates how exciting the Tour is and what a spectacle it always is – they will think I have lost the plot watching this. I think even I could keep up with them at this rate.”

There are faint signs of life in the peloton as assorted teams start to get their ducks in a row ahead of the intermediate sprint in approxiamtely eight kilometres.

97km to go: With more than half of the stage to go, nothing continues to happen at quite a sedate pace. Good luck to the jury who have to pick the most combative rider from today’s stage. I’ve seen far more aggressive efforts when the traffic lights outside Stockwell Tube station turn green during a morning rush hour.

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Tour de France 2023 stage 4 LIVE: Winner and results from sprint finish

Jasper Philipsen made it two wins in as many days as he edged out Caleb Ewan on the line after several riders hit the deck on the Circuit de Nogaro in a chaotic finish to a largely serene stage.

Alpecin-Deceuninck’s Philipsen underlined his status as the sprinter to beat in this Tour as he came from well back, being guided by his lead-out man extraordinaire Mathieu van der Poel to glide to the front of the pack to follow up his victory in Bayonne on Monday.

Mark Cavendish, seeking a record-breaking 35th career Tour stage win , came on to the final straight in the top 10 but found himself blocked on the run to the line and could not open up his sprint until it was too late.

Among those to hit the deck inside the final three kilometres was Soudal-QuickStep’s Fabio Jakobsen, who would have hoped to contend for stage victory, but all major general classification contenders appeared to avoid trouble.

Adam Yates, of UAE Team Emirates, retains the overall race lead and the yellow jersey ahead of the first major climbing tests of this year’s Tour in the Pyrenees on Wednesday.

Follow all the latest updates from stage four below:

Tour de France 2023

Jasper Philipsen secures back-to-back stage victories, surviving a chaotic sprint for the line

The Belgian also took the first sprint stage of the Tour, with Mark Cavendish forced to wait for a record 35th victory

Simon Yates retains the overall lead and will wear yellow as the race heads to the slopes of the Pyrenees on Wednesday

‘I knew I couldn’t win’: Mark Cavendish dissescts finish

18:46 , Lawrence Ostlere

A photo finish in Nogaro, and once again Mark Cavendish had the best seat in the house.

Jasper Philipsen and Caleb Ewan reached the line together on the Circuito Paul Armagnac, a motor racing track here in south-west France, after a crash-riddled drag race along the 700m home straight. They lunged, and Philipsen pipped Ewan by centimetres to claim back-to-back stage wins and cement his position as the alpha sprinter at this Tour de France .

Cavendish came in fifth, one spot better than in Bayonne on Monday but still looking at the fight rather than contesting it himself. That historic 35th stage win still eludes him, but there are at least four more chances – if he keeps improving his place at this rate then he should win by Paris.

Full story:

‘I knew I couldn’t win’: Cavendish dissescts finish as Philipsen wins against at Tour

Jasper Philipsen wins again to deny Mark Cavendish Tour de France record

18:14 , Harry Latham-Coyle

Jasper Philipsen underlined his status as the in-form sprinter Mark Cavendish must beat at the Tour de France as he made it two wins in as many days with victory on stage four.

Cavendish, seeking a record-breaking 35th career Tour stage win, could not test himself against the Belgian, a moment’s hesitation leaving him boxed in to finish fifth.

But Philipsen was again dominant, holding off a fast-finishing Caleb Ewan as both riders threw their bikes to the line.

Tour de France - Stage Five brings first proper test of potential yellow jersey contenders

17:30 , Harry Latham-Coyle

We had a bit more general classification action than usual on the first couple of days of this year’s Tour de France, but tomorrow is when the proper stuff really begins. The race heads south into the Pyrenees for the first true climbing tests, no summit finish just yet but the top category Col de Soudet ready to sort the climbing wheat from the chaff midway through a 163km route from Pau to Laruns.

There’s every chance of action, too, with Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard likely to fancy a go at the bonus seconds at the top of the Col de Marie Blanque, which comes 20km from the finish.

Tour de France - General Classification top five after Stage Four

17:21 , Harry Latham-Coyle

1. Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates)

2. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) +0:06

3. Simon Yates (Jayco AlUla) +0:06

4. Victor Lafay (Cofidis) +0:12

5. Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) +0:16

Adam Yates has retained the yellow jersey and is snared for a quick natter about a quiet day for the GC contenders

17:11 , Harry Latham-Coyle

“It was quite a straightforward day at the beginning. Everyone counted it is as a rest day after the last couple of days and then it sped up in the final. A good day.

“Super hard day tomorrow and the day after. Tomorrow with the bonus seconds is going to be quite tricky, but Tadej is looking good. We’ll see what happens.”

And Mark Cavendish also has a chat post-race

17:06 , Harry Latham-Coyle

“I think every team had a plan, but it didn’t come to fruition,” the Astana rider tells ITV. “There was no team in the final with control. My boys got be exactly where we wanted to be but for every team it became chaos in the final, the corners tighter and tighter. It was a mix of riders, I think Luis Leon Sanchez went down in it. I’m nervous there.

“I looked around and the only guy that had a lead-out man left was Mads, he had Stuyven I think, so I jumped on him. He was trying to leave it late and just didn’t go. At one point I thought I should have gone at 350 [metres to go]. I wouldn’t have won, someone would have passed me, but I would have given myself a better shot. I just waited for him to go and gambled for them to go. It’s alright, it’s alright.

“Three sprints to go, I think. We’ll have a look.”

Stage winner Jasper Philipsen reacts to consecutive victories

17:00 , Harry Latham-Coyle

“It was close in the end. I was happy they confirmed quickly! It was a really easy stage, everybody wanted to save their legs for the Pyrenees tomorrow. In the final kilometre, I heard some crashes around me, so I hope everyone is ok and safe.

“In the turns, I lost my team, but in the final straight, I found Mathieu van der Poel again and he did an amazing pull to get me to victory. My legs were cramping and Caleb was coming close...

“It’s a nice finish, but I thought it would be a bit more safe with the wide roads. The turns were tricky. Luckily the tyres were good enough they didn’t slip away. I just hope everyone who crashed is ok.

“I think it is looking good for green so far, but we are only four stages in, we’ve just started. The Tour is a long way - we’ll try to defend it.”

😮 WHAT. WAS. THAT. But it’s 2️⃣ in a row for @JasperPhilipsen 😍 @LeTour stage 4 🏆 #AlpecinDeceuninck #TDF2023 #JasperPhilipsen pic.twitter.com/GMSDvgave3 — Alpecin-Deceuninck Cycling Team (@AlpecinDCK) July 4, 2023

Tour de France Stage Four - Jasper Philipsen takes back-to-back wins

16:56 , Harry Latham-Coyle

That’s a really big win for Jasper Philipsen, backing up yesterday’s more contentious victory with a totally clean finish today. I didn’t think he did anything wrong in Bayonne, but that’ll just clear his mind entirely and establishes him as very much the man to beat in the sprint finishes to come. It obviously helps to have someone of Mathieu van der Poel’s freakish power profile on lead-out duties, but Philipsen has timed his efforts well.

More encouragement for Caleb Ewan and Mark Cavendish, though. And how about Bryan Coquard, impressive in the intermediate sprint earlier and right among the favourites at the end there? Staggeringly, the Frenchman still doesn’t have a World Tour win - it’s already been a great Tour for Cofidis with Victor Lafay’s win but Coquard’s form will really, really please them, too.

Tour de France Stage Four - Result

16:52 , Harry Latham-Coyle

1. Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck)

2. Caleb Ewan (Lotto Dstny)

3. Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain-Victorious)

4. Bryan Coquard (Cofidis)

5. Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazasqtan)

🏆 🇧🇪 @JasperPhilipsen wins in Nogaro! 🏆🇧🇪 @JasperPhilipsen double la mise à Nogaro ! #TDF2023 pic.twitter.com/X06zq1v7N2 — Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 4, 2023

JASPER PHILIPSEN WINS STAGE FOUR OF THE TOUR DE FRANCE

16:50 , Harry Latham-Coyle

A Cofidis rider and one of Alexander Kristoff’s UnoX lead-out men hit the deck in those final few hundred metres - let’s hope everyone emerges from the Circuit Paul Armagnac relatively unscathed.

Luka Mezgec was sprinting in lieu of Dylan Groenewegen for Jayco-AlUla - was the Dutchman caught up in the crash that brought down Fabio Jakobsen?

JASPER PHILIPSEN WINS STAGE FOUR OF THE TOUR DE FRANCE!

16:47 , Harry Latham-Coyle

BACK-TO-BACK STAGE VICTORIES FOR THE BELGIAN! Alpecin-Deceuninck have done it again!

It was mighty tight on the line, Caleb Ewan very nearly beating Philipsen on the lunge for the line. But Philipsen had just enough, again, to get there by half a wheel , with Mathieu van der Poel again instrumental with a superb lead-out.

16:46 , Harry Latham-Coyle

It’s chaotic and crazy - there’s another crash, an Astana rider down, but it’s not Mark Cavendish. The Manx Missile is on Mads Pedersen’s wheel...

There’s Wout van Aert! He’s come from nowhere and is back on Christophe Laporte’s wheel. Into the final run-in, headwind blowing...

1.5km to go

16:45 , Harry Latham-Coyle

Fabio Jakobsen hits the deck! A bad crash for the Quickstep man! He’s out of the running!

Matej Mohoric leads the way, effortless power from the talented Slovene. It’s all strung out - Christophe Laporte appears to be Jumbo-Visma’s Option B with Wout van Aert surely too far back to figure.

16:44 , Harry Latham-Coyle

A big right-hander and there’s the circuit entrance, Christophe Laporte looking around for Van Aert, who is out of position and some way back. The front of the field safely negotiate the turn into the race track grounds.

16:43 , Harry Latham-Coyle

Jumbo-Visma are taking no chances - they bring Jonas Vingegaard right to the front wiith three teammates and will protect the defending champion through to that crucial 3km mark. Wout van Aert isn’t with them - he’ll save his legs for the sprint.

16:42 , Harry Latham-Coyle

Cees Bol has got in front of Mark Cavendish, but the two Astana fast-men take the wrong wa around the roundabout, losing touch with their teammate at the front. Cavendish and Bol smartly latch on to TotalEnergies’ train, Peter Sagan’s teammates helping out the Slovakian’s old rival.

16:41 , Harry Latham-Coyle

Disaster for DSM! A rider goes the wrong way around an island and they’ll have to adjust on the fly, their carefully constructed train thrown off the rails. They slip back to reassess and reassemble.

Soudal QuickStep had been sitting further down the field but are starting to show at the front.

16:39 , Harry Latham-Coyle

De Buyst pulls off, along with a couple of other longer-standing peloton leaders. Fred Wright is ready to take over from Pello Bilbao, the Basque abdicating at the front of the Bahrain Victorious squad. Astana are struggling to align themselves - Cees Bol has just lost touch with Mark Cavendish a little.

16:37 , Harry Latham-Coyle

Jasper de Buyst is doing earlier work than usual for Lotto-Dstny, Caleb Ewan’s regular lead-out man hampered by a wrist injury and thus adjusting to a different role. Everyone just waiting, perhaps wary of going too soon in case there is a split to close after that pinch point at 3.1km to go.

16:35 , Harry Latham-Coyle

Wout van Aert is second wheel in the Jumbo-Visma line - will it be third time lucky for the Belgian today after back-to-back frustration?

16:33 , Harry Latham-Coyle

You can throw a blanket over the peloton at the moment - it’s all compact annd condensed, those setting the tempo starting to ramp things up. The riders come into a village, the dodging of road furniture causing a split or two and stretching things out a little.

16:30 , Harry Latham-Coyle

Bahrain Victorious are also right at the forefront. Phil Bauhaus was very impressive yesterday, but does have a habit of being better when things are slightly more chaotic on the run in. I’m not sure he quite has the pure power to match some of the top sprinters in the field but if things do get messy around that track entry point, he’s the sort of guy who could capitalise on a reduced group.

16:29 , Harry Latham-Coyle

Team dsm-firmenich are ahead of Astana - they’ll be trying to set things up for Aussie Sam Welsford, 13th yesterday but in good sprinting form this year. He didn’t get much help from John Degenkolb in the Stage Three finale, but you’d have thought the German might be employed today.

16:26 , Harry Latham-Coyle

Mark Cavendish looks calm and content, Astana happy to let others do the controlling as they lurk together further down the field, hugging the right of the road. After such an easy day, this will be fast and furious on reasonably fresh legs.

16:19 , Harry Latham-Coyle

And we’re all back together, Cosnefroy and Delaplace back in the pack and slipping away, their little adventure done.

The peloton’s big boys come to the front - 20km to that vital gate and the finishing circuit and the teams just take the opportunity to slow the pace and settle things down.

🏁25 km There is no more breakaway as we enter the final 25 km of the stage. Il n'y a plus d'échappée alors que l'on entre dans les 25 derniers kms de l'étape. #TDF2023 pic.twitter.com/u7hWzsyTqn — Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 4, 2023

16:15 , Harry Latham-Coyle

Neither rider is bothered about that single point - Arkea Samsic’s Anthony Delaplace takes it by default as the front man of the two-man lead group.

He and Benoit Cosnefroy immediately turn back to see how far away the peloton are. 20 seconds is the answer - the pair pull aside one another and prepare to be swept up by the technicolour wave.

16:11 , Harry Latham-Coyle

Neilson Powless is told on the EF Education-EasyPost radio that, unless the peloton naturally brings back the breakaway before the end of the climb, he shouldn’t bother going chasing on his lonesome. With just one point available, that’s entirely understandable - Anthony Delaplace and Benoit Cosnefroy appear set to get their own private duel at the top of the gentle slope on which both they and the peloton are now on.

16:09 , Harry Latham-Coyle

The chopper is up showing an aerial view of the finishing circuit for the first time. That final straight really is a sprint train’s dream, wide, open and even. But that little pinch point with about 3km to go on entry could really pose problems - it’s tight, and the peloton will be very, very tense at the stage.

Mathieu van der Poel and Tom Pidcock, regular cyclocross rivals, gather for a natter towards the rear of the peloton; Van der Poel was also having a long conversation with his favourite frenemy Wout van Aert earlier. It’s been a good day for catching up but we’re approaching the proper stuff now.

16:05 , Harry Latham-Coyle

A mechanical issue for Luis Leon Sanchez, with the veteran Spaniard picking awkwardly at his chain as he waits for assistance from his team. Sanchez is helped out by a member of Cofidis’ staff with his Astana team car slow to arrive. No panic from Sanchez, who really has seen it all before - he’ll have a role to play helping shepherd Mark Cavendish towards the finish.

16:02 , Harry Latham-Coyle

The breeze has just stiffened a touch - nothing to cause any undue bother, and probably nice and cooling on what sounds like a sticky day for the peloton in the humidity. Tim Declercq still in his familiar place as the peloton’s figurehead, bearing the brunt of that breeze, as the Belgian has done for so many kilometres in his career.

16:00 , Harry Latham-Coyle

Plenty of support for Cosnefroy and Delaplace as they sweep through French farmland. About eight kilometres until they’ll start climbing.

15:50 , Harry Latham-Coyle

It appears the teams are indeed worried about that entry to the track that Lawrence mentioned - Israel Premier Tech have already warned their riders on the team riders that positioning will be key.

Caleb Ewan was another sprinter thrust in front of a microphone this morning after finishing third in Bayonne. “My legs felt good, I felt quite comfortable in those last few kilometres. I can take positives from that. The team did a great job getting me into position. I was happy with how the run-in went.

“It looks technical in the book, but I don’t think it will be as technical as it looks. I got through the first few days with a good feeling so hopefully today will be another good day.”

15:46 , Harry Latham-Coyle

20km or so until the only climbing test, that fourth category Cote de Demu molehill. The peloton have just upped the pace in the last few kilometres, whittling down the lead of Benoit Cosnefroy and Anthony Delaplace to 35 seconds or so, which suggests the Normans may soon be brought back into the bunch

Report from Nogaro

15:41 , Lawrence Ostlere

Good afternoon from Circuit Paul Armagnac, where this stage four will finish in an hour and a half or so. The finishing straight here is wide and long – around 700m – and that is going to set up an exciting drag race for the stage win between the big sprinters. One point of note is the entrance to the track from the outside, which is a narrow funnel that will string out the peloton before they take to the circuit. There will be some jostling for position among the sprint teams here. Most people in the press room are expecting Jasper Philipsen to win again after his triumph yesterday in Bayonne. I thought Caleb Ewan looked good yesterday too so I fancy him, but we’ll see...

15:35 , Harry Latham-Coyle

Lidl-Trek’s Mads Pedersen, another potential contender later, fancies this racetrack finish to be slightly more difficult than it first appears, telling GCN before the stage: “It’s a pretty tough finish, a lot of corners and you really have to get it right. It’s slightly uphill, a false flat. It’s going to be a tough one.

“There will be a lot of guys for the sprint because it’s quite an easy day. Wide roads or not, it’s going to be hectic.”

The team buses have been out having some fun on the Circuit Paul Armagnac.

Think your bus exceeded track limits @INEOSGrenadiers #TDF2023 @MercedesAMGF1 pic.twitter.com/1rSGqt5F87 — EF Pro Cycling (@EFprocycling) July 4, 2023

15:30 , Harry Latham-Coyle

The domestiques are holding the gap steady at the minute mark, with Alpecin-Deceuninck among those doing the work at the front as they try and set up Jasper Philipsen for another dash for victory later. The last pure sprinter with back-to-back Tour stage wins was Dylan Groenewegen in 2018.

15:02 , Harry Latham-Coyle

A minute now for Cosnefroy and Delaplace at the front. Neither team really has anyone who’ll have any shot in a sprint later, hence the freedom they’ve been afforded to get up the road.

💪 We have our first real attack of the day! 🇫🇷 @BenoitCosnefroy attacks, followed by 🇫🇷 @anthodelaplace ! 💪 Nous tenons notre première vraie attaque ! 🇫🇷 @BenoitCosnefroy est parti en compagnie d' 🇫🇷 @anthodelaplace ! #TDF2023 pic.twitter.com/aJAWefzX8I — Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 4, 2023

14:59 , Harry Latham-Coyle

It’s a Norman conquest! A pair of riders from northern France clip off the front soon after the sprint, Benoit Cosnefroy turning back to check Arkea Samsic’s Anthony Delaplace is coming with him. The pair’s two hometowns are about 20km apart in Normandy - and why not have a go with a mate on a day like this?

Cosnefroy can be a fun rider to watch - he’s a little bit Alaphilippe-ian at his best, punchy and full of panache. Perhaps he’ll fancy a spot on the podium later with a combativity award.

14:55 , Harry Latham-Coyle

So to confirm that intermediate sprint result:

1. Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) 20 points

2. Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) 17 points

3. Caleb Ewan (Lotto Dstny) 15 points

4. Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) 13 points

5. Jordi Meeus (Bora-Hansgrohe) 11 points

And, in truly spiffing news, we’ve got a breakaway!

14:53 , Harry Latham-Coyle

A slight rise as they go under the one kilometre to go banner, but it’s flat from here. Alpecin still on the front, Biniam Girmay moving up on his lonesome for Intermarche Circus Wanty.

Caleb Ewan will sprint, sitting on Mads Pedersen’s wheel... but Jasper Philipsen takes it on the inside! A late charge from Bryan Coquard but the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider held on, benefitting again from another big turn from Mathieu van der Poel in his leadout train. He’s a useful ally, the Dutchman - 20 intermediate sprint points go Philipsen’s way.

14:50 , Harry Latham-Coyle

The peloton take a big right-hander in the town of Labastide-d’Armagnac, and we’re officially into the second half of today’s stage.

Alpecin-Deceuninck’s leadout train looks well formed at the front, while Bora-Hansgrohe fancy this, too, with Jordi Meeus their sprinter this year.

14:43 , Harry Latham-Coyle

The sprinters’ teams are just starting to take control at the front as we begin the approach to that sprint point. Given the lack of excess energy required to get through the first 90km, you fancy a few fast-men to have a real go at earning some points, testing their legs ahead of the racetrack finish later.

100km to go

14:34 , Harry Latham-Coyle

Fabio Jakobsen is beginning to get his legs warm, moving up to the front of the Soudal-QuickStep line ahead of a potential chase for points at Notre Dame des Cyclistes in 12 kilometres or so.

The chapel really is a fitting place for the intermediate sprint - it, as you can probably gather from the name, includes a cycling museum. Part of its charm is a rather lovely stained glass window, designed by Henry Anglade, a Tour de France stage winner in 1959.

14:20 , Harry Latham-Coyle

The peloton’s average speed today is about five kilometres per hour slower than the race’s most conservative pre-stage estimate - this really is a proper pootle to Nogaro.

🚴‍♂️The average speed so far is 38 km/h after the first 2 hours 🚴‍♂️La vitesse moyenne est de 38 km/h après les deux premières heures. #TDF2023 pic.twitter.com/K9KjSin8Qh — Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 4, 2023

109km to go

14:18 , Harry Latham-Coyle

The lack of a breakaway does mean that there’s a full 20 points on offer to the first man across the line at the intermediate sprint. Mads Pedersen has been very active at those mid-stage sprint points so far in the race - if Wout van Aert doesn’t fancy another tilt at the green jersey, Pedersen probably has the right blend of sprinting speed, climbing legs and hardiness to take the points competition.

112km to go

14:12 , Harry Latham-Coyle

We’ll see what happens as we get nearer to the intermediate sprint, about 25km away, and then the sole categorised climb later in the stage, but if things continue in this manner, finding a suitable candidate for most combative rider might be difficult.

117km to go

14:05 , Harry Latham-Coyle

Those caught napping as that little acceleration threatened to cause a split are working their way back in through the back of the peloton. That attack would have jolted a few out of their slumber.

119km to go

14:01 , Harry Latham-Coyle

That really was out of nowhere. The peloton is all strung out in a line, with the cross tailwind probably not quite strong enough to threaten echelons but keeping everyone on guard, regardless. Simon Yates has to show his face towards the front, the maillot jaune making sure he’s well positioned just in case it does fracture further.

Van Aert eventually relents, and the sprinters’ teams fan out across the front to settle things back down again. But that was all rather jaunty - and rather needed.

120km to go

13:59 , Harry Latham-Coyle

More than 60km covered today now.

Hang on! Wout van Aert fancies some fun! He’s putting the pace on at the front in a power-packed group at the front. It’s the Belgians again... and there’s a split!

Tour de France 2023 stage-by-stage guide

13:56 , Harry Latham-Coyle

Stage-by-stage guide to the 2023 Tour de France route

127km to go

13:54 , Harry Latham-Coyle

Right, back to full focus on the Tour de France, where the peloton are weaving through the villages to the south of Mont-de-Marsan. This is proper French rugby territory, this - today’s route takes in the town of Condom, where talismanic number eight Gregory Alldritt grew up. The riders have just ridden past the Chapelle Notre-Dame-du-Rugby, which includes a monument of rugby memorabilia, alongside more traditional religious iconography.

130km to go

13:44 , Harry Latham-Coyle

She’s done it! Antonia Niedermaier just about manages to hold off Annemiek van Vleuten, taking Stage Five of the Giro Donne and the biggest win of her young career by a handful of seconds.

Van Vleuten’s second place will extend her advantage in the general classification.

🥇What a ride from 🇩🇪 Antonia Niedermaier (Canyon//SRAM Racing). Winning in Ceres! #UCIWWT #GiroDonne23 📸 @gettysport pic.twitter.com/Hz2wk00LKx — UCI_WWT (@UCI_WWT) July 4, 2023

136km to go

13:35 , Harry Latham-Coyle

Drama in Italy - both Van Vleuten and Longo Borghini have hit the deck! The Dutch race leader is soon back on her bike, but the Italian went flying into a mound at the side of a bend and stays down a little longer.

Thankfully, she’s able to get back in the saddle, but that was pretty scary for the Lidl-Trek rider. That might just seal it for Antonia Niedermaier - what a win that would be for the budding Canyon/SRAM star.

No change on the situation at the Tour. The peloton remains together nearly 50km into a soporific stage.

143km to go

13:26 , Harry Latham-Coyle

In Italy, talented young German Antonia Nidermaier has launched a late flyer on Stage Five of the Giro Donne. She’s inside the final ten kilometres but has an advantage of about 30 seconds - but it’s pretty scary double act of Elisa Longo Borghini and Annemiek van Vleuten hot in pursuit.

The Dutchwoman, seeking to extend her overall lead over Longo Borghini, has just attacked.

146km to go

13:19 , Harry Latham-Coyle

Soudal-QuickStep are at the front of the peloton, Tim Declercq, nicknamed “The Tractor”, right at home tugging the bunch along past the hay bales. Onwards we go.

151km to go

13:12 , Harry Latham-Coyle

Philippe Gilbert is out on the motorbike today with the peloton, adjusting to life after retirement. The brilliant Belgian classicist is recalling when he and a group of compatriots embarked on a uninational attack a couple of years ago at Paris-Nice, a move masterminded by Oliver Naesen that ended up enlivening a similarly sleepy stage.

Could the six Americans in the race try something similar this afternoon on Independence Day? The USA’s Neilson Powless is certainly enjoying his Tour so far, describing wearing the polka dots as a “childhood dream”.

“The Tour de France is the biggest bike race in the world and I grew up watching it, with the polka dot jersey always riding at the front of the race,” EF Education-EasyPost’s Powless said after consolidating his competition lead yesterday. “Now I get to wear that jersey. I’ve fulfilled a childhood dream. We knew it was a possibility, yet not an easy one as we needed many things to come together.

The [Pyrenees] is a really big goal for the polka dot jersey but also for the stage win for the team as well. Luckily I’ve had teammate that have been resting up quite well and they are also looking forward to the Pyrenees,” Powless said.

“If I miss one break in the mountains it will be gone, and we are still a long way from reaching Paris. It’s very nice to be in the lead. I’m already in love with this polka-dot jersey. I fell immediately in love with it, indeed. Let’s see how long I can wear it.”

Another stellar day for Neilson in the dots. 🔴⚪️ He leads the KOM classification with 18 points after 3 stages. We finally arrive onto French soil after finishing the stage in Bayonne and looking forward to seeing those French fans bring the energy 📣💥 pic.twitter.com/C6q5K1mfhp — EF Pro Cycling (@EFprocycling) July 3, 2023

157km to go

13:04 , Harry Latham-Coyle

The peloton are already seven minutes behind the slowest schedule issued by the organisers, to illustrate how unhurried proceedings have been so far. Why not fill the time by listening to the dulcet tones of The Independent’s Lawrence Ostlere ? Our man in France, currently making his own sedate way to today’s finish town of Nogaro, took on some readers’ questions before the Tour got started.

163km to go

12:52 , Harry Latham-Coyle

Over at the Giro Donne in Italy, things are rather more exciting - there’s 25km or so to go in another significant day of climbing for the women’s peloton, with race leader Annemiek van Vleuten attacking from a nine-strong front group. Van Vleuten hasn’t managed to get away but there’s still another third category climb to come before a final ramp to the finish. We’ll keep an eye on that one.

In France, Luca Mozzato of Arkea-Samsic, who might have been the only team tempted to have a go on their lonesome today, drops back to the medical car for a bit of strapping.

167km to go

12:46 , Harry Latham-Coyle

Hurrah! An attack! Michael Gogl of Alpecin-Deceuninck puts the power on and finds a follower in the form of Lidl-Trek’s Jasper Stuyven, two teams with amibitions to take the stage perhaps hoping to spark the stage into life.

It doesn’t work. All back in one bunch with few signs of follow-up offensives.

171km to go

12:40 , Harry Latham-Coyle

“Well, we’re going to go east for a long time,” is the great Sean Kelly’s quip on commentary when asked where he thinks today’s stage might be going. A few riders are already nipping off to answer to nature’s call, with no action imminent.

Peter Sagan is having a catch-up with a few old Bora-Hansgrohe friends, while Mark Cavenish and Julian Alaphilippe share an embrace, rainbow bands on their arms denoting their status as former world champions, recalling their times together at Soudal-QuickStep. Easy going.

Jumbo’s Death Star, Pidcock’s dog and Basque pride: Inside the Tour de France’s Grand Depart

12:36 , Harry Latham-Coyle

Jumbo’s Death Star and Pidcock’s dog: Inside the Tour de France’s Grand Depart

176km to go

12:31 , Harry Latham-Coyle

You can completely understand the riders’ reticence to get up the road. The sole categorised climb on the docket today offers only a single point and is late in the stage, and there would appear almost zero chance of a breakaway getting any sort of race-winning rope with the sprinters’ teams likely to be in full control.

And so we wait. Bora-Hansgrohe Emmanuel Buchmann has a banana in his back pocket, ready to refuel a bit later. Simon Yates is having a chat with UAE Team Emirates colleague Matteo Trentin; Mathieu van der Poel has a relaxed chuckle behind them.

179km to go

12:26 , Harry Latham-Coyle

Racing in name only so far. The scenery won’t be quite as spectacular as yesterday’s romp up the coast to Bayonne, but there are a few attractive chateaux on the way to Nogaro, which the peloton might just have time to appreciate if this gentle pace continues.

181km to go

12:22 , Harry Latham-Coyle

Christian Prudhomme waves the flag and we are off and running on Stage Four of the 2023 Tour de France.

And...nobody’s moving. Not even a hint of an attack in the first kilometre of racing. It might be one of those days.

Tour de France - Stage Four

12:21 , Harry Latham-Coyle

Calm and cool as the riders approach the race start proper. Who fancies an early excursion and first crack at forming a breakaway?

12:15 , Harry Latham-Coyle

The peloton have begun the neutralised roll-out from Dax. It’s been a reasonably smooth start incident-wise - neither Enric Mas nor Richard Carapaz were able to start Stage Two after a crash on the opening day as both Movistar and EF Education-EasyPost lost GC men, but there are again 174 riders on the start line today.

12:11 , Harry Latham-Coyle

It is, of course, the fourth of July, which might excite Powless and the other five American riders in the field. I wouldn’t expect any of them to figure particularly prominent come the pointy end of the race, with none of the competing US sextet particularly noted fast finishers, but Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek) is wearing the stars and stripes and has surprised the peloton on a motor-racing tack already this year. ..

Here’s a reminder of the full list of jersey wearers today. Laurent Pichon (Arkea-Samsic) has the coloured numbers after winning Stage Four’s combativity prize.

Yellow: Simon Yates (UAE Team Emirates)

White: Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates)

Green: Victor Lafay (Cofidis)

Polka Dot: Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost)

12:00 , Harry Latham-Coyle

There’s just the one King of the Mountains point of offer today, so I don’t expect Neilson Powless to repeat his move from yesterday and get up the road in hopes of increasing his lead in the chase for the polka dot jersey. It’s safe on his shoulders for another couple of days at least.

It feels like a classic day for some of the smaller French teams to fill the breakaway, but there are slightly fewer candidates for that sort of exposure-driven exercise in futility than usual this year. Both UCI ProTour entrants (TotalEnergies and Lotto-Dstny) are here with hopes of semi-regular stage contention, the latter outfit particularly, while Uno-X and Israel-Premier Tech both arrive with strong units hoping to make the most of their wildcards.

Mark Cavendish speaks to Eurosport/GCN ahead of the Stage Four start

11:49 , Harry Latham-Coyle

“Yeah, it was good,” the Astana sprinter reflects on yesterday. “Of course we want to win - sixth is sixth, but I was happy with my legs, how the boys were. There are a lot more opportunities and we are going to be positive moving forward from that. I’m really happy, actually.

“We’ll try again today. The final straight is better for me, you can feel the pedals underneath you.

“This stuff I can kind of enjoy. Once I’m on the bike, I’m on the bike doing the job. It doesn’t feel like there is a pressure, which takes a weight off my shoulders. I’ll go and do my best and see what happens.”

11:37 , Harry Latham-Coyle

Slightly peculiarly, the Tour de France won’t see another coastline for the remainder of this year’s race - we’re now inland all the way to Paris. Here’s our handy guide to every stage on the 2023 route, with all sorts of climbing tests to come as the peloton take on the Pyrenees, the Massif Central and the Alps.

11:28 , Harry Latham-Coyle

Rider safety will continue to be in the spotlight throughout this Tour, particularly after the tragic loss of Gino Mader at the Tour de Suisse last month . Mader really is much missed - beyond his considerable talents on a bike, the Swiss rider did plenty of work for charity, with particular emphasis on the environment.

Bahrain-Victorious teammate Pello Bilbao has copied Mader’s pledge from the 2021 Vuelta a Espana, donating money for each rider he beats on each and all of the 21 Tour stages to a Basque charity that replants on deforested land.

Fabio Jakobsen hits out at Stage Three finish

11:21 , Harry Latham-Coyle

There’s been a fair bit of overnight criticism for the finish in Bayonne yesterday, with that bend inside the final few hundred metres nearly causing an incident as Wout van Aert launched his sprint to Jasper Philipsen’s inside. A jutting barrier didn’t particularly help matters, either.

Among those to question the safety of the run-in is Fabio Jakobsen, who came home fourth. Jakobsen was fortunate to survive a truly horrifying crash at the Tour de Pologne in 2020 and wonders if enough progress is being made to keep sprinters safe.

“I think we (the riders) and the Tour organisers need to look at the parcours and a finish like this,” the Soudal-QuickStep rider said to CyclingNews. “We all saw in the past what that can do, when a rider goes from one side to the other. If you create a chicane, riders want to go the shortest way, from left to right. For sure it’s not the nicest finish of the Tour.

“We can have long kilometres for finishes, just don’t use a downhill, don’t use a left, right in the last five hundred metres.”

10:55 , Harry Latham-Coyle

Philipsen’s new, largely unwarranted nickname wasn’t the only odd bit of Netflix’s Tour de France: Unchained series, which while entertaining enough, didn’t quite manage to hit the mark, as Lawrence Ostlere explains.

When cycling meets ‘war games’ – new Netflix docuseries revitalises well-worn format

10:48 , Harry Latham-Coyle

We’ve still a little while before the action gets going today - I’d expect things to again be quite gentle, though there may be more of a fight to get in the breakaway after that small two-man group got away comfortably yesterday.

Speaking of yesterday, that was Jasper Philipsen’s second consecutive win in a Tour bunch sprint, the Belgian following up his Champs Elysees triumph from last year. That Alpecin-Deceuninck lead-out train looked in good working order, with Mathieu van der Poel a vital carriage but Soren Kragh Andersen and Ramon Sinkeldam doing some handy freight carrying too. So much for “Jasper the Disaster”...

Jasper ‘disaster’ Philipsen rebuts Netflix nickname with stage three win

10:39 , Harry Latham-Coyle

It’s been a fun opening three days of this year’s Tour, with the Basque Country fans adding plenty of colour, turning out in force as the race weaved up from Bilbao to Bayonne. The one blight, unfortunately, has been the tossing of tacks, with all-too-regular punctures a feature of each of the last two stages.

‘You morons!’ Tour de France riders furious as tacks on road cause chaos

10:34 , Harry Latham-Coyle

After yesterday’s twists and turns towards the sprint finish, the peloton’s fastest riders will hope for a much smoother run-in today at the Circuit Paul Armagnac. The open asphalt might just suit Mark Cavendish, with the Astana rider encouraged by a sixth-placed finish yesterday and continuing his search for that record-breaking 35th stage win.

Lawrence Ostlere spoke to some of Cavendish’s fiercest foes and closest allies to find out what makes the Manx Missile a Tour de France legend.

How Mark Cavendish became a Tour de France legend – according to rivals and teammates

Tour de France - Stage Four Route Map and Profile

10:10 , Harry Latham-Coyle

The sprinters will get another chance to go for glory at the 2023 Tour de France as Tuesday’s stage four offers a flat route and fast finish.

The 182km route begins in Dax, a small town in south-west France, before heading east across Landes to the region of Gers. There is an intermediate sprint in the middle of the stage for those hunting green jersey points, although it is unclear whether anyone in the peloton is dedicated to winning the points classification – the green jersey may well end up on the shoulders of whichever top sprinter makes it to Paris by default rather than design.

There is one categorised climb near the finish, the Cote de Demu (2km at 3.5%) and the latter half of the stage is a little lumpy, but not enought to deter any sprinters from reach the finish.

Stage 4 preview: Route map and profile of 182km from Dax to Nogaro

Tour de France 2023 – stage four

09:35 , Lawrence Ostlere

Follow all the build-up and latest updates from stage four of the Tour de France.

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Results and Highlights From the 2023 Tour de France

Stage-by-stage updates, results, and highlights from this year’s race.

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Read below for stage-by-stage updates, results, and highlights from each stage of the 2023 Tour de France

Stage Winner : Jordi Meeus (Bora-Hansgrohe)

Jordi Meeus (Bora-Hansgrohe) was a surprise winner of Stage 21 of the 2023 Tour de France. Meeus won a sprint finish on the Champs-Élysées over the Tour’s top sprinters, Jasper Philipsen, Dylan Groenewegen, and Mads Pedersen.

Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) enjoyed some champagne on the ride in and was officially crowned winner of the Tour de France for a second year, winning by 7 minutes, 29 seconds over second place Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates)—by the largest margin of victory since 2014.

Final General Classification Standings

• Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma): 82:05:42
• Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates): -7:29
• Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates): -10:56
• Simon Yates (Jayco–AlUla): -12:23
• Carlos Rodríguez (INEOS Grenadiers): -13:17

Stage Winner : Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates)

Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) won Stage 20 of the 2023 Tour de France. Pogačar was able to outsprint Jonas Vingegaard and a few other strong riders at the on the flat drag at the top of the Col du Platzerwasel. The win was Pogačar’s second stage win of the this Tour and his 11th career Tour stage win. Vingegaard was third to Pogačar (Stage 17 winner Felix Gall was second), losing just a few bonus seconds, and maintaining his lead in the yellow jersey competition heading into the mostly ceremonial final Stage 21.

The Winner of the Day

He won’t win the yellow jersey in this year’s Tour de France, but Tadej Pogačar was able to go out with a bang on Saturday. Pogačar won a sprint to the finish on a mountain stage—something he’s done many times in the Tour de France. But this win comes only a few days after Pogačar cracked on Stage 17 and effectively lost the GC to Vingegaard. Pogačar never lost faith, securing his 11th TdF stage win and his fourth white jersey of his still very young career.

The Other Winner of the Day

Of course, we be remiss not to mention Jonas Vingegaard, who did exactly what he needed to do on the penultimate stage to win the 2023 Tour de France—barring a Sunday disaster. Stage 20, in fact, mirrored a lot of what Vingegaard was able to do during the middle portion of the Tour, prior to his big gains on the Stage 16 TT and the Stage 17 mountain stage. He hung right with Pogačar and never let his top rival’s advantage on a given stage swell too much. Vingegaard, of course, is a worthy champion that will enjoy some champagne on the Champs-Élysées.

And One More Winner of the Day

Giulio Ciccone (Trek-Lidl) earned maximum points on the first four categorized climbs of the stage, and with it, claimed the King of the Mountains classification at the 2023 Tour de France (as long as he crosses the finish on the Champs-Élysées on Sunday). Ciccone seized the polka dot jersey on Stage 15 and rode brilliantly to pick up points where he could throughout the Tour’s final week. Ciccone becomes the first rider to win the KOM and not win the GC in the same Tour since Romain Bardet in 2019. Sometimes it’s more fun when we spread the wealth.

Best Moment of the Day

It wasn’t a big surprise to see Thibaut Pinot get in the breakaway on the last mountain stage of his storied Tour de France career. And I guess it’s not much of a big surprise that Pinot launched a solo attack with over 30K to go in the stage. The three-time TdF stage winner put on a show for the home fans in France on Stage 20, and what a sight it was to see his supporters on his solo ride up the Petit Ballon. The dream wasn’t to be though, as the yellow jersey group caught Pinot up the Col du Platzerwasel. Merci, Thibaut. Merci.

Stage Winner : Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious)

It doesn’t get any closer than that! Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious) took a sprint finish to win Stage 19 of the 2023 Tour de France. Mohorič got in a breakaway that included many of the top sprinters and classics riders. That breakaway included the likes of Jasper Philipsen and Mads Pedersen, so Mohorič knew he had to make a move early and that’s exactly what he did, breaking free, along with Stage 18 winner Kasper Asgreen and Ben O’Connor, of that breakaway with 30K to go in the stage.

Despite a good effort by the chasers—including Philpsen, his Alpecin teammate Mathieu van der Poel, and Pederson—to try and bring back the three attackers, they ultimately couldn’t gain ground and seemed to lack full cooperation. But the pure strength of Mohorič, Asgreen, and O’Connor showed through. Down the final stretch, O’Connor, knowing his speed couldn’t match that of Mohorič or Asgreen, made his move, but that was quickly answered by the pair and it was a drag race between Mohorič and Asgreen, who gapped O’Connor and made their dash for the line. It was a photo finish, but Mohorič narrowly edged out Asgreen for the stage win.

Stage Winner : Kasper Asgreen (Soudal Quick-Step)

Kasper Asgreen won Stage 18 of the Tour de France in dramatic fashion. Asgreen got in the original breakaway of the day at kilometer zero. On a stage that seemed destined for a sprint finish out of the peloton, Asgreen and the others in the break managed to fend off the hungry peloton. Asgreen outsprinted Pascal Eenkhoorn (Lotto-Dstny) and Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Pro Cycling Team) for the win at line.

The Biggest Winner of the Day

It’s no secret that it’s been a rough Tour de France for the Soudal Quick-Step team. The team’s top sprinter, Fabio Jakobsen, withdrew from the race after Stage 12. The squad’s top stage hunting threat, Julian Alaphilippe, has struggled to be a factor in any stage. But Asgreen got Soudal Quick-Step off the schneid Thursday, winning in the most unlikely of ways. Asgreen got himself in the early break and held out just long enough to claim the Stage 18 victory—the first grand tour stage win of his career.

The Biggest Loss of the Day

This goes to anyone from the peloton that was hoping to get the stage win today. The flat stage was tailor-made for the pure sprinters, but the peloton struggled to pull back the four-man breakaway. It seemed in the last 10K that a catch was inevitable, but the break stayed strong and held out just long enough. Alpecin-Deceuninck, which has already racked up four stage wins this Tour, is the team that loses the most on the day. Their top sprinter Jasper Philipsen—responsible for those four wins—was fourth on the stage and the top finisher from the peloton. It would have been his stage to win—if the peloton caught the break, that is.

Stage Winner: Felix Gall (AG2R Citroën)

Felix Gall won Stage 17 of the Tour de France, a stage that ended up being the craziest of the 2023 Tour so far. Gall made his move from the breakaway and rode away from a talented group of riders to claim the first grand tour stage win of his career.

Meanwhile, there were plenty of fireworks behind Gall. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) cracked on the stage losing well over five minutes to Jonas Vingegaard in the yellow jersey. Vingeagaard placed fourth on the stage and gained a significant amount of time that will likely carry him to Paris in the maillot jaune.

We’ll get to the stage winner shortly, but first we must acknowledge that Vingegaard won the 2023 Tour de France on Wednesday. First, Pogačar massively cracked on the Col de la Loze, then Vingagaard went on the offensive to deliver the dagger. Vingegaard finished fourth on the stage, 1:52 back of the stage winner Gall, but more importantly, he gained 5:45 on the man that was by his side for the first 15 stages of the Tour, Pogačar. With just four stages remaining, Vingegaard now leads by a whopping 7:35 over Pogačar. Assuming he stays upright, Vingegaard will win his second straight Tour de France on Sunday.

The Other Biggest Winner of the Day

Felix Gall has been one of the Tour’s revelations, and on Wednesday he confirmed that he’ll be a force to be reckoned with for the future in the WorldTour. The 25-year-old, who entered the day in 10th place in the GC, conquered the Col de la Loze and rode to the win on the stage that many have called “the hardest of the Tour.” Gall emerged on the radar after he took the polka dot jersey after Stage 5 of this year’s Tour. But now he earned his signature moment, winning on an absolutely brutal day in France. Gall moves up the eighth in the GC, but more importantly, he’s etched his name into TdF history forever.

After losing over a minute and a half to the yellow jersey on Tuesday, Pogačar effectively lost the 2023 Tour de France on Wednesday. Pogačar didn’t ride a bad individual time trial on Tuesday’s Stage 16, despite losing 1:38 to Vingegaard. But on Wednesday’s Stage 17, Pogačar had the worst day we’ve ever seen the 24-year-old have at the Tour de France. “I’m gone. I’m dead,” Pogačar said to his team over the radio during the stage after he cracked and lost over five minutes to Vingegaard ending what was a terrific GC battle through the first 16 stages of the Tour.

Other Notable Gains from a Wild Stage

Simon Yates (Jayco–AlUla) made the day’s biggest jump within the top 10 of the GC. While he was second on the stage for the second time this Tour (though this time it was to someone other than his twin brother), Yates moved from eighth to fifth. He’s 12:19 behind the yellow jersey, but just 18 seconds behind Carlos Rodriguez for fourth place in the GC. Simon’s twin brother Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates), meanwhile, was able to further solidify his spot on the podium. Adam Yates is in third place with a 1:16 advantage on Rodriguez, who lost time today.

Stage Winner : Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma)

Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) roared to the Stage 16 win in the 2023 Tour de France’s lone individual time trial. Vingegaard put down an incredible TT over 22.4km and he won the stage by 1:38 over second place Tadej Pogačar, who also happens to be his biggest rival in the GC battle. Vingegaard earned his Jumbo-Visma team its first stage win of the Tour, and more importantly, he made the most significant time gains of the Tour so far.

Jonas Vingegaard is the clear winner of the stage and quite likely the entire 2023 Tour de France after Tuesday. Vingegaard, the defending Tour champion, put down the individual time trial of his life on Tuesday—a day after the rest day—providing further evidence of the Magic of the Yellow Jersey. Vingegaard’s hold on the yellow jersey was just 10 seconds entering Stage 16, but it ballooned all the way to 1:48 after the time trial—a margin that will most likely prove decisive in the battle for the maillot jaune. After a lot of back and forth between Vingegaard and Pogačar in the mountains during the first 15 stages, Vingegaard dealt Pogačar the first major blow of this Tour.

Tadej Pogačar had the second best time of the day on Stage 16—a minute and 13 seconds ahead of Wout Van Aert!—but he may have lost the 2023 Tour de France Tuesday. Very little has separated Vingegaard and Pogačar during the first two weeks of the Tour, but Vingegaard tacking 1:38 in addition to his 10-second advantage on the individual time trial may prove to be decisive in the GC battle. It’s, of course, never over until it’s over. Pogačar will have two significant mountain stages before the Tour reaches Paris on Sunday, so the chances are there. But psychologically, it will be tough for Pogačar to regroup after Tuesday’s time trial.

While it’s clear that Jumbo-Visma’s energy at the 2023 Tour de France has been focused on helping Vingegaard win the yellow jersey—something they’ve been very successful at!—it was still surprising to see the Dutch superteam without a stage win through the first two weeks of the Tour. That changed on Tuesday, thanks to the maillot jaune himself. Vingegaard rode an unbelievable TT to Stage 16 to claim the stage win by 1:38. Surely, the GC gains are the most important, but Jumbo-Visma won’t be too upset to finally snag a TdF stage win in 2023.

Stage Winner : Wout Poels (Bahrain Victorious)

Wout Poels (Bahrain Victorious) won Stage 15 of the 2023 Tour de France, capturing the win from the breakaway and beating a talented group to claim the first TdF stage victory of his career.

Poels spent a lot of time in the breakaway on Sunday, but his strength showed throughout the entire day. He stayed patient in the break and joined an attacking group with around 35K to go in the stage. That quartet included Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma), Krists Neilands (Israel-PremierTech), and Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates). In the early parts of the final climb of the day—Mont Blanc—Poels made his move on Van Aert and extended his lead from there.

The Biggest Loser of the Day

Normally we call this section”The Biggest Loss of the Day” because it sounds nicer. But we’ll throw that out of the window for this one. The biggest loser of the day on Sunday was the fan that interfered with the peloton early in Stage 15, causing a massive crash.

It’s got to be the fans! Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) and Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) battled up the Mont Blanc and finished together at the finish of Stage 15. Vingegaard’s yellow jersey advantage remains at 10 seconds as we enter the rest day on Monday before the final week of the Tour de France. The margins couldn’t be closer, and who doesn’t love a tremendously close GC battle in the Tour de France? Fans will enjoy an action-packed—and surely attack-filled—final week of this Tour.

Stage Winner : Carlos Rodriguez (INEOS Grenadiers)

Spain’s Carlos Rodriguez (INEOS Grenadiers) won Stage 14 of the 2023 Tour de France during a wild day in the GC. Rodriguez was dropped on the final climb up the Joux Plane, but he was able to return on the ensuing descent, and gap the two GC leaders and ride to the stage win—the second in as many days for INEOS—and improve his own GC positioning.

We expected to see GC fireworks on Stage 14 and we got exactly that. But at the end of the stage, there ultimately wasn’t a ton of change at least as far as the top two in the Tour were concerned. So therefore, the biggest winner of the day is Carlos Rodriguez and his INEOS Grenadiers team. Rodriguez capitalized on Pogačar and Vingegaard focusing on the overall GC situation. He seized his opportunity on the descent in the run-in to the finish and claimed victory on the day and moved into the podium, now sitting in third place overall in the GC, 4:43 back of the yellow jersey.

As we watched the absolute most thrilling stage of the 2023 Tour de France, Tadej Pogačar had Jonas Vingegaard on the ropes and was ready to launch an attack as they approached the top of the Col de Joux Plane. But that plan was foiled. Pogačar attacked, but was forced to stop his acceleration when the motorbikes got in the way. Eventually, Vingegaard was the one to attack and gain the time bonuses on offer at the top of the climb. You can blame the fans. You can blame the motorbikes. But maybe your blame should go to the race organizers, who should have had barrier set up to remove the chance of any interference with the battling riders.

The Other Biggest Loss of the Day

With 146K to go in Stage 14, a massive crash involved a majority of the peloton, leading to the abandonment of five riders. The race was also neutralized—a good decision by the race officials given that there wasn’t even a breakaway formed at the time of the crash. After losing GC hope Richard Carapaz, EF Education EasyPost’s Esteban Chaves and James Shaw were caught up in the crash and forced to abandon the Tour. Louis Meintjes (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty), Antonio Pedrero (Movistar) and Romain Bardet (Team dsm-firmenich) also abandoned.

And How About One More Winner of the Day

Despite the motorbikes/fans/race organizers spoiling what could have been a perfect day for Pogačar, the Solvenian’s ability to withstand the torrid pace set all day long by the Jumbo-Visma squad is a big win. Ultimately, Pogačar lost one second to Vingegaard and now trails by 10 seconds in the GC standings, but he’s shown that he may hold a slight advantage in form over Vingegaard. It’s going to be a wild last week of racing.

Stage Winner

Poland’s Michal Kwiatkowski (INEOS Grenadiers) won Stage 13 of the 2023 Tour de France, The 33-year-old won the stage atop the “Beyond Category” Grand Colombier after spending all day in the breakaway and then attacking what was left of it on the lower slopes of the final climb. It was clear throughout most of the 137.8km ride from Châtillon-Sur-Chalaronne to the summit of the Grand Colombier that UAE Team Emirates wanted to set-up Slovenia’s Tadej Pogačar for the win. But Kwiatokoski, a super-domestique with an impressive resume of his own, proved too strong to catch, holding-off Belgium’s Maxim Van Gils (Lotto-Soudal) and then Pogačar to take the second Tour de France stage victory of his career.

Biggest Winner of the Day

While they didn’t win the stage, UAE Team Emirates has to be feeling good about its chances of winning its third Tour de France in four years. The team rode an impressive race from start to finish, lined-up at the front of the peloton throughout much of the day and setting a ferocious pace on the final climb to whittle down the yellow jersey group. But that was just an amuse bouche, as Great Britain’s Adam Yates attacked the group about 2 kilometers from the summit, drawing out Vingegaard’s teammate Sepp Kuss, and then Vingegaard and Pogačar themselves. Pogačar saved his own attack for the final ramp to the finish line, and while Vingegaard was able to follow at first he soon succumbed to the Slovenian’s acceleration. Jumbo-Visma clearly thinks the Alps will prove to be the Tour’s most important battlegrounds, but UAE is confident, strong, and looks to have all the firepower they need to win the Tour.

Gutsiest Ride of the Day

Kwiatkowski seems to have been given a free role at INEOS, chasing breakaways despite the fact that the team has two riders, Spain’s Carlos Rodríguez and Great Britain’s Tom Pidcock, in the top-10 overall. The 33-year-old rewarded the team’s faith today, ensuring that no matter what happens with its young GC riders, the team won’t go home from the Tour empty-handed.

Unsung Hero/Head-Scratcher

If you watched earlier seasons of the Movistar documentary “The Least Expected Day” on Netflix, then Spain’s Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates) should be a familiar name to you. (And if you haven’t, what are you waiting for?) The mercurial rider is immensely talented, but he often gave his directors and teammates headaches by making some bone-headed decisions from time to time. After transferring to UAE Team Emirates after the 2021 season, the 29-year-old is now one of Pogačar’s most important domestiques, which he showed with his pace-setting midway up the Grand Colombier. But just for good measure, he also showed why Movistar found him so frustrating: once he pulled off from the yellow jersey group, he caught back on to the back of it, which meant he must have had a little left in the tank that he could have given while he was on the front. His directors will certainly discuss this with him before tomorrow’s stage.

What Were They Thinking?

Intermediate sprints are usually designed for, um, sprinters. But today’s came in the town of Hauteville-Lompnes, midway up a long, gradual climb. We get that these are business decisions (towns pay lots of money to host the Tour’s intermediate sprints), but we can’t help but wonder what the Tour organizers were thinking today. Our best guess is that there were few bidders to host the sprint, leaving ASO with no other choice but to put it on a plateau.

Biggest Loser of the Day

Today was Bastille Day and the French were out in force on the Grand Colombier–so much so that the ascent was closed to anyone hoping to climb it early in the morning. But they had little to cheer for thanks to a lackluster showing from the Tour’s French riders. Quentin Pacher (Groupama-FDJ) did his best, attacking on the lower slopes of the Grand Colombier only to be caught by Kwiatkoski and others a little while later.To make matters worse, Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) and Romain Bardet (DSM-firmenich) were both dropped from the yellow jersey group thanks to the pace set by UAE Team Emirates, leaving David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) as the home nation’s best chance for a high finish in Paris (although that’s a bit of stretch given the fact that he’s ninth overall and almost 7 minutes beyond Vingegaard).

Best North American

Sepp Kuss rode valiantly on behalf of Vingegaard, covering Yates’ attack near the top of the Colombier and then hanging on to finish twelfth on the stage. He’s now back into the Tour’s top-10 overall, but will likely sacrifice himself for the sake of Vingegaard in the Alps, where his team thinks the race will be decided.

Rookie of the Day

Riding his first Tour de France and only his second grand tour, Rodríguez maintained his position on the Tour’s General Classification, ending the day fourth overall, 4:48 behind Vingegaard. INEOS is happy to let the 22-year-old (and Pidcock) follow wheels in the yellow jersey group, giving them the space and the freedom to ride their best Tours possible without any pressure from the team.

There’s still a lot of race left, but Rodríguez looks to be a true podium contender–if he can somehow overcome the nearly two minutes that separate him from Australia’s Jai Hindley (BORA-hansgrohe), who currently sits third overall.

Another Two Bite the Dust

Australian sprinter Caleb Ewan (Lotto Destny) was dropped about 55km from the end of the stage and abandoned the Tour soon after. Ewan barely survived the time cut on Stage 13 and was seen clutching his abdomen after getting dropped. Once thought to be a rider who would dominate Tour field sprints for years, Ewan now hasn’t won a stage at the Tour since 2020. INEOS also lost one its domestiques: Great Britain’s Ben Turner. It’s a good thing Kwiatkowski won a stage today, because without Turner, the team will need him to stay back and support Rodríguez and Pidcock in the Alps.

Stage Winner : Ion Izagirre (Cofidis)

Make it two stage wins for the Cofidis team in the 2023 Tour de France. That’s thanks to a brilliant Stage 12 ride by Ion Izagirre. With 30K to go on the final climb of the day, Izagirre broke free of the breakaway that included the likes of Mathieu van der Poel, riding to the day’s stage win. For Izagirre, it’s his second career stage win—he won

Let’s hear it again for Cofidis! The French team ended a 15-year Tour de France stage win drought on Stage 2 when Victor Lafay rode to the victory. But they weren’t finished there. Izagirre made his move on the Mathieu van der Poel and the rest of the breakaway at the perfect time and rode clear to the win. Cofidis also had Gui Martin positioned nicely in that select breakaway as a backup plan. It was terrific execution on the day during what has been a dream Tour for Cofidis.

Thibaut Pinot was surely going for a stage win on Thursday; it was not to be. But the 33-year-old from Groupama-FDJ, riding in his final Tour de France, made the move into the top ten of GC. He shot up from 15th overall, 9:36 behind the yellow jersey to tenth overall, 6:30 down. It’s likely not the last we’ve seen of Pinot’s stage win attempts in this year’s Tour, but regardless, it’s cool to see the veteran in the top ten overall.

The Heartbreak of the Day—and the Whole Tour (So Far)

It’s been a strong couple weeks for American Matteo Jorgensen. But unfortunately for the Movistar rider, he doesn’t have a stage win to show for it. Few riders—if any—have spent more time in the breakaway during the first 12 stages of the Tour, but the big win has been just out of his grasp. No defeat was more heartbreaking than Sunday’s Stage 9 on the Puy de Dôme. On Stage 12, Jorgensen appeared to be the strongest rider in the group chasing Izagirre, but he left it too late. He launched a number of (ultimately futile) attempts to try and bridge the gap, but it wasn’t to be. The good news for the American is that there are plenty of pro-breakaway stages remaining for him to try and claim his well-deserved glory.

Stage Winner : Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck)

Jasper Philipsen won Stage 11 of the 2023 Tour de France, picking up his fourth stage win so far and continuing to assert his dominance in the sprints. It was a wet and technical finish in Moulins on Tuesday, but that didn’t stop Philipsen, who sprinted past Dylan Groenewegen in the closing meters to claim win No. 4 of the Tour.

Philipsen has proven himself to be the king of the sprints in this year’s Tour de France, capturing his fourth stage victory in the first 11 stages. Additionally, he improved upon his lead in the green jersey points competition. He now leads that by a staggering 145 points. What’s perhaps most impressive about his Stage 11 victory was that he did it without the aid of his top Alpecin-Deceuninck comrade Mathieu van der Poel, who was not spotted up front in the run in to the finish. Philipsen has proven that he can win in multiple different ways and he could be well on his way to a second straight Stage 21 victory in Paris.

Another day, another goose egg in the stage win column for Soudal-QuickStep. The QuickStep team was right at the head of the peloton for much of the ride into the finish in Moulins, working for Fabio Jakobsen, but in the final sprint, Jakobsen was a non-factor sitting on the back of the bunch and ultimately finishing 16th on the day. Jakobsen crashed during the tricky Stage 4 finish, and it appears the sprinter hasn’t fully recovered from those injuries.

The Close Call of the Day

Well, that could have been bad. As the pace ramped up with just over 5K to go in the stage, the Jumbo-Visma train was at the front with Soudal Quick-Step’s Julian Alaphilippe sandwiched in between then. The yellow jersey of Jonas Vingegaard made his way along the edge of the road next to Alaphilippe and—perhaps not noticing him—Alaphilippe drifted towards Vingegaard and the pair nearly collided. Thankfully, nothing happened and Alaphilippe gave the maillot jaune an apologetic tap of the back and the run into the finish continued.

Stage Winner : Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious)

Pello Bilbao won a sprint out of the breakaway to claim the Stage 10 victory after a thrilling of racing.

Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) takes his first Tour de France stage win at 33-years-old. This is the first win by a Spanish rider in 100 stages. He also slides into the top 5 for the overall standings. Bilbao rode an incredibly smart sprint, shielding himself with Zimmermann and O’Connor as long as possible before throwing the hammer down. Bilbao becomes the 5th first-time stage winner of the tour. In his post-ride interview he dedicated his ride to Gino Mäder, who died recently after suffering a terrible crash in the Tour de Suisse.

Krists Neilands (Israel–Premier Tech) rode a perfectly aggressive race, earned the KOM points on Côte de la Chapelle-Marcousse (Cat 3), and just kept building his lead in front of the two chase groups. With 10 km to go, the team radio told him, “It’s the day of your life, the day of your life, let’s go.” But with less than a kilometer to go, he couldn’t hold off the chasers. He put up an incredible battle and came away with 4th place.

Biggest Villain(s) of the Day

The road and the heat. Man-eating speed bumps, loads of gravel, and chipped pavement all made fast descents even more dangerous than usual. And by the end of the race, temperatures soared to 97-degrees and riders had a hard time staying hydrated. Groups of 4-5 stuck together just to survive.

Newest Race Strategy?

Sometimes race leaders wait until the last mile to make their move. And sometimes they do it with 100 miles to go. Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard went on the attack early in the race to split the peloton. That set the pace for an aggressive day. Still with 48 miles to go there was a 14-man breakaway that took off. The pace throughout the stage was bonkers, making it difficult for such riders as Wout van Aert, who always wants to be the one to set an ambitious pace. Riders started dropping like flies with 30 km to go.

The peloton eventually calmed down and came together, led entirely by Jumbo-Visma.

Cutest Couple

Frenemies and cyclocross stars Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert worked together for a bit to attack out of the peloton with 40 km to go. They broke up after 10 km of riding together as Wout dropped Mathieu to ride on. They proved that when conditions are tough, working with anyone is better than no one.

Stage Winner: Mike Woods (Israel-PremierTech)

Canada’s Mike Woods (Israel-PremierTech) won Stage 9 atop the Hors Categorie (“Beyond Category”) Puy de Dôme, one of the most famous climbs in Tour history. The 36-year-old from Toronto paced himself from the base of the climb, catching four riders on his way to his first Tour de France stage victory.

France’s Mathieu Burgaudeau (TotalEnergies) finished second and Slovenia’s Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious) finished third. After an aggressive day of racing from the breakaway, American Neilson Powless held on to finish sixth on the Puy de Dôme, extending his lead in the Tour’s King of the Mountains competition. He’ll wear the polka dot jersey into the first rest day and to start the Tour’s second week

Slovenia’s Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) clawed back 8 more seconds, and now sits just 17 seconds behind Denmarks’ Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) on the Tour’s General Classification. It seems like an eternity since the two-time Tour winner lost over a minute to Vingegaard at the end of Stage 5, and he’s now regained almost all the time he conceded. More importantly, after gapping the Dane on Stage 6 and Stage 9’s summit finishes, he clearly has a mental edge of his biggest rival to win the Tour.

American Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar) attacked the 14-rider breakaway with about 40km to go, heading up the road on his own and slowly extending his lead. Helped by the fact that the four riders chasing him weren’t working well together, it looked for a while as if the 24-year-old from Boise, Idaho was about to take his first Tour de France stage win.

But as the climb steepened, word came that Woods was steadily closing the gap from further down the mountain, and before we knew it, there he was. Jorgenson was clearly running on fumes as first Woods and then France’s Pierre Latour (TotalEnergies) and Slovenia’s Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious) caught the American. He ended the day one spot away from the podium, a painful result considering how close he came to winning–and his two fourth-place finishes in last year’s Tour.

Best Mathlete

American Neilson Powless went on the attack again today, joining the breakaway in an attempt to pad his lead in the Tour’s King of the Mountains competition. Well, Powless needs to send a thank you note to his elementary school math teacher (or at least his director sportif): by winning each of categorized climbs in the middle of the stage, Powless ensured that he had enough points to keep the polka dot jersey–no matter what happened on the Puy de Dôme, which awarded 20 points to the rider who was first to the summit. Powless’ sixth-place finish on the stage earned him another six KOM points, extending his lead even more.

Powless now leads Austria’s Felix Gall (AG2R Citroën) by 18 points and with only 16 points available between Stages 10 and 11, the American is guaranteed to wear the jersey through Thursday. Look for him to continue his polka dot assault: Gall might be given more freedom to fight for the jersey himself after his captain, Australia’s Ben O’Connor, lost more time at the end of Stage 9, meaning his team might be shifting its goals to fight for stage wins–and the King of Mountains prize.

Unsung Hero

American Sepp Kuss and Belgian Wout van Aert get all the prestige as Vingeggard’s top two domestiques (deservedly so), but let’s take a minute to recognize the pace-setting done by Dutchman Wilco Kelderman (Jumbo-Visma). Today he took over after van Aert pulled off and before Kuss took his turn, shedding more riders from the GC group. It’s too bad that Pogačar seems to be profiting from the hard work being done by Vingegaard’s team. Perhaps we won’t see so much of Kelderman, Kuss, van Aert, and co. at the front during the Tour’s second week.

Eeriest Moment

One of the conditions of the agreement that allowed the Tour to revisit the Puy de Dôme was that fans would not be allowed to line the climb’s upper slopes, which meant an eerie almost awkward silence as the riders tackled the final portion of the ascent. In a Tour that’s already seen overzealous fans cause some mayhem, the silence was likely a welcome treat for riders annoyed by fans getting in their faces during the Tour’s most important–and painful–moments.

Worst Luck?

Jorgenson needed a bottle at about 33km to go, but was unable to get one because the cars and motorbikes had been moved out of the gap as his pursuers dangled close behind. On a sweltering day that asked a lot of the riders in terms of hydrating and fueling, those few minutes without a bottle–and without his team car–might have made the difference between winning and losing the stage.

A day after they won Stage 8, today could have been another chance for Lidl-Trek, with Denmark’s Martin Skjelmose and Italy’s Giulio Ciccone contenders to win on the Puy de Dôme. But the team missed the move, a tactical blunder that cost them a chance to take a historic victory. To his credit, Skjelmose tried to bridge up to the move after it escaped, but he was joined by Italy’s Alberto Bettiol (EF Education-EasyPost), who already had Powless up the road and was ordered not to work with the Dane.

And to the idiot gentleman who brought a clothesline to the roadside of the Tour de France: Please leave your laundry at home!

Stage Winner : Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek)

Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) won a Stage 8 sprint, holding off Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) to win his first stage of the 2023 Tour de France. The run-in to the finish saw some punchy climbs, but the top sprinters were all there and Pedersen took the win in the end.

Pedersen claimed his second career Tour de France stage win. It was stage that was designed nicely for his strengths with some climbs near the end and a technical finish. The Lidl-Trek team was perfectly positioned to springboard Pedersen to the finish. Alpecin-Deceuninck had a strong leadout train as well, putting Philipsen in good position to win his fourth stage of the Tour. But Pedersen had the advantage from the start of the sprint and was able to hold off Philipsen in what seemed like an impossibly long final stretch to the line.

Stage 8 saw the withdrawal of Mark Cavendish, one of the all-time great Tour de France riders. Cav suffered a collarbone injury and was forced to abandon , ruining his chance of breaking the all-time TdF stage wins record. It’s an especially hard pill to swallow for Cavendish and cycling fans alike, with the crash coming a day after the Manx Missile nearly captured his record-breaking stage win were it not for a mechanical issue in the closing meters. Although he announced his retirement at the end of the season in May, maybe there’s a chance

Simon Yates (Jayco–AlUla) was the lone GC rider to lose time on Saturday, crashing with about 6K to go in the stage—outside of the 3K safe zone where riders don’t lose any time for crashes.. Simon Yates entered the stage in fourth place in the GC, 3:14 off the yellow jersey and now he sits in sixth place, 4:01 back and now behind Carlos Rodriguez (INEOS Grenadiers) and his twin brother Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates).

The Run-Through-A-Brick-Wall Moment of the Day

How about the reaction from the Lidl-Trek team car after Pedersen’s epic Stage 8 win? Listen for yourself and get pumped up on this Saturday.

This was a stage that had cycling fans screaming at the top of their lungs at the finish. After a long, sleepy, and mostly flat stage, all the action was crammed into the last 3K. Why all the screaming? Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan) came this close to winning the stage and breaking the TdF stage wins record, only to be passed by the seemingly unstoppable Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) with 500 meters to go.

Philipsen was once again positioned perfectly for the win by his leadout ace during this year’s Tour, Mathieu van der Poel, in what he referred to as the team’s “dream Tour” during post race interviews. Cavendish, however, made it very clear that he is more than capable of winning a stage this year, with a second place finish being his best one yet. If Cav keeps getting stronger as he seems to be, there will very likely be more screaming fans tomorrow.

Biggest Winners of the Day

The Alpecin lead out train offered another masterclass in how to win stages in this year’s Tour, with Mathieu van der Poel delivering Jasper Philipsen to another stage win. The other big winner for us during this stage was the one and only Mark Cavendish, who almost made it to the line first before Philipsen overtook him at the last moment. The fact that the Manx Missile’s finish position has come closer and closer to number one with every sprint stage, we think he has the power and form necessary to win number 35 this year. For today, Philipsen keeps the green jersey for another day.

Biggest Surprise of the Day

On a stage that often resembled a recovery ride until the last 10km as the riders gave their legs a bit of a break after two stages in the Pyrenees, the commentary surrounding Wout van Aert and whether he’s on the wrong team was loud and impossible to miss. Christian Vande Velde openly questioned on air what Wout would be able to do if he were on a team he could lead during the Tour instead of having to work for Jonas Vingegaard. With persistent media speculations about tension between Van Aert and Vingegaard on the Jumbo-Visma squad, the riders have routinely denied that anything is amiss, but the questions about whether that’s true have never been this blunt.

Gutsiest—Erm, or Maybe Stupidest—Ride of the Day

With approximately 20K to go, French riders Pierre Latour, the white jersey winner of 2018, and Nans Peters, a 2020 Tour stage winner, took off, working together in an attack that it seemed impossible to hold to the line. This didn’t seem to phase these two, as they spiced up an otherwise sleepy stage, putting up to 40 seconds on the peloton. Eventually Latour went solo in an all out effort, putting the sprinters on notice before blowing up with 3.5K to go.

Strongest American Rider of the Day - Nielsen Powless

Polka Dot Powless kept the King of the Mountains jersey for another day after recapturing it yesterday. The California native has become the de facto team leader for EF Education-EasyPost after Richard Carapaz crashed during Stage 1 and was forced by his injuries to leave the race. Powless went after the KOM competition right out of the gate during this year’s Tour, and so far he’s worn polka dots six out of the seven stages.

Tadej Pogačar won Stage 6 of the 2023 Tour de France, and Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) took the yellow leader's jersey during an busy day in the Pyranees. While Vingegaard took over the GC lead, Pogačar made the biggest statement of the day, passing and gapping Vingegaard on the final climb of the day. Pogačar won the stage and narrowed the gap to Vingegaard.

Tadej Pogačar, who made us think that maybe he was playing with us all day. He saved it all for the last 2 km. taking even Jonas Vingegaard by surprise. He took back much of his deficit on the yellow jersey today. He put himself back in the race.

With 2.5K to go on the climb to Cauterets up the Plateau du Cambasque, Tadej Pogačar attacked Vingegaard with a huge surge. Today’s final stretch hints that this whole tour might come down to seconds. Pogačar ended up 24 seconds ahead of Vingegaard on the stage.

Wout van Aert can lead a race forever. The super-domestique did so much work to set the pace for this entire stage. The pacemaking was literally perfect, many times looking like the only one working. With 4.4 km. to go he finally pulled over and left it up to Vingegaard looking like he had given it every ounce of his being.

Strongest American Rider(s) of the Day

Neilson Powless (EF Education–EasyPost) had a very strong day earning the overall KOM on the climbs.

And Sepp Kuss has been wildly consistent through the tour so far. Today, as usual, he dropped every one of his competitors to bring Jonas Vingegaard up the climbs. He’s easily one of the most valuable riders for Vingegaard.

Stage Winner : Jai Hindley (Bora–Hansgrohe)

Jai Hindley won Stage 5 of the 2023 Tour de France, claiming the yellow leader’s jersey along with it. It was an eventful first day in the Pyrenees as the top climbers in the world shined and shook up the GC in a big way. Giulio Ciccone (Lidl–Trek) was second in the stage and Felix Gall (AG2R Citroën) came across third on the day. Emanuel Buchmann (Bora–Hansgrohe) was fourth and Jonas Vingegaard was fifth on the stage. Ciccone, Gall, and Buchmann were all 32 seconds behind Hindley and Vingegaard was 34 seconds behind the stage winner.

Jai Hindley put himself in the right breakaway and made all the correct moves on Stage 5 to rocket himself to the stage victory and the yellow jersey. It was an absolutely brilliant day in the saddle for the Australian, who said after the race that he was merely “improvising.” Hindley is no stranger to wearing the leader’s jersey at a Grand Tour; he won the 2022 Giro d’Italia. This may not necessarily be just one quick day in yellow tomorrow for Hindley. More on that in a bit.

When Jonas Vingegaard attacked off the wheels of his teammate Sepp Kuss on the Col de Marie Blanque with 19K to go in the stage, it was our first opportunity of the Tour to see if co-favorite Tadej Pogačar had the legs to match him. He did not. Vingegaard blazed ahead up the climb and maintained that advantage even on the descent of the Col de Marie Blanque. All told, Vingegaard finished 1:04 ahead of Pogačar on the stage, and is 53 seconds up on him in the GC.

Pogačar is in a tough position after Stage 5, now 53 seconds behind the reigning Tour champion Vingegaard. Pogačar, who won the Tour de France in 2020 and 2021, has a lot of work to do over the next few weeks to attempt a comeback on Vingegaard. Pogačar suffered a fractured wrist in April and lost some time on the bike while he recovered. Is that lost fitness the difference maker here?

Could it be the 47 seconds that Vingegaard surrendered to Hindley? Hindley is, of course, a former Grand Tour winner and not a rider to be taken lightly. It may have been a bit surprising that the Bora–Hansgrohe rider was allowed to get in the breakaway that eventually launched Hindley to the win. But that was the calculation that the Jumbo-Visma and UAE Team Emirates squads made. It’s possible that Thursday’s stage—once again in the Pyranees— is Hindley’s lone day in the yellow jersey. It’s also possible that Hindley is in yellow for much longer than that. Never doubt the power of the maillot jaune.

The Moment of the Day

The official Tour de France YouTube has made some great highlight videos. But they’ve also been great about showing fans the terrific raw—erm, unedited—emotion that the Tour brings out. Take the above video of Hindley after the stage as evidence.

Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) claimed his second stage win of the 2023 Tour de France, sprinting to the Stage 4 victory on Tuesday. It was a crash-marred last 5K after a very slow day in the peloton. Philipsen’s Alpecin-Deceuninck team once again delivered a great leadout and Philipsen had the legs at the end to hold off a hard-charging Caleb Ewan (Lotto-Dstny). Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious) was third across the line to make for the same three men on the podium as Stage 3 (just flip Ewan and Bauhaus).

Alpecin-Deceuninck continued to assert its dominance, claiming the stage win for a second straight day. But Stage 4 was a lot different than Stage 3, despite both days being relatively flat stages. The Stage 4 finish on the motorsport track, Circuit Paul Armagnac created plenty of chaos, which saw three different crashes in the final 2K. But the Alpecin team once again held strong and Mathieu van der Poel emerged at just the right moment to deliver Philipsen to his second win in as many days.

Jasper Philipsen won Stage 3 of the Tour de France, capturing a sprint victory over Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious) and Caleb Ewan (Lotto-Dstny). Philipsen received a terrific leadout from his Alpecin-Deceuninck teammate Mathieu van der Poel and was delivered to the finish in great position to use his power to take the stage win.

It was a bit of a controversial finish, as race organizers took a little while after the finish before declaring Philipsen as the stage winner officially. There was some question about whether Philipsen drifted into Wout Van Aert’s line in the closing meters of the finish. Ultimately, there would be no relegation and Philipsen was given the stage victory.

Winner of the Day

It’s Alpecin-Deceuninck. Who is going to be able to beat this team when Mathieu freakin’ van der Poel is providing a picture perfect leadout? Meanwhile, Philipsen’s speed these days seems to be the best in the world. Between Philipsen and MVDP, we likely haven’t seen the last stage win for Alpecin in this Tour.

Biggest Loss of the Day

This goes to Wout Van Aert and Jumbo-Visma for a second straight day . After a miscalculation in the sprint finish on Sunday’s Stage 2, Van Aert missed out on another good opportunity to grab a stage win on Monday’s Stage 3. This sprint, however, was a little different—and maybe he has a complaint for the ASO. Neck and neck with Philipsen in the closing meters, Van Aert looked to be running out of room between Philipsen and the barriers. Van Aert let up—possibly to avoid a crash?—and Philipsen rode to the stage win (though there was a fairly lengthy delay before race officials declared Philipsen the winner). Did Philipsen impede Van Aert? Watch for yourself and you be the judge.

Touching Moment of the Day

This came from the Arkéa–Samsic team car as the lone holdout of the breakaway, Laurent Pichon, rode solo through the streets of Spain. Over the radio the team told Pichon: “I’m so proud of you. You are a warrior. You give us so much great emotion. Enjoy! Enjoy! Enjoy! I love you very much.”

Pinchon, for his efforts on the day, was given the combativity award—and rightfully so. How can you not get emotional about the Tour de France?

Celebration(s) of the Day

Nothing against Philipsen’s fist pump as he crossed the finish line of Stage 3, but let’s give it up for Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost). The American, once again, spent the majority of the day in the breakaway to gain precious King of the Mountains points to retain his polka dot jersey. He summiting all four climbs first and gave the fans a nice waving of his arms at the top—a rare mid-race celebration that we can all appreciate! Powless claimed the maximum seven KOM points on offer on Stage 3 and extended his lead in the competition as we head into another sprint stage on Tuesday.

Stage Winner : Victor Lafay (Cofidis)

Victor Lafay won Stage 2 of the 2023 Tour de France. The Cofidis rider broke free of the lead group of riders that included many of the race favorites with 1K to go in the Tour’s longest stage (208.9K). It was a surprise victory for Lafay, who managed to hold off a hard-charging Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) and Tadej Pogačar in the waning meters to capture his first-career stage win.

Victor Lafay and the whole Cofidis team are easily the biggest winners of the day. It’s been 15 years since the French team has won a stage in the Tour de France, and on Sunday, Lafay came through in thrilling fashion to get Cofidis the win on the day. With Van Aert in the reduced peloton coming to the finish, Lafay knew his only shot of taking the stage would be by launching an early attack. He went with 1K to go, and thanks to a bit of misjudgement on Van Aert’s part and some pure guts on Lafay’s part, he won the sprint and earned the first stage win for Cofidis since Sylvain Chavanel in 2008.

It’s unquestionably Wout Van Aert and the Jumbo-Visma squad for missing a surefire opportunity at a stage win. Jumbo had both the numbers and the speed in the reduced peloton for the bunch sprint at the end. But the tactics just weren’t there for the Dutch superteam. Van Aert made his emotions known just as he crossed the finish line, slamming his handlebars, knowing full well he left it too late to take his tenth career TdF stage win.

Another Big Day for the American

Neilson Powless will keep the polka dot jersey for another day—and it’s been well-earned. The American riding for EF Education-EasyPost got himself in the break and banked key King of the Mountains points. Powless was first over four climbs that offered points and he now holds a four-point lead over Tadej Pogačar in the KOM competition. It looked for a time that Powless might be able to hold out for the stage win—and perhaps a shot at the yellow jersey. But a motivated peloton brought him back on the last major climb of the day.

Carapaz Abandons

After a Stage 1 crash involving Enric Mas (Movistar) and Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) forced Mas to abandon the 2023 Tour de France, Carapaz was able to limp to the finish of the opening stage. But unfortunately for the Ecuadorian national champion, he wouldn’t start Sunday’s second stage, suffering a fractured kneecap. It’s never fun to see two of the peloton’s top stars leave the Tour after just one stage.

Stage Winner : Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates)

Adam Yates (UAE team Emirates) claimed Stage 1 of the 2023 Tour de France, winning an unusually difficult opening stage and claiming the race’s first yellow jersey. Adam Yates outlasted his twin brother, Simon Yates (Jayco–AlUla), as the two riders broke free after the final climb of the day.

It’s gotta be the Yates family, right? There simply cannot be a better feeling for Adam and Simon’s loved ones than watching the two twin brothers battle it out for not only a stage win in the Tour de France, but also the maillot jaune.

Who Was the Other Biggest Winner of the Day?

We’ve never seen a Grand Départ this tough before—and we’re better for it. An opening stage prologue or short time trial always felt like a bit of a tease. It was always the Tour, but was it really the Tour?

Instead this year, we didn’t have to wait too long for the fireworks. There was a nervousness in the peloton that is normally reserved for later in the race. With the prize of a guaranteed yellow jersey for the stage winner at the end, anything could happen. The punchy climbs of the Basque region of Spain—particularly the last three—provided some terrific Stage 1 excitement.

The downside of an action-packed first stage is the inevitability of a crash and that’s just what we saw on the descent of the Côte de Vivero. Enric Mas (Movistar Team) and Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) went down with around 23K to go in the stage. Mas entered the Tour as a top podium threat and was ultimately forced to abandon, while Carapaz managed to get back on his bike and finish the stage, but lost enough time to take him out of podium contention.

Top American of the Day

Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost) will become the first American to wear the polka dot jersey since Nate Brown in 2017. Powless, who very nearly claimed the yellow jersey at the Tour last year, was first across the top of the second category Côte de Vivero. Powless figures to be a major player in the mountains classification—and Saturday marks a strong start for him.

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Preview: Your stage-by-stage guide to the 2023 Tour de France route

Tricky early stages and GC tests make this a difficult Tour de France.

We haven’t seen a Tour de France route quite like this one before. Not only because the host of the Grand Départ, the beautiful Basque city of Bilbao, has never hosted a Tour stage before, but because the overall direction and balance of the stages is unique in modern Tours de France.

It’s a difficult Tour, right from the start. The first week features more climbing than usual, much of it on the short, punchy ascents we know from races like the Tour of the Basque Country and Klasikoa San Sebastian. It’s a climber’s Tour, too, with only one 22 km time trial, which itself contains a difficult Category 2 climb. The 2023 Tour de France never goes more than two days without some sort of potential GC shakeup. That is no accident.

The route starts in northern Spain and heads in a mostly northeasterly direction from there, doubling back on itself multiple times and, quite unusually, camping for long periods in two different cities. We spend four days within shouting distance of Clermont-Ferrand in the middle of the country, and then sit again in the heart of the Alps for three days (four if you include the rest day in the middle) near the end of the race.

The hardest stage, on paper, is probably stage 17 , which finishes on the new Tour favorite Col de la Loze, or 14 , which has endless climbing. Stages 15 , and 6 are in the same bracket. Monsters, each of them.

The Alps win out over the Pyrenees this year, at least in terms of total difficulty. But the race touches all five of France’s mountain ranges, and the days in the Massif Central, Vosges, and the Jura shouldn’t be ignored. In the Massif Central, a finish atop the volcano at Puy de Dôme contains some of the steepest kilometers of the whole race. In the Vosges, the final stage to Le Markstein has all the hallmarks of a GC trap. Its placement just a day before Paris could make it the most thrilling stage of the race.

Looking for Tour de France team rosters? We’re updating the eight-man lineups as they’re announced.

Jump to stage details: • Stage 1: July 1 – Bilbao to Bilbao – 182 km • Stage 2: July 2 – Vitoria-Gasteiz to Saint-Sébastien – 209 km • Stage 3: July 3 – Amborebieta-Etxano to Bayonne – 185 km • Stage 4: July 4 – Dax to Nogaro – 182 km • Stage 5: July 5 – Pau to Laruns – 165 km • Stage 6: July 6 – Tarbes to Cauterets-Cambasque – 145 km • Stage 7: July 7 – Mont-De-Marsan to Bordeaux – 170 km • Stage 8: July 8 – Libourne to Limoges – 201 km • Stage 9: July 9 – Saint-Léonard-De-Noblat to Puy de Dôme – 184 km • July 10 – Rest Day • Stage 10: July 11 – Vulcania to Issoire – 167 km • Stage 11: July 12 – Clermont-Ferrand to Moulins – 180 km • Stage 12: July 13 – Roanne to Belleville-en-Beaujolais – 169km • Stage 13: July 14 – Châtillon-Sur-Chalaronne to Grand Colombier – 138 km • Stage 14: July 15 – Annemasse to Morzine Les Portes Du Soleil – 152 km • Stage 15: July 16 – Les Gets to Saint-Gervais Mont Blanc – 180 km • July 17 – Rest Day • Stage 16: July 18 – Passy to Combloux – 22 km • Stage 17: July 19 – Saint-Gervais Mont Blanc to Courchevel – 166 km • Stage 18: July 20 – Moûtiers to Bourg-En-Bresse – 186 km • Stage 19: July 21 – Moirans-en-Montagne to Poligny – 173 km • Stage 20: July 22 – Belfort to Le Markstein Fellering – 133 km • Stage 21: July 23 – Saint-Quentin-En-Yvelines to Champs-Élysées – 115 km

This route is … evenly loaded?

There’s been a fair amount of chatter about this Tour route being frontloaded. That isn’t wrong when you put the route in context of previous years, but it isn’t exactly right when you compare the first week to the second half of the race.

To aid in visualizing the route as a whole, we (subjectively) ranked every stage’s potential GC jeopardy on a scale of 1-10. One is a sprint stage. Ten is a crazy high mountain day with an uphill finish (there are no 10s in this year’s Tour). Hilly stages like those found in Bilbao in the first week all sit between four and six. They’re hard, and could see potential time gains, but they’re not high-mountain hard.

The result? What appears to be a very balanced route. Like anybody trying to build narrative, the Tour de France clearly doesn’t want to slow things down for too many days in a row. Thierry Gouvenou, who designs the Tour’s routes, peppered interesting and/or difficult stages throughout the race, all the way from the short, punchy climbs of stage 1 to the final climbing day to Le Markstein.

The race will feature a total of 30 climbs categorized 2 or higher. That’s seven more than last year, three more than 2021. They are spread quite evenly, as the above chart suggests. One in the Basque country, six in the Pyrenees, four in the Massif Central, one in the Jura, 13 in the Alps, and five in the Vosges.

GC favorites will have to be on their game from stage 1 to stage 20. That’s somewhat unusual. But it should make for a fantastic race.

Let’s take a look at the profiles, key moments, and defining features of each stage of the 2023 Tour de France.

If you prefer to listen, this week’s podcast is a detailed breakdown of all 21 stages.

Stage 1: Bilbao to Bilbao – 182 km

Date: Saturday July 1, 2023 Stage type: Hilly Potential winners: Puncheurs or possibly a GC man. Julian Alaphilippe, Tadej Pogačar, Jonas Vingegaard. Or maybe even Wout van Aert or Mathieu van der Poel. What to watch for: Jonas Vingegaard won a similar stage of the Dauphiné in June. He seems to have been working on his punch. Will he take advantage?  Stage 1 summary: No easing into this Tour de France. The very first stage takes in 3,300 meters (10,000 feet) of climbing in a large loop starting and finishing in Bilbao, in the heart of the cycling-mad Basque region. The final climb, the last in a series of four in the last 60 km, is the Côte de Pike, a nasty kicker that averages 10% over 2 km. To further increase the importance of that climb, there are bonus seconds (8-5-2) available for the first three riders over the top. 

It’s mean. It will split things up. The first yellow jersey (and all the rest of the jerseys) is on the line. 

It’s also taking place in one of cycling’s traditional heartlands, and specifically a region that has produced climbers by the bucketload. From 1994 to 2013, the sight of the distinctive orange jerseys of the team built around the Euskadi Cycling Foundation flocking to the front meant the real climbing was about to start. Names like Unai Etxeberria and Iban Mayo, and later Mikel Landa and the Izaguirre brothers, all performed their acts of antigravity while racing in that bright orange. The team is now rebuilding, currently with ProTeam status, with the goal of returning to the Tour de France.

Stage 2: Vitoria-Gasteiz to Saint-Sébastien – 209 km

Date: Sunday July 2, 2023 Stage type: Hilly Potential winners:  Bauke Mollema loves the Jaizkibel climb. So do riders like Mathieu van der Poel, Matej Mohoric, and EF’s Neilson Powless. What to watch for: San Sebastian often comes down to a small group sprint and that’s the likely outcome of this stage, too. Stage 2 summary: This stage finishes 500 meters lower than it starts, but don’t let that fool you.

The decisive climb from Donostia San Sebastian Klasikoa, a post-Tour one-day race in the region, is placed just 20 km from the finish of stage 2. The slopes of the Jaizkibel, 8 km long and averaging 5.1%, with a final 4 km at 7%, have decided most editions of that race.

The descent down the backside and into the finish could prove just as decisive in stage 2 of the Tour de France.

Stage 3: Amorebieta-Etxano to Bayonne – 185 km

Date: Monday July 3, 2023 Stage type: Flat Potential winners: Mark Cavendish, Fabio Jakobsen, Jasper Philipsen What to watch for: Potential echelons along the coast.  Stage summary: A couple early and relatively easy climbs shouldn’t spoil the day for sprinters, but the run-in to Bayonne isn’t exactly straightforward so a break may think it stands a small chance of pulling one over on the peloton. They’ll certainly try. Plus much of the route runs along the coast, making crosswinds and echelons a possibility. 

Still, a sprint is most likely for the stage that takes the race back to France. 

Stage 4: Dax to Nogaro – 182 km

Date: Tuesday July 4, 2023 Stage type: Flat Potential winners: Biniam Girmay, Jasper Philipsen, Dylan Groenewegen, Mads Pedersen, Caleb Ewan What to watch for: Auto racing circuits are always a bit chaotic, and usually harder than they look. This one is no different. Stage summary: This is the second in a pair of flat stages intended to give the peloton a small breather before the Pyrenees, very much designed for a sprint finish. It finishes on the Nogaro motor racing circuit, including an 800 meter straight into the finish line. 

That might seem to have bunch sprint written all over it, and that is a pretty safe bet. But the top sprinters, and more specifically their teams, may have a difficult time.

The last time Nogaro was used in a pro race was the 2017 Route du Sud when the stage was won by EF’s Tom Scully, who is not a pure sprinter. He was part of a 12-rider breakaway that was caught, but not passed, just as it crossed the finish line. The top sprinters on that stage were Elia Viviani and Bryan Coquard, in seventh and eighth respectively.

Motor racing tracks are full of corners that make it difficult to mount a real chase. If the sprint teams leave it too late, they could get caught out again.

Stage 5: Pau to Laruns – 165 km

Date: Wednesday July 5, 2023 Stage type: High Mountains – Pyrenees Potential winners: Pello Bilbao, Giulio Ciccone What to watch for: The fight for the break will be fierce.  Stage summary: The first true mountain day, though without a mountain-top finish. 

Stage 5 tackles the hors-categorie Col du Soudet at its halfway mark, climbing 15.1 km at 7%. It’s a climb that’s unlikely to see GC fireworks but the day’s breakaway, which could be large given the high likelihood of survival for any breakaway group, will seek to shed some of its members. 

The category 3 Col d’Ichère punctuates the second half of the stage before the final test: the category 1 Col de Marie Blanque, 9.2 km at 7.6%. That sounds hard, right? It’s even harder. The last 4.5 km average over 10%. 

The distance from the bottom of the final descent to the finish line is a bit too far for any real GC moves to stick, but expect a high pace to be set on the slopes of the Marie Blanque. It’s likely some B-level GC contenders lose contact and struggle to come back. 

Stage 6: Tarbes to Cauterets-Cambasque – 145 km

Date: Thursday July 6, 2023 Stage type: High Mountains – Pyrenees Potential winners: Tadej Pogačar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mattias Skjelmose, Adam Yates What to watch for:  Which GC team takes control on the Tourmalet, as that will indicate confidence Stage summary: Finally, the first big uphill finish of the 2023 Tour de France.

A short, sharp stage to end a two-day stint in the Pyrenees, this stage first tackles the Col d’Aspin, 12 km at 6.6%, then the fearsome Col du Tourmalet, 17.2 km at 7.3%. After a long descent off the Tourmalet, the race turns back to the south and climbs up to the finish in Cauterets. 

The 15 km finish climb averages only 5.3% but has a 2 km section at kilometers 13 and 14 that average about 10%. If anybody goes, it will be here. 

Stage 7: Mont-De-Marsan to Bordeaux – 170 km

Date: Friday July 7, 2023 Stage type: Flat  Potential winners: All the sprinters What to watch for: An attempt to distance the pure sprinters on the only category 4 climb Stage summary: Flat. Flat flat. Flatty flat flat. 

The goal of this stage is simple: Get out of the Pyrenees, get up to Bordeaux so we can all have a nice glass of wine and celebrate … Mark Cavendish’s record-breaking stage win ? It only seems right. 

Stage 8: Libourne to Limoges – 201 km

Date: July 8, 2023 Stage type: Mostly flat, punchy uphill finish. Potential winners: Mads Pedersen, Wout van Aert, or Fred Wright from a break What to watch for: Pure sprinters will console themselves by going for the green jersey points 80 km in.  Stage summary: The key route feature of stage 8 is the 2.8 km, 4.8% climb up to the finish line. 

Limoges is traditionally a sprint finish town. The last time the race finished here, Bryan Coquard came as close as he ever has to a Tour stage win, losing a photo finish to one Marcel Kittel. This year, the pure sprinters will have a difficult time contesting. 

First, there are the three categorized climbs (a cat 3 then two cat 4s) in the last 70 km. But that shouldn’t break things up too much. 

This is a classic peak-era Peter Sagan finish, or more recently a Wout van Aert finish. It’s the type of stage that could be incredibly important for the green jersey competition. The pure sprinters will want to try to nab a few points, even if they can’t beat Van Aert. Other more well-rounded fast men like Mads Pedersen will be licking their lips. 

Stage 9: Saint-Léonard-De-Noblat to Puy de Dôme – 184 km

Date: July 9, 2023 Stage type: Mountain Potential winners:  Much depends on the breakway, let’s say Rigoberto Uran for old time’s sake What to watch for: Superb volcano-related puns in Escape Collective headlines. Stage summary: The last 4 km of this stage average over 11%. Before that, the climb to Puy de Dôme sits at a measly 6-7%. 

This is a hard, potentially explosive stage, with one of the most difficult finishes of the entire Tour de France. Puy de Dôme is an ancient volcano and those final 4 km circle the top like some kind of real life Zwift volcano hell route (minus any actual lava). 

The climb was the home of one of the Tour’s iconic duels. Raymond Poulidor (grandfather of Mathieu van der Poel) and Jacques Anquetil battled up it on stage 20 of the 1964 Tour de France, a race that had seen the two crack, recover, swap the lead, and then finally battle shoulder to shoulder on Puy de Dôme. Poulidor won the day but it wasn’t enough to overhaul Anquetil in the overall. It was probably the closest the “eternal second” came to winning the Tour. 

The stage as a whole is not as difficult as what is coming in the Alps. A string of category 3 and 4 climbs will do little to break up the bunch. It should play out somewhat similar to last year’s Planche des Belles Filles stage, which was similarly flat in the leadup to the final climb. After a few hours of cruising, Puy de Dôme will erupt into a half-hour power test. 

July 10 – Rest day

Stage 10: Vulcania to Issoire – 167 km

Date: July 11, 2023 Stage type: Hilly for the breakaway artists. Potential winners: Toms Skujiņš What to watch for: Riders looking to chase the polka dot jersey will want to be in this break Stage summary: Rarely has a stage been so perfectly crafted for a breakaway as this one. 

The peloton will spin out its rest day legs as a breakaway group fights it out up front, racing across five categorized climbs before a mostly downhill run-in to Issoire. That front group will be full of hitters thanks to the string of early climbs that make the breakway selection particularly difficult. 

Stage 11: Clermont-Ferrand to Moulins – 180 km

Date: July 12, 2023 Stage type: Flat Potential winners: Biniam Girmay, Jasper Philipsen What to watch for: A mis-timed chase Stage summary: Clermont-Ferrand is the home of Michelin tires and that is by far the most interesting thing about this stage. 

Unless! Perhaps the peloton mistimes its chase on the undulating, semi-complicated run-in to Moulins. Breakaways have been surviving with increasing frequency in the last few seasons and this is the sort of stage where some strong rouleurs may try to pull off a coup. 

But, let’s be honest, it’ll probably be a sprint. 

Stage 12: Roanne to Belleville-en-Beaujolais – 169 km

Date: July 13, 2023 Stage type: Hilly Potential winners: Breakaway artists who can climb. Perhaps Neilson Powless or Matej Mohorič What to watch for: The sprint points that come after two category 3 climbs will be tantalizing to any of the more-versatile sprinters. Could we see one try to jump in the breakaway, like Peter Sagan used to do? Stage summary: Deep in one of France’s iconic wine regions, this stage seems primed for another successful breakaway. The two category 3 climbs in the first 40 km will ensure that the break is strong. Of the two back-to-back category 2 climbs in the latter third of the stage, the Col de la Croix Rosier is the more difficult, averaging 7.6% over 5.3 km. Expect it to be the final launch pad for either a solo winner, or a small group that splits off the day’s main breakaway.

Stage 13: Châtillon-Sur-Chalaronne to Grand Colombier – 138 km

Date: July 14, 2023 Stage type:  Mountain Potential winners: Jonas Vingegaard , Tadej Pogačar, anybody French What to watch for: It’s Bastille Day! The French riders will of course want this one. Can David Gaudu pull one over on the rest? Stage summary: Tour organizers have been keen on this sort of stage as of late. There isn’t much to separate the peloton ahead of the final test, an hors categorie slog up the 17.4 km Grand Colombier. That means tactics won’t really play a part in this stage. It’s a power test for the GC favorites.

There is a lump of a climb in the Col de la Lèbe before the Colombier, but after a short steep section early on it levels out and shouldn’t present any problems for even half-decent climbers.

The Grand Colombier itself is a monster. The length means there’s no hiding; a bad day could be catastrophic. The climb stair-steps a bit, with three distinct difficult sections. The second kilometer of the climb, 15 km from the finish, averages over 10%. Then kilometers 5-7 sit over 11%. Kilometers 10-12, with just 5 km to go, offer a final opportunity, sitting around 9.5%.

At this point, wind will play a part. The climb turns to the north for its final, flatter kilometers. If riders face a headwind, the top favorites will be less likely to go for it on that last steep section. If they have a tailwind, out of the south, we could see attacks fly with about 5 km to go.

Stage 14: Annemasse to Morzine Les Portes Du Soleil – 152 km

Date: July 15, 2023 Stage type:  Mountains Potential winners: A climber who can descend, like Giulio Ciccone or Tom Pidcock What to watch for: Aurélien Paret-Peintre is from the start town of Annemasse and is likely to try to slide into the break. Stage summary: The Joux Plane has been described as the nastiest climb in the Alps. Others have more notoriety, but few, if any, are actually harder. It was host to a famous Marco Pantani win in 1997 and, of course, the final climb in Floyd Landis’ unbelievable (and unnatural) solo, 120 km ride back into the yellow jersey in 2006. It has often flown under the radar but has a history of turning the Tour on its head.

Starting near the Swiss border before winding its way into the heart of the Alps, this latter half of the stage is nearly identical to the difficult day won by Ion Izaguirre in 2016. That stage also finished with the Col de la Ramaz and Col de Joux Plane before descending into Morzine, and we saw a large and star-studded breakaway ride clear before duking it out on the Joux Plane itself.

Behind, Chris Froome and his Team Sky train trundled along and kept their iron grip on the yellow jersey.

Could we see the same? It’s likely. The early climbs are good breakaway formation territory, and then the strongest climbers of that group will battle for the stage win. Behind, the GC men will have to be careful on Joux Plane and even more careful on the descent off its backside into the finish.

The descent is fast and dangerous, most because it’s unpredictable. The corners are often blind. What lies around the next bend? A sweeping, no-brakes flier or a nasty, decreasing radius corner? Riders will have to be on their game. Legend has it Sean Kelly once hit 124 km/h on this descent.

Stage 15: Les Gets Les Portes Du Soleil to Saint-Gervais Mont Blanc – 180 km

Date: July 16, 2023 Stage type:  Mountain Potential winners: GC favorites, Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard What to watch for: Small gaps could hold on this stage with few flat sections Stage summary: A fitting cap to an incredibly difficult few days in the Alps. This stage takes in five categorized climbs (though the cat 2 and HC at the end are really one climb with a very short descent between them) and has some sneaky difficult moments long before the finish.

The Col de la Forclaz Montmin, ridden from the wider but steeper north side, is 90 kilometers from the finish and looks like a potential springboard. If a last-ditch, long-range attack were needed by one of the contenders, this might be the place to do it. The front side is steep, over 10% for its latter half. Crucially, the descent is narrow, no more than one lane in places. A few seconds over the top and a bit of daredevil descending could see somebody go free.

The finale, while technically two climbs, is effectively just one. Waking tired legs up after a long descent near the end of a stage can be difficult, which means the 16% grades at the base of the Amerands could be a make-or-break moment for any GC favorite. Have a bad moment there and there isn’t much time to come back on the 7% average grade up Bettex to Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc.

July 17 – Rest day

Stage 16: Passy to Combloux individual time trial – 22 km

Date: July 18, 2023 Stage type:  Individual time trial Potential winners: Wout van Aert, Jonas Vingegaard, Tadej Pogačar What to watch for: Rest days do odd things to some riders. Will any favorites suffer rest-day legs? Stage summary: A category 2 climb defines this short but crucial time trial.

The Tour marks the “top” of the climb in Domancy, just 2.5 kilometers from the bottom. Those early kilometers are indeed the steepest, averaging 9.4%, but the climb doesn’t stop there. It keeps going for another 4 km. The total climb is 6.3 km at 6.6% average.

Three GC stages remain. This time trial, then two more days in the mountains. A bad day is not an option.

Stage 17: Saint-Gervais Mont Blanc to Courchevel – 166 km

Date: July 19, 2023 Stage type:  Mountain Potential winners: It seems unlikely a break will survive the GC onslaught, so one of the riders going for yellow What to watch for: If the fight for yellow is still close, the bonus seconds on top of Col de la Loze could come into play. Stage summary: Four categorized climbs and the narrow, twisty bike path up Col de la Loze define this final day in the Alps. A small descent means this isn’t technically an uphill finish, but that descent is short enough that any time gaps over the top of Col de la Loze are likely to stick until the finish line.

Stage 17 covers more than 5,000 m (16,400 ft) of climbing. The final three kilometers of the Col de la Loze are the most difficult, hovering around 10%. After that, a 6.5 km descent into Courchevel is capped by a short, incredibly steep (18%) kick up to the altiport.

Stage 18: Moûtiers to Bourg-En-Bresse – 186 km

Date: July 20, 2023 Stage type:  Flat Potential winners: Whatever sprinters are left; Mark Cavendish if he doesn’t have win 35 yet What to watch for: If the green jersey battle is still tight, this is one of the last opportunities for the pure bunch sprinters over the more versatile fast men. Stage summary: The Tour has turned toward Paris. Stage 18 is a long ride out of the Alps, finishing with what should be a bunch kick in Bourg-en-Bresse.

There is a small climb, about 3 km long, 15 km from the finish. But that shouldn’t bother the sprint teams too much.

The final 5 km of the stage run slightly downhill until the flamme rouge at 1 km to go. From there to the finish the road rises slightly.

Stage 19: Moirans-en-Montagne to Poligny – 173 km

Date: July 21, 2023 Stage type:  Hilly Potential winners: Fred Wright, finally What to watch for: Can a break survive? Stage summary: Another push north, another likely sprint stage.

The only potential stumbling block is the category 3 Côte d’Ivory, roughly 25 km from the finish. The final kilometer of the finale is a slight uphill.

If Mark Cavendish doesn’t have his stage win yet, no way will Astana let this stage finish in anything but a sprint.

Stage 20: Belfort to Le Markstein Fellering – 133km

Date: July 22, 2023 Stage type:  Mountains Potential winners: Last-gasp French winner in Thibaut Pinot What to watch for: It’s a trap! Stage summary: A short, punchy stage with over 3,600 m (11,800 ft) of climbing packed into just 133 km across the Vosges mountain range.

Stage 20 doesn’t feature any hors-categorie monsters, but the pair of category 1 climbs in the finale offer up the final opportunity to take – or keep – the yellow jersey. Both climbs sit just over 8%.

The finale runs slightly downhill for the last 8 km, which could dissuade all but the most desperate from trying anything too audacious.

Le Markstein hosted the penultimate stage of last year’s Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, where Annemiek van Vleuten took the race lead with a massive solo effort. That stage used the Petit Ballon/Platzerwasel combination earlier in the route.

The lack of flat roads on this route could lend it self to a long-range move. We can only hope.

Stage 21: Saint-Quentin-En-Yvelines to Paris Champs-Élysées – 115 km

Date: July 23, 2023 Stage type:  Flat Potential winners: Any sprinter left standing What to watch for: Cavendish? Stage summary: Ahh, Paris. We have arrived. The biggest sprint in the world, some post-race champagne, and we turn our attention to Clermont Ferrand, where the Tour de France Femmes has just kicked off.

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TOTAL: 3492 km

This will be the first Grand Départ in Italy and the 26th that’s taken place abroad  First finale in Nice. Due to the Olympic and Paralympic Games taking place in Paris, the race will not finish in the French capital for the first time.

Two time trials. 25 + 34 = 59km in total, the second of them taking place on the final Monaco>Nice stage. This will be the first time the race has seen a finale of this type for 35 years, the last occasion being the famous Fignon - LeMond duel in 1989.

Apennines (Italy), the Italian and French Alps, Massif Central and Pyrenees will be the mountain ranges on the 2024 Tour route.

The number of countries visited in 2024: Italy, San Marino, Monaco and France. Within France, the race will pass through 7 Regions and 30 departments.

The number of bonus points 8, 5 and 2 bonus seconds go to the first three classified riders, featuring at strategic points along the route (subject to approval by the International Cycling Union)these will have no effect on the points classification. Bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds will be awarded to the first three classified riders at road stage finishes.

Out of a total of 39, the locations or stage towns that are appearing on the Tour map for the first time . In order of appearance: Florence, Rimini, Cesenatico, Bologna, Piacenza, Saint-Vulbas, Gevrey-Chambertin, Colombey-les-Deux-Églises, Évaux-les-Bains, Gruissan, Superdévoluy, Col de la Couillole.

The number of sectors on white roads during stage nine, amounting to 32km in total .

The number of stages: 8 flat, 4 hilly, 7 mountain (with 4 summit finishes at Saint-Lary-Soulan Pla d’Adet, Plateau de Beille, Isola 2000, Col de la Couillole), 2 time trials and 2 rest days.

The number of riders who will line up at the start of the Tour, divided into 22 teams of 8 riders each.

The height of the summit of the Bonette pass in the Alps, the highest tarmac road in France, which will be the “roof” of the 2024 Tour.

The total vertical gain during the 2024 Tour de France.

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 .

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Tour de France 2023 Favourites stage 4: For fast men#2

With two stage wins – including the one on the Champs-Élysées in Paris – Jasper Philipsen was the best sprinter on last year’s Tour de France. He gathered steam quite late, as his first victory happened in the stage before the second rest day. This edition he stormed to triumph in the first sprint opportunity. He bested Phil Bauhaus and Caleb Ewan in the 3rd stage.

Philipsen has been on fire fos this whole season, as he won Brugge-De Panne, Elfstedenronde, plus two stages on the Tirreno-Adriatico – all races with strong sprint line-ups. Yet, he was bested by Fabio Jakobsen twice in the recent Tour of Belgium.

The 4th stage on the Tour de France is tailor-made for fast men. There is only one classified climb and it’s hardly a climb at all. Côte de Dému goes up for 2 kilometres at 3.5%. The ‘summit’ is situated 27.4 kilometres before the line in Nagaro.

Favourites 4th stage 2023 Tour de France

*** Jasper Philipsen, Fabio Jakobsen, Dylan Groenewegen ** Phil Bauhaus, Mark Cavendish, Wout van Aert, Caleb Ewan * Mads Pedersen, Alexander Kristoff, Biniam Girmay, Jordi Meeus

Another interesting read: route 4th stage 2023 Tour de France.

Tour de France 2023 stage 4: route, profiles

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Tour de France

Tour de france stage 4: back to france and into the high alps, the first major exam for the tour general classification contenders as the race visits two legendary climbs..

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Stage 4 — Tuesday, July 2 Pinerolo to Valloire Distance: 139.6km (87 miles) Profile: Mountain stage

Stage 4: The first major exam for the Tour general classification contenders

The shortest stage outside of the two individual time trials will be a testing one, with the route from Pinerolo in Italy to Valloire in the Alps crossing three major climbs, and ensuring hardly a kilometer of level ground during the 139.6 kilometers of racing.

The road rises as soon as the flag drops in Pinerolo, with the summit of Sestrières located 50.4km after the start. Fausto Coppi took a famous victory here in the 1952 Tour, having earlier triumphed in Pinerolo during the 1949 Giro. He also won both races overall.

The 39.9km climb, which also saw a defiant victory by Claudio Chiappucci ahead of Miguel Indurain in the 1992 Tour, is the first over 2,000 meters in this year’s race. It is followed 21km later by the summit of the Col de Montgenèvre, with this Tour’s second-highest peak in turn located 49km later.

The Col du Galibier is one of the most famous climbs in cycling. It first featured in the 1911 Tour de France and has featured no less than 31 times since 1947. In 2011 it was used for the first time as a stage finish, with Andy Schleck triumphing there after a 60km solo break.

At 23km in length and 2,642 meters above sea level, it is one of the most ferocious climbs in this year’s race. While 19km of descent remains after the summit, those first over the top have a huge chance of the stage win and, potentially, the yellow jersey.

The view of Tour de France race director Christian Prudhomme: “The race leaves Italy after a long climb to the resort of Sestrières, where Coppi triumphed in 1952, the border subsequently reached at the Col de Montgenèvre. Then, after ascending the Lautaret pass, the riders will tackle the 2,642-metre Galibier. This will be the first opportunity for the favorites to test themselves in the high mountains.”

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Tour de France 2023: our selection of the most beautiful mountain stages

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Cycling Tourism Nature and Outdoor Activities Sporting Activities Mountains

Reading time: 0 min Published on 4 December 2023, updated on 15 April 2024

The most famous cycle race in the world, the Tour de France will be taking to the skies once again this year, as the 3,404km and 21 stages will take in all 5 of France's mountain ranges! The Pyrenees, the Auvergne volcanoes, the Jura mountains, the Alps and the Vosges massif... The peloton has plenty of pedalling to do and plenty of climbing to do. The grandiose landscapes, the high altitude finishes and the dizzying descents promise to be emotional highs. To experience the highs (and lows) of the Grand Loop, saddle up with our selection of the most beautiful mountain stages.

From Tarbes to Cauterets-Cambasque, the Pyrenees take centre stage

After 3 stages on the Spanish side, welcome to the French Pyrenees! First there's Bayonne and the Basque country, Dax and its thermal baths, Pau and its beautiful castle where King Henry IV was born. And then there's Tarbes, with its breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains, its palm-lined streets (yes, yes!) and its gourmet markets. The riders of the 2023 Tour de France will need a lot of courage to tear themselves away from this gentle way of life and tackle the climbs of the Aspin and terrible Tourmalet cols . The reward for all this climbing is a finish on the Cambasque plateau, overlooking the charming resort of Cauterets, in the heart of the Pyrenees National Park, where the Pic du Midi is enthroned. Want to cool off? Try the hike to the peaceful Lac d'Ilhéou . In a green setting with magnificent views and waterfalls, picnics and swimming...

The Puy de Dôme, a feast for the eyes in Auvergne

The ascent of Puy de Dôme, the undisputed star of the Auvergne, will be one of the highlights of the 2023 Tour de France! The youngest and highest volcano in the Puys chain has not featured on the itinerary for 35 years. Taking on this fearsome and majestic peak and finishing with a 360° view over the gentle rolling hills of the Parc naturel régional des Volcans d'Auvergne is sure to motivate many a rider! But did you know that you can also climb this peaceful giant by mule track or on board the Panoramique des Dômes, a picturesque little cogwheel train? In just 15 minutes, you'll be transported to an altitude of 1,465 m, with the 80 volcanoes of the Puy range and the Limagne fault (listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site at your feet. To complete a stage that's full of fireworks, the Vulcania Park is not far away! Who can beat that?

Breathtaking escapes in the Jura

Expect to fall under the spell of Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne! Just 1 hour from Lyon and the Monts du Beaujolais, this small town in the Ain département, from which the Tour de France 2023 peloton will set off on 14 July, is a delightful medieval town. With its pink stone houses, flower-bedecked bridges and old market hall housing one of France's most popular traditional markets, it is also the gateway to the Dombes region, a paradise for fish farmers and birdwatchers with its landscapes of water and ponds. Take advantage of this area on foot, by boat or, ideally, by bike (it's flat!), before taking to the heights of the Montagnes du Jura , just a stone's throw away. The Pyramide du Bugey, from the top of which you can see Mont Blanc and Lake Geneva, is a must-see. The Tour de France riders attack it via the Col du Grand Colombier. At top speed. Take your time, the panorama is well worth it!

In the Alps, between lakes and legendary passes

It's doubtful that the riders will enjoy the view of Lake Geneva as they take their first pedal to the metal in the Alps at Annemasse on stage 14 of the Tour de France 2023. We recommend this one, though, as well as the view of Lake Annecy and its turquoise waters. Then it's time for a series of twists and turns and climbs to the legendary passes of the Alps, including the famous Col du Feu, an unprecedented climb for the peloton. At an altitude of 1,000 metres, in the heart of the Portes du Soleil ski area, the stage finish in Morzine won't dampen the spirits of those who love nature. In summer, the little village resort in the Alps is an ideal playground for lovers of outdoor activities : a stroll along the Dérêches river, swimming in Lake Montriond, canyoning or via ferrata... the hardest thing will be to choose.

From Gets to Saint-Gervais, Mont Blanc in your sights

For the first time since its creation, the Tour de France will start from Les Gets. Well-known to mountain bikers (the World Championships were held there in 2022), the pretty Alpine resort will kick off a 15th stage during which you'll need to have plenty of breath. The Col de la Forclaz-Montmin is on the programme. So allow yourself a break at its belvedere for a bird's-eye view of Lake Annecy before setting off again for Saint-Gervais, at the foot of Mont-Blanc. If you want to reach the highest peak in the Alps, this village resort, with its well-preserved heritage and traditions, is the ideal place to stop. And its thermal baths, renowned for the many benefits of their waters, set the well-being at the summit in a magnificent green setting.

Courchevel, star of the Alps

The regulars call it Courch' and they come and go summer and winter as connoisseurs, just like the Tour de France caravan which is visiting the Savoyard resort for the 4th time. Welcome to the pinnacle of top-of-the-range skiing in the Alps, at the heart of the Three Valleys ski area. Courchevel tops the list not only for the size of its ski area (Méribel and Val Thorens are its famous neighbours) but also for its range of hotels (no fewer than 5 mountain palaces , from the Apogée to the Cheval Blanc, not forgetting the K2 Palace, Airelles and the Hôtel Barrière Les Neiges) and restaurants. So, with its 6 hamlets and the surrounding area, the resort has a lot to offer. Take a selfie at the top of La Saulire, take a stroll down to Lac de la Rosière, cycle down the Bike Park, spend the night in the Lacs Merlet refuge or hike through the heart of the Vallée des Avals... You're going to love it!

Full steam ahead in the Vosges

Between the Lorraine plateau and the Alsace plain, the Vosges massif lives up to its reputation: a perfect blend of nature, wide open spaces, traditions and local produce, crafts and fine cheeses. Between the Grand Ballon d'Alsace and the Petit Ballon, via the famous Col de la Schlucht, the Tour de France 2023 will be taking a break from the normality of the mountains, with a new finish on the slopes of the Markstein, in the welcoming family resort of Marlstein Fellering. In the heart of the Ballons des Vosges Regional Nature Park , you can enjoy bucolic hikes, tobogganing in the mountain pastures, paragliding with a view, and mountain biking (or mountain bikes) in a landscape of absolute serenity. And for those with a sweet tooth, July is the peak of blueberry season (and the season for tarts in the farm inns).

And (finally) Paris.... and the Olympics!

Will the riders be in Olympic form for the triumphant finish on the Champs-Elysées on 23 July 2023? Just one year ahead of the 2024 Olympics in Paris , the route will certainly provide a magnificent prologue to the sporting event. Starting in Saint-Quentin en Yvelines, all the future Olympic venues in the Yvelines département will be on the peloton's final route. A gigantic loop will join the Colline d'Elancourt (where the mountain bike events will take place), the Golf National in Guyancourt and the Château de Versailles , which will host the equestrian events and part of the modern pentathlon competitions. A prestigious line-up of finishers for a Tour de France 2023 that's sure to be at the top of its game!

Find out more:

More information on the route of the Tour de France 2023 and nearby tourist attractions

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Giro d'Italia 2024: Preview, full schedule and how to watch live

The Giro d’Italia 2024 is about to kick off the Grand Tour season in men’s road cycling .

On Saturday 4 May, Venaria Reale will host the opening stage of the 107 th edition of the Corsa Rosa that will see its conclusion three weeks later in Rome on Sunday 26 May.

All eyes will be on the Slovenian superstar Tadej Pogacar , who aims to become the first rider since Marco Pantani in 1998 to achieve the Giro-Tour double.

Reigning champion and Olympic time trial gold medallist, Primoz Roglic , will not be defending his crown, as he has got his eyes set on the Tour de France.

The 2024 edition of the Italian Grand Tour features gruelling mountain stages in the Alps, gravel roads in Tuscany and more than 70 kilometres of time trial. The winner will lift the prestigious Trofeo Senza Fine (Endless Trophy) and wear the coveted Maglia Rosa in the Italian capital.

This year's race will cover a total of 3400.8 kilometres , making it the shortest edition in 45 years.

Find everything you need to know about the Giro d’Italia 2024 below, including the riders to look out for and how to watch the event live.

• Liege-Bastogne-Liege 2024: Tadej Pogacar powers to second victory
• Jambaljamts Sainbayar: From braving Ulaanbaatar's freezing roads to making history for Mongolian cycling

Who are the riders to watch at the Giro d’Italia 2024?

Pink jersey (general classification).

There is one overwhelming favourite for the Giro d’Italia 2024, and that is Tadej Pogacar .

Fresh off his second Liège–Bastogne–Liège title in impressive fashion, the two-time Tour de France winner is arriving to Italy in top shape.

Pogacar started his season by conquering the gravel roads of Strade Bianche , riding 81 kilometres solo to claim victory in Siena.

At Volta a Catalunya , the Slovenian swept four out of seven stages, securing the overall victory and sending a clear message to his rivals at the Giro about who the man to beat is.

Geraint Thomas suffered heartbreak at last year’s Giro d’italia, narrowly missing out on the overall victory by just 14 seconds.

The 2018 Tour de France champion was leading the race going into the penultimate stage, only to relinquish the pink jersey to Primoz Roglic after the Slovenian's formidable performance in the individual time trial.

The INEOS Grenadiers leader has some unfinished business with the Corsa Rosa and will try to pose a challenge to Pogacar.

Among the outsiders is Australia's Ben O’Connor (Decathlon AG2R), who finished fourth in the 2021 Tour de France.

This year, the 28-year-old has consistently finished within the top five in week-long stage races. At the Giro d'Italia warm-up race, the Tour of the Alps, he was the runner-up behind the former Maglia Rosa wearer Juan Pedro Lopez , who also will be lining up at the start line in Venaria Reale.

French veteran Romain Bardet recently said that he is at his best level in years and is convinced he can challenge for the podium.

A second place at the Liège–Bastogne–Liège behind Pogacar was a boost of morale for the 33-year-old, who has not been on a Grand Tour podium since 2018, when he finished third at the Tour de France.

Daniel Martínez will lead the BORA - hansgrohe team. The Colombian climber is no longer in the shadow of INEOS stars Geraint Thomas and Egan Bernal , following his move to the German team ahead of this season.

In 2021, Martínez was a strong domestique for compatriot Bernal and helped him secure the overall victory. He also achieved his best overall result in a Grand Tour by finishing in the top five that year. With the absence of teammate Roglic, it is up to Martínez to secure a top result.

“The Killer Bees” Team Visma|Lease a Bike made history in 2023, becoming the first team to claim all three Grand Tours in a single year. Although a repetition of the historic achievement looks difficult, the Dutch team have put their faith in 21-year-old prodigy Cian Uijtdebroeks .

The Belgian has been under the wings of reigning Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard at the O Gran Camiño and Tirreno-Adriatico. Now he faces the ultimate test as Grand Tour captain.

Cyclamen jersey (points classification)

This year’s course is more sprinter-friendly than usual, featuring eight expected mass sprint finishes. Jonathan Milan of Lidl-Trek will aim to defend the maglia ciclamino (mauve jersey for the points classification) that he secured last year.

However, he will face a fierce competition for the mauve jersey as several of the world's top sprinters will travel to Italy.

Soudal Quick-Step will fully support Remco Evenepoel at the Tour de France, giving Tim Merlier the opportunity to pursue success at the Giro.

The Belgian has been one of the fastest sprinters during the first part of the season, winning three stages at the UAE Tour, the Nokere Koerse, and the sprinters’ classic Scheldeprijs.

Another challenge will come from Australian Kaden Groves . In 2023, the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider added stage wins at both the Giro and the Vuelta a España, where he also left with the green jersey.

Biniam Girmay will be back on Italian soil, where he outsprinted Mathieu van der Poel in the Giro two years ago to take his first Grand Tour stage victory. The Eritrean looks to be close to his form from 2022.

Dutch sprinter Olav Kooij will finally get his Grand Tour debut. The 22-year-old beat Mads Pedersen twice to claim two stage wins at the Paris-Nice in March and is one of the most promising sprinters in the peloton.

Five-time Vuelta a España stage winner Fabio Jakobsen is set to race his first Giro and can complete the set of Grand Tour wins, having already secured a stage victory at the Tour de France in 2022.

Will Filippo Ganna sprint for stage wins again? The Italian time trial specialist was fighting in the bunch sprints at last year’s Vuelta a España and showed a new side of his talent.

Despite not having shone in the last couple of years, Caleb Ewan and Fernando Gaviria are both multiple Grand Tour stage winners and they have the power to be competitive in the bunch sprints.

Blue jersey (mountains classification)

Unlike in the Tour de France, the winner of the mountains classification in the Giro d’Italia is usually not the same as the winner of the general classification.

Thibaut Pinot , who has since retired, clinched the blue jersey in the previous edition while finishing fifth overall.

However, the breakaway riders often view for the mountains classification.

A potential contender is Simon Geschke of Cofidis. The German rider was close to seal the polka dot jersey at the Tour de France in 2022, but ultimately Jonas Vingegaard ended up with both the yellow and polka dot jersey.

Other names to watch are Britain's Simon Carr , who just won a stage and the mountains classification at the Tour of the Alps, and Dutchman Koen Bouwman , who is aiming for his second blue jersey after claiming it in 2022.

Key stages of the Giro d’Italia 2024

Five stages are singled out by cycling experts as the most decisive for the Giro d'Italia 2024.

The first one arrives already on stage two , which is the earliest summit finish in 35 years. It is a true climbing test, which takes the peloton to Santuario di Oropa (6.2% over 11.8km) and will give an early indication of who will be the main general classification contenders.

A 40.6-kilometre time trial awaits the peloton on stage seven . The course is technical and the uphill finish should shake up the top ten. Some will see it as an oppornunity to gain time, while others will try to limit their losses.

Stage 15 is the queen stage of the 2024 Giro d’Italia. Containing 5,200 metres of elevation gain over 220 kilometres, it is a brutal day in the mountains. Hopefully, snowfall will not affect this blockbuster Alpine stage.

The riders get a rest day following the queen stage, but already on stage 16 , climbing legs will be tested again. It includes the Passo dello Stelvio , the Cima Coppi of this year’s race. At an elevation of 2,757 metres it is the second highest pass in the Alps.

The lack of oxygen at high altitude will make the peloton suffer. With over 100 kilometres remaining from the summit of Stelvio, the favourites who might fall behind still have the chance to catch up before the final ascents to Passo Pinei and Monte Pana.

Stage 20 , the penultimate stage before the procession around the streets of Rome, promises a decisive battle in the mountains for the final general classification. Two gruelling ascents of Monte Grappa - 18.2 kilometres at 8.1% - will determine who earns the right to wear the pink jersey in Rome and hoist the Endless Trophy .

Day-by-day route of the Giro d’Italia 2024

Saturday 4 May, stage 1: Venaria Reale-Torino, medium mountains, 140 km ⭐⭐⭐

Sunday 5 May, stage 2: San Francesco al Campo–Santuario di Oropa (Biella), medium mountains, 161 km ⭐⭐⭐

Monday 6 May, stage 3: Novara-Fossano, hilly, 166 km ⭐⭐

Tuesday 7 May, stage 4: Acqui Terme-Andora, hilly, 190 km ⭐⭐

Wednesday 8 May, stage 5: Genova-Lucca, medium mountains,178 km ⭐⭐⭐

Thursday 9 May, stage 6: Viareggio-Rapolano Terme, medium mountains, 180 km ⭐⭐

Friday 10 May, stage 7: Foligno-Perugia, individual time trial, 40,6 km ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Saturday 11 May, stage 8: Spoleto-Prati di Tivo, high mountains,152 km ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Sunday 12 May, stage 9: Avezzano-Napoli, medium mountains, 214 km ⭐⭐⭐

Monday 13 May: Rest day

Tuesday 14 May, stage 10: Pompei-Cusano Mutri (Bocca della Selva), medium mountains, 142 km ⭐⭐⭐

Wednesday 15 May, stage 11: Foiano di Val Fortore-Francavilla al Mare, hilly, 207 km ⭐⭐

Thursday 16 May, stage 12: Martinsicuro-Fano, medium mountains, 193 km ⭐⭐⭐

Friday 17 May, stage 13: Riccione-Cento, flat, 179 km ⭐

Saturday 18 May, stage 14: Castiglione delle Stiviere-Desenzano del Garda, individual time trial, 31,2 km ⭐⭐⭐

Sunday 19 May, stage 15: Manerba del Garda-Livigno (Mottolino), high mountains, 222 km ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Monday 20 May: Rest day

Tuesday 21 May, stage 16: Livigno-Santa Cristina Val Gardena (Monte Pana), high mountains, 202 km ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Wednesday 22 May, stage 17: Selva di Val Gardena-Passo Brocon, high mountains, 159 km ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thursday 23 May, stage 18: Fiera di Primiero-Padova, hilly, 171 km ⭐⭐

Friday 24 May, stage 19: Mortegliano-Cima Sappada, medium mountains, 157 km ⭐⭐⭐

Saturday 25 May, stage 20: Alpago-Bassano del Grappa, high mountains, 181 km ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Sunday 26 May, stage 21: Roma-Roma, flat, 122 km ⭐

How to watch the Giro d’Italia 2024

The Giro d'Italia 2024 will be shown live around the world. Here is a list of the official broadcast partners across different territories.

• Albania - Eurosport
• Andorra - Eurosport
• Austria - Eurosport
• Belarus - Eurosport
• Belgium - VRT/RTBF.be/RTL Belgium/VTM Medialaan/Eurosport
• Bosnia and Herzegovina - Eurosport
• Bulgaria- Eurosport
• Croatia - Eurosport
• Cyprus - Eurosport
• Czechia - Eurosport
• Denmark - Eurosport
• Estonia - Eurosport
• Finland - Eurosport
• France - La Chaine L’Equipe
• Georgia - Eurosport
• Germany - Eurosport
• Greece - Eurosport
• Hungary - Eurosport
• Iceland - Eurosport
• Ireland - Eurosport
• Israel - STARZPLAY/Eurosport
• Italy - Rai/Eurosport
• Latvia - Eurosport
• Liechtenstein - Eurosport
• Lithuania - Eurosport
• Luxembourg - Eurosport
• Malta - STARZPLAY/Eurosport
• Moldova - Eurosport
• Montenegro - Eurosport
• Netherlands - NOS/Eurosport
• North Macedonia - Eurosport
• Norway - Eurosport
• Poland - Eurosport
• Portugal - Eurosport
• Principality of Monaco - Eurosport
• Romania - Eurosport
• San Marino - Rai/Eurosport
• Serbia - Eurosport
• Slovakia - Eurosport
• Slovenia - Planet TV/Eurosport
• Spain - EITB/Eurosport
• Sweden - Eurosport
• Switzerland - SRG SSR/Eurosport
• Ukarine - Eurosport
• United Kingdom - Eurosport
• Vatican City - Rai/Eurosport
• Wales - S4C

North and Central America

• Canada - FloSports
• Dominican Republic - Eurosport
• United States - MAX USA/BeIN Sport

South America

• Argentina - + Claro/DirecTV
• Bolivia - + Claro/DirecTV
• Brazil - + Claro/DirecTV
• Chile - + Claro/DirecTV
• Colombia - + Claro/DirecTV/Caracol TV
• Ecuador - + Claro/DirecTV
• Guyana - DirecTV/Eurosport
• Paraguay - + Claro/DirecTV
• Peru - + Claro/DirecTV
• Suriname - + Claro/DirecTV
• The Caribbean - DirecTV
• Uruguay - + Claro/DirecTV
• Venezuela - + Claro/DirecTV
• Afghanistan - Eurosport
• Armenia - Eurosport
• Azerbaijan - Eurosport
• Bahrain - STARZPLAY
• Bangladesh - Eurosport
• Bhutan - Eurosport
• Cambodia - Eurosport
• People’s Republic of China - Zhibo.tv
• India - Eurosport
• Indonesia - Eurosport
• Iran - STARZPLAY
• Iraq - STARZPLAY
• Japan - J Sports
• Jordan - STARZPLAY
• Kazakhstan - Eurosport
• Kuwait - STARZPLAY
• Kyrgyzstan - Eurosport
• Lebanon - STARZPLAY
• Malaysia - Eurosport
• Maldives - Eurosport
• Mongolia - Eurosport
• Myanmar - Eurosport
• Nepal - Eurosport
• Oman - STARZPLAY
• Pakistan - Eurosport
• Philippines - Eurosport
• Qatar - STARZPLAY
• Russia - Eurosport
• Saudi Arabia - STARZPLAY
• Singapore - Eurosport
• Republic of Korea - Eurosport
• Sri Lanka - Eurosport
• Syria - STARZPLAY
• Chinese Taipei - Eurosport
• Türkiye - Eurosport
• United Arab Emirates - STARZPLAY
• Yemen - STARZPLAY
• Australia - SBS/Eurosport
• Papua New Guinea - Eurosport
• Algeria - STARZPLAY
• Djibouti - STARZPLAY
• Egypt - STARZPLAY
• Libya - STARZPLAY
• Morocco - STARZPLAY/Eurosport
• South Africa - Supersport
• Tunisia - STARZPLAY

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Tour de France 2023

Latest news from the race.

Vinokourov: Cavendish continuing is great news for all cycling, not just Astana Qazaqstan

How Jonas Vingegaard transformed from 'the little guy' to Jumbo-Visma leader

Jonas Vingegaard given hero's welcome in Copenhagen

Tour de france 2023 results.

Stage 21: Jonas Vingegaard crowned Tour de France champion in Paris / As it happened

Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) won the Tour de France for the second  year in a row after finishing safely in the main field with his Jumbo-Visma teammates. Jordi Meeus (Bora-Hansgrohe) sprinted to victory on the Champs-Elysées, beating green jersey Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) by less than a tyre width to take his first stage victory of the Tour de France.

Vingegaard topped the general classification with a 7:29 ahead of Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) and 10:56 on Pogačar’s teammate Yates.

Stage 20: Tour de France: Pogacar rebounds to take stage 20 victory as Vingegaard seals his second overall title / As it happened

Rebounding after a disastrous stage 17 on Col de la Loze, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) won the final mountain stage of the 2023 Tour de France. Crossing the line in third, with the same time, was Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) who is set to claim the overall victory for a second year, with just Sunday’s final parade stage to Paris left to race. Felix Gall (AG2R-Citroën) was second on the stage. Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ), who delivered one final attack on his home roads to the delight of the huge crowds massing the roads, was caught on the final climb.

There were no changes in the top 3 on the general classification, Vingegaard, Pogačar and Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) are set to be on the final podium. Fourth on the stage, Simon Yates (Jayco-AlUla) moved up to fourth overall.

Stage 19: Tour de France: Mohoric outsprints Asgreen in drag race to stage 19 finish / As it happened

There was no rest and little recovery on a wickedly fast stage 19 of the Tour, where the winning breakaway took 100 kilometres to go clear. Three riders attacked from the 36-rider move, with Matej Mohorič giving Bahrain Victorious their third stage win after Pello Bilbao on stage 10 and Wout Poels on stage 15. The GC contenders all came in together almost 14 minutes behind.

Stage 18: Tour de France: Kasper Asgreen seizes stage 18 victory from all-day breakaway / As it happened

Kasper Asgreen (Soudal-QuickStep) won the closing sprint on stage 18 of the Tour de France to hold off his breakaway companions and a surging peloton. After 185 kilometres at the front of the race with Victor Campenaerts (Lotto Dstny) and Kasper Asgreen (Soudal-QuickStep) and Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X), it came down to the final 200 metres to secure the win for Asgreen, leaving Pascal Eenkhoorn (Lotto Dstny), who had bridged across 58km earlier, in second and Abrahamsen third. 

There were no changes in the general classification on the largely-flat stage between Moûtiers to Bourg-en-Bresse, Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) remaining in yellow.

Stage 17:   Tour de France: Vingegaard dashes Pogacar's GC hopes on stage 17 across Col de la Loze / As it happened

Felix Gall (AG2R Citroën) attacked from a reduced front group with under 13km to go and held on for a solo victory across the Col de la Loze on stage 17 of the Tour de France. Race leader Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) stamped his authority on the queen stage by dropping his main rival Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) on the final climb. Pogačar finished the stage 7:37 down – 5:45 behind Vingegaard – leaving him still in second place overall but a massive 7:35 back of the Dane.

Stage 16: Tour de France: Vingegaard removes all doubt, crushes Pogacar in stage 16 time trial / As it happened

After two weeks of racing for seconds, Jonas Vingegaard finally carved out a significant gap over second-placed Tadej Pogačar in the stage 16 time trial in Combloux. Vingegaard won the stage by 1 minute 38 seconds over his rival to extend his lead in the GC to 1:48.

Stage 15: Tour de France: Wout Poels blasts to blockbuster stage 15 solo victory / As it happened

The stalemate between Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) and Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) continued on the third mountainous day in a row at the Tour de France. The duo marked each other’s attacks on the final climb to Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc and ultimately crossed the finish line together. Attacking from the break, Wout Poels (Bahrain Victorious) won stage 15 after an 11km solo ride to to claim his first Tour de France stage win.

Stage 14: Tour de France: Carlos Rodríguez strikes for win on stage 14 as Vingegaard gains valuable second on Joux Plane / As it happened

Rivals Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) and Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) continued their intense battle on the final climb on stage 14 of the Tour de France with the yellow jersey Vingegaard gaining one second in an evenly matched duel. Both riders used their respective teams to dispatch all the other riders before fighting it out on the Col de la Joux Plane. Carlos Rodríguez (Ineos Grenadiers) took advantage of the situation to fly down the descent to take the win in Morzine, and move up to third overall.

Stage 13: Tour de France: Kwiatkowski wins stage 13 on Grand Colombier as Pogacar closes in on yellow / As it happened

The Tour de France overall standings remained neck-and-neck between leader Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogačar on stage 13, the second hors-categorie summit finish of the race. Michał Kwiatkowski (Ineos) won the stage from the breakaway, while UAE Team Emirates burned up the team to set up Pogačar. Vingegaard was on guard and fended his rival off until the final metres, losing eight seconds total but keeping the maillot jaune.

Stage 12:   Tour de France: Ion Izagirre secures solo victory on frantic stage 12 / As it happened

Ion Izagirre (Cofidis) won stage 12 of the Tour de France with a solo attack 30km from the line in Belleville-en-Beaujolais. His long-range breakaway rewarded the Basque rider with his second career Tour win, the last one coming in 2016. Mathieu Burgaudeau (TotalEnergies) outsprinted Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar) 58 seconds back to complete the podium. 

The hectic first half of the hilly 168.8km stage saw lots of attack, including Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) who was rewarded as the most combative rider. There were no changes between the top GC leaders, with Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) still in yellow and Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) in second and in the best young rider jersey.

Stage 11: Tour de France: Jasper Philipsen flies to fourth sprint victory on stage 11 / As it happened

Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) showed more blistering speed, proving himself the best sprinter of the Tour de France on stage 11 to Moulins even without any lead-out from Mathieu van der Poel.

It was a squeaky clean sprint from the Belgian who has endured a flood of hate-mail about his previous sprints.

Daniel Oss (TotalEnergies) was the day's sole breakaway rider and caught with 13km to go. The GC standings remained the same as all of the contenders finished in the peloton.

Stage 10: Tour de France: Pello Bilbao scorches sprint from breakaway to win stage 10 / As it happened

Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) out-sprinted Georg Zimmerman (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty) and Ben O'Connor (AG2R Citroën) to win stage 10 of the Tour de France on a sizzlingly-hot day. The Spaniard was part of the day's breakaway that brought six riders into Issoire, where he claimed the first stage victory of his career.

The breakaway gained 2:53 on the group containing race leader Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma), rival Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) third-placed Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadiers) to keep the top four in the GC standings the same.

Stage 9: Tour de France: Michael Woods triumphs with stage 9 victory atop Puy de Dôme / As it happened

The Tour de France reached the mythical ascent of the Puy de Dôme at the finish of stage 9 where Michael Woods (Israel Premier Tech) triumphed with the day's victory after being part of a large breakaway that gained upwards of 15 minutes on the main GC contenders during the stage.

On the upper slopes of the ascent, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) then surged with 1.5km to go, to put valuable seconds into Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma). Vingegaard now leads Pogačar by 17 seconds in the battle for the yellow.

Stage 8: Tour de France: Mads Pedersen beats Jasper Philipsen to win crash-marred stage 8 / As it happened

Stage 8 was a highly anticipated day for the puncheurs, even so, Mark Cavendish had his sights set on a 35th career stage win at the Tour de France, but it wasn't meant to be as the Manxman crashed with 60km to go and forced to abandon the event.

In a chaotic finish to the hilly run-in to Limoges, which saw a late-race crash take down Simon Yates (Jayco AlUla), Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) stormed to the victory in a close sprint ahead of Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma). Jonas Vingegaard finished safely in the field and carries the yellow jersey into stage 9 with a finish at Puy de Dôme.

Stage 7: Tour de France: Philipsen denies Cavendish, completes hat-trick in Bordeaux / As it happened

Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) blasted across the line in Bordeaux to win stage 7 of the Tour de France, winning by one bike length over Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan). Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty) finished third in the sprint.

For Philipsen, it was his third victory of the three sprint stages in the first week of the 2023 race. He bolted down the main avenue and passed Cavendish in the closing 50 metres, holding the Manxman's attempt at a record 35th Tour stage win  at bay.

Stage 6: Tour de France: Tadej Pogacar claws back time with victory at Cauterets / As it happened

Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) won stage 6 with a massive attack across the final 2.7km and stormed back into the general classification mix. He distanced Jonas Vingegaard at the line at Cauterets by 24 seconds, while the Jumbo-Visma rider took the overall lead and yellow jersey away from Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe), who was 2:39 back in sixth place. 

Vingegaard now has a 25-second advantage over rival Pogačar, while Hindley held the third spot in the overall, 1:34 back, after the massive 144.9km climbing day in the Pyrenees. 

Stage 5: Tour de France: Jai Hindley wins stage 5 as Vingegaard drops Pogacar in Pyrenees / As it happened

The first of the Pyrenean stages at the Tour de France had the potential to shake up the general classification, and it did just that as Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe) went on a day-long attack, won stage 5 into Laruns and took the yellow leader's jersey in the process.

Hindley moved into the overall race lead by 47 seconds ahead of Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) and 1:03 on Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek), as Tadej Pogaçar (UAE Emirates) slipped to 6th now at 1:40 back.

Stage 4: Tour de France: Jasper Philipsen wins two in a row in crash-marred stage 4 / As it happened

There was no doubt who won stage 4 at the Tour de France, with Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) securing his second-consecutive sprint stage win in Nogaro. A day for the sprinters ended in carnage, however, as several riders crashed along the motor speedway circuit that hosted the finish.

There were no changes to the overall classification as Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) finished in the field at the end of the 181.8km stage and will wear the yellow leader's jersey into stage 5.

Stage 3 - Tour de France: Jasper Philipsen wins stage 3 after impressive lead-out from Mathieu van der Poel / As it happened

Jasper Philipsen  (Alpecin-Deceuninck) rocketed across the line in a bunch sprint in Bayonne to win stage 3 of the 2023 Tour de France. A half a wheel behind, Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious) claimed second and Caleb Ewan (Lotto-Dstny) third.

All the general classification contenders, including Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) in the yellow jersey, finished safely in the field with no time changes after 193.5km from the hills of Spanish Basque territory to the roads of France.

Stage 2 - Tour de France: Victor Lafay gives Cofidis their first win since 2008 on stage 2 / As it happened

Victor Lafay (Cofidis) put in a stunning attack to claim stage 2 in San Sébastian. The Frenchman clipped off the front of a select group that formed after the Jaizkibel and stole the show from Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma), who won the sprint for second.

Tadej Pogačar added to his tally with a time bonus for third and also won the five bonus seconds atop the Jaizkibel ahead of Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma). His teammate Adam Yates held the lead by six seconds.

Stage 1 - Tour de France stage 1: Adam Yates wins ahead of twin brother Simon in Bilbao / As it happened

Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) won stage 1 of the Tour de France in Bilbao, outsprinting his brother Simon Yates (Jayco-Alula)  after the duo escaped together after the final climb of the Pike. Adam Yates leads the general classification by 8 seconds over his brother, and 18 seconds over his teammate Tadej Pogačar who finished third on the stage.

Enric Mas (Movistar) abandoned the stage after crashing with Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) with 23km to go. Carapaz ultimately crossed the line, over 15 minutes from Adam Yates. Defending champion Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) along with other contenders Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe), David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) and Mikel Landa (Bahrain Victorious) are 22 seconds down overall.

Results powered by FirstCycling

Who is racing the Tour de France

See the full 2023 Tour de France start list

How to watch the Tour de France

Live streams:  ITVX / S4C (UK) |  GCN+ (UK) | SBS On Demand (AUS) | Peacock / USA Networks (USA) | FloBikes (CAN) | Sky Sport (NZ)

Find out how to watch the Tour de France with our comprehensive guide.

Tour de France 2023 route

The full 2023 Tour de France route was revealed at the official Tour de France presentation on 27th October .

The race starts across the border in the Basque Country, the first time the race has started there since 1992. A handful of hilly stages open the action before the race crosses the Pyrenees into France.

The route features only 22km of time trialling, all coming on the hilly stage 16. Four summit finishes also feature, including the Puy de Dôme for the first time in 35 years and the Grand Colombier in the Pyrenees.

The mountainous course brings a tough final week, concluding with a final showdown in the Vosges to Le Markstein on stage 20.

Tour de France 2023 contenders

2022 champion Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) will return to defend his title after dispatching two-time winner Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) last July. The Slovenian is racing after recovering from a fractured wrist in April, while Vingegaard starts off the back of the Critérium du Dauphiné.

Other big-name GC men lining up at the start in Bilbao include David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ), Enric Mas (Movistar), Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe), Ben O'Connor (AG2R Citroën), Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), and Mikel Landa (Bahrain Victorious).

See: Tour de France 2023 – Analysing the contenders

Tour de France 2023 teams

The 2023 Tour de France will be made up of 22 teams, 18 WorldTour teams, the two top-ranked second-division teams, and two discretionary wild-card teams.

Lotto Soudal and TotalEnergies made the cut as the best ProTeams of 2022, while Israel-Premier Tech and Uno-X were chosen as the two wildcard teams for the 2023 Tour de France .

Tour de France 2023 schedule

Tour de france history.

Jonas Vingegaard is the reigning champion, having won his first Tour de France in 2022. The Danish rider denied Tadej Pogačar a trio of consecutive victories, the Slovenian having snatched the 2020 title before dominating the 2021 race. 

Pogačar himself broke a Ineos/Sky stranglehold on the race, with the British team having won seven of the previous eight Tours de France with Egan Bernal, Geraint Thomas, Bradley Wiggins and four-time winner Chris Froome . Vincenzo Nibali, then riding for Astana, was the other man to break the British squad's dominance with a win in 2014.

The Tour wins record is currently held by four men, with Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Jacques Anquetil and Miguel Indurain all on five titles.

Peter Sagan getting once dominated the green jersey for the points classification but has been usurped in the past three years, with Wout van Aert establishing himself as the dominant man of all terrains in 2022. Sagan still holds the all-time green jersey record with seven wins in nine participations. Erik Zabel's six jerseys lie second, ahead of Sean Kelly's four.

In addition to his yellow jersey, Vingegaard won the polka-dot jersey for the mountains classification in 2022, as Pogačar did the previous two years.  Richard Virenque holds the record for polka dot jersey wins at seven, and it won't be beaten anytime soon as Pogačar and Rafał Majka are the only current riders to have won more than one king of the mountains title, with two.

Pogačar has won the white jersey for best young rider three years in a row and, at 24, is still eligible for a fourth crack in 2023.

Read on for a list of the riders with the most wins of the Tour de France, the most stage wins, as well as the major jerseys.

Most Tour de France overall wins

• 5 – Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Miguel Indurain
• 4 –  Chris Froome
• 3 – Phiilippe Thys, Louison Bobet, Greg LeMond
• 2 – Lucien Petit-Breton, Firmin Lambot, Ottavio Bottecchia, Nicolas Frantz, André Leducq, Antonin Magne, Sylvère Maes, Gino Bartali, Fausto Coppi, Bernard Thévenet, Laurent Fignon, Alberto Contador, Tadej Pogačar
• 1 – Geraint Thomas , Egan Bernal , Jonas Vingegaard

Most Tour de France stage wins

• 34 – Eddy Merckx, Mark Cavendish
• 28 – Bernard Hinault
• 25 – André Leducq
• 22 – André Darrigade
• 20 – Nicolas Frantz
• 19 – François Faber
• 17 – Jean Alavoine
• 16 – Jacques Anquetiil, René Le Grevès, Charles Pélissiier ...
• 12 – Peter Sagan
• 11 – André Greipel
• 9 – Tadej Pogačar , Wout van Aert
• 7 – Chris Froome

Most Tour de France points classification/green jersey wins

• 7 –  Peter Sagan
• 6 – Erik Zabel
• 4 – Sean Kelly
• 3 – Jan Janssen, Eddy Merckx, Freddy Maertens, Djamolidine Abdoujaparov, Robbie McEwen
• 2 – Stan Ockers, Jean Graczyk, André Darrigade, Laurent Jalabert, Thor Hushovd, Mark Cavendish
• 1 – Michael Matthews , Sam Bennett , Wout van Aert

Most Tour de France polka dot jersey/mountains classification wins

• 7 – Richard Virenque
• 6 – Federico Bahamontes, Lucien Van Impe 
• 3 – Julio Jiménez
• 2 – Felicien Vervaecke, Gino Bartali, Fausto Coppi, Charly Gaul, Imerio Massignan, Eddy Merckx, Luis Herrera, Claudio Chiappucci, Laurent Jalabert, Michael Rasmussen, Rafał Majka , Tadej Pogačar
• 1 – Nairo Quintana , Chris Froome , Warren Barguil , Julian Alaphilippe , Romain Bardet , Jonas Vingegaard

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Giro d’Italia 2024 : A Guide to Italy’s Grand Tour

By Tim Perkin

The Giro d’Italia 2024 starts on Saturday, 4 th May. It is the first Grand Tour of the cycling season and one which always delivers exciting racing.

Last year’s race ended in dramatic fashion as Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) delivered an incredible performance in the individual time trial on stage 20. He won the stage and consequently the Giro, by only 14 seconds over Geraint Thomas (INEOS Grenadiers). This victory marked the start of an unprecedented clean sweep of Grand Tour wins for Team Jumbo-Visma (now Visma-Lease a Bike) in 2023.

The Visma-Lease a Bike team will be looking to repeat their victory this year, which will be the 107 th edition of Giro d’Italia. With defending champion Primož Roglič focussing on the Tour de France, a new winner is guaranteed to be crowned when the 3-week race finishes in the historic city of Rome, on Sunday, 26 th May.

Brief History

The Giro d’Italia, also known as the “Giro,” is the second most important stage race in the world, following the Tour de France, which inspired it. Italian newspaper editor Tullo Morgagni, who worked for La Gazzetta dello Sport,  was pivotal in championing the need for an Italian bicycle race, similar to that of the Tour de France. Convinced of its merit, the paper’s owner, Emilio Costamagna sanctioned the event which was then first held on 13 th May, 1909.

The leader of the race wears the pink jersey, which is called the “Maglia Rosa ” . This happened because the organisers of the event La Gazzetta dello Sport printed their newspaper using pink paper. Although the winner of the first ever Giro Italia in 1909 was Italian Luigi Ganna, the use of the pink jersey was not introduced until 1931 and so the winner of the first ever Maglia Rosa was Francesco Camusso.

Three riders hold the record for the most wins: Italians Alfredo Binda and Fausto Coppi and Belgian Eddy Merckx with five wins each. The Route

The Giro d’Italia is always a challenge and this year the route totals 3386.7 km and is slightly shorter than the previous year, which was 3489.2km.  In total, the race includes 44,500 meters of climbing which is also less than the 2023 edition, which had 51,400 meters of elevation.

The average stage is 161.3km long and stage 15 is the longest, measuring 220km. This challenging day finishes at the Mottolino ski slope, at an elevation of 2385m and the stage will see riders tackle five climbs. To reach the finish, they will battle brutally steep sections that in places reach a maximum gradient of 18%.

There are five mountain stages. Among them stages 15, 16, and 17 consist of three consecutive days, which are interspersed with a rest day. These stages, along with the two individual time trials (Stage 7 and 14), are crucial for the entire race. The time trials total a combined distance of 69.7km.

The race will finish like it did in 2023, on the Via di San Gregorio, close to the Colosseum. In this historic and iconic setting, in the centre of Rome, you can expect a bunch sprint but the question is:  which sprinter will make it through the mountains to be in a position to compete for victory against this magnificent backdrop?

The decisive stages

Like Italian Operas that build to a specular crescendo, the 2024 Giro d’Italia is set to do the same.  The end of second week, and final week in particular, will see riders tackle four decisive stages.

The first crucial stage is stage 14 on Saturday, 18 th May. This individual time trial will see riders attack a relatively flat 31.2 km course from Castiglione delle Stiviere, that finishes in Desenzano del Garda, which is situated on the banks of the spectacular Lake Garda, in northern Italy. Riders will not want to concede any time to their rivals, leaving the leaders with high pressure to showcase a consistent performance.

Being consistent will also be the key tactic for stage 15 on Sunday, 19 th May. This stage is a 220 km marathon through the mountains, tackling the famous Passo del Mortirolo, which reaches an elevation of 1854m. From the peak, there still is 66km (most of which is uphill), to the finish in Livigno. This stage will certainly show who has the form to contest the Maglia Rosa.

Stage 16 is another epic part of the race, coming immediately after the rest day, where the iconic Passo dello Stelvio or simply “the Stelvio” climb is tackled. The climb rises to 2,757 metres in altitude and is referred to as the “Cima Coppi” which is the highest point that the riders must climb during the race. The climb was first introduced for the 1965 Giro d’Italia in honour of Italian cyclist Fausto Coppi. With this iconic climb being relatively early in the stage, it is unlikely to have an outcome on the General Classification. However, the final climb to Santa Cristina in Val Gardena will likely play an important role during this phase of the race where we will most likely see the General Classification contenders jostling for position.

Up next is stage 20, the penultima stage of the race which sees riders tackle the Monte Grappa on two occasions. With an average gradient of 8.1% and a maximum of 17% in places, it is a steep and long climb covering 18.1 km in total. The second ascent will provide the final opportunity for the General Classification riders to do something spectacular, before the descent into the finish, in the medieval town of Bassano del Grappa.

The contenders

The overwhelming favourite for the Maglia Rosa is two-times Tour de France Champion, Tadej Pogačar, racing for UAE Team Emirates. However, victory is not a certainty and in a Grand Tour, anything can and often does happen, like in 2023.

The previous year, Remco Evenepoel had just won the individual time trial and was leading the race but following an unexpected positive test for COVID, had to withdraw from the race. This resulted in Geraint Thomas inheriting the leader’s jersey, which he eventually lost to Primož Roglič, in the final time trial.

This year, Geraint Thomas is returning with his INEOS Grenadiers team in an attempt to improve his second-place finish. He is coming with a team stacked with strong riders, such as Italian Filippo Ganna, who always delivers a solid performance in his home race and will hope to do well in the two individual time trials.

Another contender to watch out for is Australian Ben O’Connor, racing for Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team.  In 2021 he proved his ability by finishing 4th in the Tour de France, and so far this season he has finished 5th in Tirreno-Adriatico and 2nd in the UAE Tour.

Magic moments

There is something different about the Giro d’Italia. It’s a race where magical moments happen. Last year it was Primož Roglič completing the time trial of his life to win the race. Similarly, in 2018 on stage 19 with 80 kms remaining, Chris Froome launched a solo attack over the mountains. He won the race and claimed the overall lead, which he held until the end.  With Tadej Pogačar racing, one thing is guaranteed and that is something inspiring will happen, the only question is when?  It is going to be an entertaining race that will end with hopefully a climactic finish.    

  About the Author

Tim has a passion for cycling and it was integral to regaining fitness after an arduous battle with cancer. Tim is the founder of Mountain Massif, who host esports cycling events. Over the years, Tim has written about a range of cycling topics, including testing and reviewing the major smart trainers. In addition, he has been fortunate to ride and interview some of the sports leading figures such as Tour de France winner Andy Schleck and sprint legend André Greipel.

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2024 Giro d’Italia Preview

, by Max Leonard

The 2024 Giro d'Italia will test some of the world's best riders to their limits. The 21 stage race starts on Saturday May 4, finishing in Rome three weeks later. Cycling journalist Max Leonard previews the challenging route and names the riders to watch out for.

The 107th edition of the Giro d’Italia begins on Saturday 4 May in Turin and finishes at the Colosseum in Rome on Sunday three weeks later. In between, it traverses 3400.8km / 2113.1 mi and climbs 44,650m / 146,500 ft around Il Bel Paese , heading anti-clockwise around the country. It travels down the western side as far as Pompei, then across and up the Adriatic Coast towards a final week filled with the testing mountain roads of the eastern ranges of the Alps, before a flight transfer for the final stage in Rome.

RELATED: A Beginner’s Guide to the Giro d'Italia

The average stage length is 161.9km / 100.6 mi, and, unusually, the race contains two relatively long individual time trials. Stage 7 from Foligno to Ponte Vallecepi is 40.6km / 25.2 mi long, ending in a 274 vertical-metre (899 ft) climb; Stage 14 , meanwhile, runs from Castiglione delle Stiviere 31.2 km / 19.4 mi to Desenzano del Garda, on the famous lake, and is flat, with a slight net downhill from start to finish.

Overall, the course looks set to provoke a very attacking race, with relatively short stages, and climbs from Stage 1 and the first summit finish on Stage 2 at the Santuario di Oropa . Stage 6 features some of the Tuscan white gravel roads made famous by the Strade Bianche one-day race – always a spectacle – and Stage 8 in the Apennines is the race’s first full mountain stage. The mountain highlights, however, come after a quiet middle week, in a fiendishly difficult last few days that are crowned by two ascents of Monte Grappa in the penultimate stage.

There’ll be plenty of breakaways and riders going for individual stages – which should make up for the expected lack of competition in the fight for the overall leader’s maglia rosa . Team UAE’s young maestro Tadej Pogačar is attempting the Giro-Tour double this year, and – let’s be honest – there is nobody on the start sheet with the talent or the form to stop him.

JOIN THE CLUB: The Giro d'Italia is now on Strava

Last year’s winner, Visma–Lease a Bike’s Primož Roglič, has opted for the Tour de France this year, and the true GC battle will probably be for second place. Ineos Grenadiers’ Geraint Thomas , second in 2023, will probably be first among Pogačar’s chasing pack. On his heels will be other team leaders like AG2R’s Ben O’Connor , Israel–Premier Tech’s Mike Woods , Team dsm–firmenich PostNL’s veteran Romain Bardet and Bora–Hansgrohe’s Dani Martinez scrapping for podium places and stage wins.

Visma–Lease a Bike’s ingénu Cian Uijtdebroeks might be the one to watch as a talent emerging onto the biggest stage, after team-mate Wout van Aert pulled out due to injury.

Riders to follow:

Tadej pogačar.

Progously talented and utterly engaging, Tadej Pogačar not only won the 2020 and 2021 editions of the Tour de France, he also took three different jerseys in the process. The Slovenian also holds numerous one-day and classic titles.

Romain Bardet

A renowned climber, Romain Bardet is always in contention on mountain stages, and won the Mountain Classification at the 2019 Tour de France.

Thymen Arensman

Dutch cyclist Thymen Arensman is carving a strong reputation in the pro peloton having started out in cyclo cross. The Ineos Grenadiers finished sixth in the 2023 Giro.

Ben O’Connor

Decathlon–AG2R La Mondiale rider Ben O'Connor hasn't raced the Giro since 2020. The Australian rider has enjoyed a strong start to the 2024 season, including a win at the Vuelta a Murcia.

Damiano Caruso

Italy's Damiano Caruso is no stranger to the Giro - the Team Bahrain Victorious rider finished second in 2021, having taken stage wins along the way.

Michael Woods

Canada's Michael Woods will be riding in his first Giro since 2018. The Israel–Premier Tech rider won Stage 9 at last year's Tour de France.

Filippo Ganna

Italy's Filippo Ganna is a track and road specialist. On the track Filippo has won Olympic Gold in the team pursuit, and 6x world titles in the individual pursuit. He has also won a number of stages at the Giro.

Aurélien Paret-Peintre

Decathlon–AG2R La Mondiale's Aurélien Paret-Peintre is a French cyclist who recorded a remarkable breakaway win on Stage 4 of the 2023 Giro. He has enjoyed a strong start to 2024, including a 5th place finish at Liège–Bastogne–Liège.

Dutch cyclist Wout Poels has yet to win a stage at the Giro, but has picked up multiple stage wins at the Vuelta and won Stage 15 of the Tour de France in 2023.

The Giro d'Italia starts on Saturday May 4 and finishes on Sunday May 26. Be sure to follow the Giro club for the latest updates and information on the race.

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The Secret Push That Could Ban TikTok

U.s. lawmakers have long worried that the chinese government could use the app to spread propaganda..

This transcript was created using speech recognition software. While it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors. Please review the episode audio before quoting from this transcript and email [email protected] with any questions.

From “The New York Times,” I’m Sabrina Tavernise. And this is “The Daily.”

[THEME MUSIC]

American lawmakers have tried for years to ban the video app TikTok over concerns that its ties to China pose a national security risk. Last week, they passed a law that might finally do it. Today, my colleague, Sapna Maheshwari, on the secret effort behind the law and what a ban would mean for the company’s 170 million American users.

It’s Tuesday, April 30.

So Sapna, tell me about this law that just passed that potentially bans the social media app TikTok. We’ve seen efforts in the past to rein in TikTok, but this one really seems like the most substantial yet.

It’s a huge deal. What this law really does is it puts the future of this hugely popular app with 170 million American users into question. TikTok has reshaped the way many people listen to music. It’s changed the way we cook. It’s made a whole different kind of celebrity.

But it’s never been able to shake these concerns around the fact that it has really close ties to China. It’s owned by a Chinese company, ByteDance. And lawmakers, for years, have been worried that the Chinese government could somehow use ByteDance and TikTok to get information on Americans or possibly spread propaganda.

President Trump tried to ban it in 2020. The State of Montana tried to ban this app last year. TikTok has largely survived those challenges, but this time it could actually be banned in the United States.

So let’s talk about this. Why did this effort succeed where the other ones failed?

So it’s an interesting story.

Here we go.

The committee will come to order.

And it really dates back to this hearing about a year ago that Congress had with Shou Chew, the CEO of TikTok.

Mr. Chew, you are here because the American people need the truth about the threat TikTok poses to our national and personal security.

Members of the committee, thank you for your time.

— TikTok has repeatedly said that it has addressed these national security concerns and that there’s no issue here. And you can hear that when Shou Chew testified.

Let me start by addressing a few misconceptions about ByteDance of which we are a subsidiary. ByteDance is not owned or controlled by the Chinese government.

He’s saying American investors are behind ByteDance.

Now, TikTok itself is not available in mainland China. We’re headquartered in Los Angeles and in Singapore.

And I myself am Singaporean. I live in Singapore.

The bottom line is this — American data, stored on American soil, by an American company, overseen by American personnel.

And we are actually going above and beyond what American technology companies do to keep things safe.

And I look forward to your questions. Thank you very much.

And is Congress convinced by that?

Congress is not convinced by that.

ByteDance is a Chinese company?

Well, ByteDance owns many businesses that operates in China.

Is it or is it not a Chinese company?

Congressman, the way we look at it, it was founded by Chinese entrepreneurs.

No, no, no, no. I’m not asking how you look at it. Fact, is it a Chinese company or not? For example, Dell is a company —

It was this really fiery, five-hour hearing, where Republicans and Democrats asked really contentious questions.

We do not promote or remove content at the request of the Chinese government. Will you repeat —

The question is, are you percent certain that they cannot use your company to promote such messages?

It is our commitment to this committee and all our users that we will keep this free from any manipulation by any government.

OK. If you can’t say it 100 percent certain I take that as a no.

There’s this underlying sense of distrust around the company and its ties to China.

I will remind you that making false or misleading statements to Congress is a federal crime.

I understand. Again, you can go on our platform. You will find that content.

And it becomes clear through the hearing that, across the board, Republicans and Democrats largely feel the same way.

Mr. Chew, I got to hand it to you. You’ve actually done something that in the last three to four years has not happened except for the exception of maybe Vladimir Putin. You have unified Republicans and Democrats.

So within weeks of this hearing, this small group of lawmakers gets together. And they say, let’s come up with a law that works where all the other ones have failed and actually make TikTok answer to its Chinese connections once and for all.

So tell me about this small group of lawmakers. Who are they?

So it starts with Republicans. Among them is Steve Scalise, one of the most powerful Republicans in the House. And a small group sort of works together for a few months, but they realize that in order to really make this law work, they’re going to need Democrats. So they end up working through this House Committee that’s focused on China and competition. And this is where the bulk of the work on this bill takes place.

And just to note, this is a really small group. There’s less than 20 key players who are working on this. And all throughout, they are keeping this very, very secret.

And why exactly are they keeping it secret? What’s the point of that?

So this group really wanted to keep this out of the eyes of TikTok, which has a huge lobbying presence in DC, and has successfully worked to kill bills that targeted TikTok in the past. And what they’re really doing is looking at all of the past efforts to either force a sale or a ban of TikTok, and trying to work their way through why those plans didn’t succeed and what they can do differently.

But while the lawmakers are working on this bill, something big happens that kind of changes the politics around it. And that’s October 7.

Your social media feeds are unique to you, but could they be shaping how you view the Israel-Gaza War? The BBC’s —

As the war breaks out and people start getting information about it, a lot of people are getting information about the Israel-Hamas War on TikTok, especially young people.

Social media algorithms seem to be driving some users towards increasingly divisive posts —

And there’s this big messy argument spilling out into living rooms and all over the internet, and, of course on TikTok. And it’s getting very heated. For instance, there’s this moment in the fall where a bunch of TikTok users start sharing this old manifesto.

I read Osama bin Laden’s “Letter to America.”

It’s wild, and everyone should read it.

Go read “A Letter to America.” Seriously, go read it.

That was actually written by Osama bin Laden, defending the 9/11 attacks and criticizing the United States’ support of Israel. TikTok users start trying to tie it to the modern day conflict.

Reading this letter, it becomes apparent to me that the actions of 9/11 were all just the buildup of our government failing other nations.

The way this letter is going viral right now is giving me the greatest sense of relief. Now it’s all coming to light because of Palestine.

And there’s these accusations that TikTok may be promoting one side of the conflict over the other. And a couple of researchers look at hashtags around Palestine, and they say that the data they pulled shows that TikTok is showing way more pro-Palestine videos and not so much for Israel. And this sets off huge alarm bells for this small group of lawmakers.

But isn’t that just a function of the fact that TikTok, at this point, is the public square in the United States for young people? I mean, this is what young people were talking about, and this is where they’re doing the talking.

TikTok has pushed back really forcefully against these accusations. They said that Gallup polls show that young people view Israel differently than older generations. They say that they’re not the ones influencing what people post, that the hashtags and the videos are a reflection of the user base and nothing that they’re doing to influence.

But for lawmakers, this doesn’t really make their concerns go away. Instead, this conflict shows them how TikTok could be used to spread propaganda. It made lawmakers feel that TikTok could be really dangerous when it comes to shaping the views of Americans on foreign policy, on US elections. And what it also does is, it provides this driving force to this group that’s drafting this bill. And they suddenly see that this might be a way to bring more people into their effort.

And so heading into November against this backdrop, they even bring in the White House and the Justice Department to help work on this bill. And with the White House, they want to make sure that this is a bill that the president will support. And they work with the Justice Department to shore up the language in the bill to help defend against court challenges.

Because the Justice Department, of course, would be the one that would have to defend the bill, right?

That’s exactly right. And so they’re trying to make it as rock solid as possible so that they can win in court when TikTok challenges this law. And so March rolls around, and they decide that it’s time to unveil this bill that they’ve been working on for close to a year.

The battle over TikTok on Capitol Hill is intensifying.

This morning, House lawmakers have agreed unanimously to move a bill to a full floor vote.

And TikTok is caught completely flat footed. They didn’t see this coming. And this is just what the group wanted. So TikTok has this army of lobbyists that’s suddenly scrambling. And they go into damage control mode. They start reaching out to members of Congress.

This app is so much more than just an app for dumb TikTok dances.

They fly a group of TikTok stars and small businesses to come to DC —

This is a life-changing apps.

— and lobby on the steps of the Capitol and meet with lawmakers.

Standing up here with all these amazing TikTokers behind me is a complete honor, and every single one of them would voice their opinion just like this. This is how we feel. This has to stop.

They set up interviews between these TikTok creators, as they’re known, and big TV shows and news programs. And they’re doing everything they can to fight against this bill before it goes any further. And then they decide to do something unusual, which is use TikTok itself to try and derail this bill.

How exactly do they do that?

So days after this bill is announced, a ton of TikTok users get a message when they open the TikTok app that basically says, call Congress and tell them not to ban TikTok.

Hmm. OK. So like, literally this window comes up and says, call Congress. Here you go.

Exactly. You can enter your zip code, and there’s a button that appears. And you can press it, and the call goes straight to your representative.

So offices are quickly overwhelmed by calls. And TikTok sent out this message to users on the same day that a House committee is going into vote on this bill and whether to move it forward. And so the stunt happens. They go into vote, and they come out, and it’s 50 to 0 in support of the bill.

One of the representatives who worked on the bill said that this stunt by TikTok turned a lot of no’s into yeses and yeses into, quote, “hell yeses.”

[LAUGHS]: so the whole episode sounds like it actually backfired, right? Like, TikTok’s stunt essentially just confirmed what was the deepest fears of lawmakers about this company, that the app could be used to influence American politics.

That’s definitely how a lot of lawmakers viewed it. And when this bill is brought to the full House a week later, it passes by an overwhelming majority. And weeks later, it passes in the Senate as part of a broader aid package. And on Wednesday, it’s signed into law by President Biden.

But now the question is, what does it mean? Like, how will this actually work? And how will it affect the tens of millions of Americans who use TikTok every day?

[MUSIC PLAYING]

We’ll be right back.

So Sapna, now that Biden has signed this bill, what does it actually mean in practice for TikTok? What does the law do?

So the law is really trying to push ByteDance, the company that owns TikTok, to sell to a non-Chinese owner. And the company basically has nine months for this sale to happen. There’s an option for President Biden to add another three months to that clock. And if the company doesn’t find a buyer or refuses to be sold, it will be banned.

And what would a ban actually mean, Sapna? I mean, people would still have the app on their phones, right? So it wouldn’t disappear overnight.

Yeah, no one’s coming to pick up your phone and to forcibly delete this thing. What the law says is that app stores and web hosting services wouldn’t be allowed to carry TikTok anymore. So basically, it would kind of die a slow death over time, where it wouldn’t be updated and just kind of peter out.

So the bottom line here is that the clock has started on this potential sale, right? They have 12 months to find a buyer. So what are the obstacles here? I mean, it sounds pretty ferociously complicated.

There’s a ton of challenges here. And it’s a very messy choose-your-own adventure. So one of the first big questions is who could buy this?

ByteDance and TikTok are private. We don’t know their financials. But analysts estimate that it will cost tens of billions of dollars. That narrows the buying pool pretty quickly. And a lot of the companies that could afford to buy it, like Meta, the owner of Facebook, or Google, which owns YouTube, would probably be kicked out of the running because they are simply too big. Regulators would say, you already own these big apps. You can’t possibly add this to your stable.

There’d be a monopoly concern there.

Exactly. And then, there’s a lot of questions around how this would work, technically. ByteDance and TikTok are very much global organizations. You have the CEO in Singapore. They have huge operations in Ireland. They have this big workforce in the US. And of course, they do have engineers in China.

So how do you extract all those things, make it all work? It’s a very big international transaction.

And then there is the chance that the Chinese government blocks this sale and says, you cannot do this, ByteDance. We will not allow it.

So Sapna, how does that actually work, though, in terms of China? I mean, can China actually just ban the sale of this company? I mean, it is a private company after all, right?

Well, here’s one way it could work. The Chinese government could block the export of TikTok’s algorithm. And let me explain that in kind of plain English.

They could basically block the technology that fuels the TikTokiness of this app, the recommendations, the magic of it, why you see what you see when you’re looking at TikTok.

TikTokiness, is that an adjective?

That is now an adjective.

[LAUGHS]: Nice.

And there’s a chance that Beijing could say, hey, you can’t export this technology. That is proprietary. And if that happens, that suddenly makes TikTok way, way less valuable.

So the Chinese government could let the sale go through potentially, but as a kind of an empty shell, right? The thing that makes TikTok TikTok, the algorithm, wouldn’t be part of the company. So that probably isn’t very appealing for a potential buyer.

Exactly. And I mean, the role of the Chinese government here is really interesting. I’ve talked to experts who say, well, if the Chinese government interferes to try and block a sale of this app, doesn’t that underscore and prove all the concerns that have been expressed by American lawmakers?

If you’re worried about China being in control of this thing, well, that just confirmed your fears.

Exactly. And I mean, it’s an interesting thing that ByteDance and TikTok have to grapple with.

So bottom line here — selling TikTok is quite complicated, and perhaps not even possible for these reasons that you’re giving, right? I mean, not least of which because the Chinese government might not allow the algorithm to leave the country. And that’s not something that the US Congress has a lot of control over.

So is this law fundamentally just a ban, then?

That’s what TikTok is calling it. Right after this bill was signed into law on Wednesday —

Make no mistake, this is a ban, a ban on TikTok and a ban on you and your voice.

— Tiktok’s CEO made a TikTok — what else?— that explained the company’s position.

Because the freedom of expression on TikTok reflects the same American values that make the United States a beacon of freedom.

He actually argued that TikTok reflects American values.

TikTok gives everyday Americans a powerful way to be seen and heard. And that’s why so many people have made TikTok part of their daily lives.

And he said that this law infringes on the First Amendment free speech rights of Americans who love it and who use it every day.

The facts and the Constitution are on our side, and we expect to prevail again.

So it’s very clear that TikTok plans to challenge this law in court. And the court fight to follow will determine the fate of TikTok’s future in the US.

So is that First Amendment argument that the TikTok CEO is making here going to work?

Nobody wants to put money on that. I mean, the company is really approaching this with the idea that the First Amendment rights of Americans are being infringed on. But if you remember, the government has been working on this law. They’ve been anticipating those challenges. And they can justify an infringing of First Amendment rights in certain cases, including with national security concerns. And so it’ll be up to a judge on whether those concerns pass muster and justify this sale and even a potential ban of TikTok.

Got it. So TikTok will argue free speech, First Amendment. And the government will counter by saying, look, this is about China. This is about America’s national security interests.

That’s right. And the legal experts that I’ve spoken with say this is a really big and sticky area of the law, and it’s a huge case. And they really think that this will go to the Supreme Court, regardless of who wins in the first round of this.

So where does that leave the millions of Americans who use TikTok, and many of them, of course, who earn a living on the platform?

I mean, it’s really uncertain what happens now with the company, and the clock has started ticking. When I’ve looked at TikTok and looked at videos from users —

This is about the impending TikTok ban. And it just triggered me so much. It makes my blood boil, and I have to get this out there.

There’s a lot of shock —

The most success I’ve had has been here on TikTok, and now they’re trying to take it away.

This is so stupid!

— and anger.

You can’t ban apps! You can’t ban things from people!

People are confused.

Word on the street is that in the next 9 to 12 months, TikTok could be banned.

And they’re also caught a bit off guard, just because there have been these years of efforts to do something about TikTok. People on the app have been hearing about a TikTok ban, really, since 2020.

The government can take away a literal app on our phones, and we’re supposed to believe we’re free?

A few TikTokers have said, how can this be the thing that the government is pushing through so quickly?

Can we stop funding a genocide? No. Can we get free COVID tests? No. Can we stop killing the planet? No. Can we at least watch videos on an app of people doing fun things and learn about the world around us? No.

So there’s this sense of distrust and disappointment for many people who love this app.

We got rid of TikTok. You’re welcome. Protecting you from China. You know that phone was made in China. Ah!

And I think there’s also this question, too, around what about TikTok makes it so harmful? Even though it has increasingly become a place for news, there’s plenty of people who simply use this app for entertainment. And what they’re seeing out of Washington just doesn’t square with the reality they experience when they pull out their phones.

And I wonder, Sapna, I mean, just kind of stepping back for a second, let’s say this ban on TikTok succeeds. If it goes through, would Americans be better off?

It depends who you ask. For the users who love TikTok, if it actually disappeared, it would be the government taking away a place where maybe they make money, where they get their entertainment, where they figure out what to read or what to cook next. To free speech advocates, this would be dystopian, unheard of for the government to crack down on an app with such wide usage by Americans.

But for the American political class And the National security establishment, this is a necessary move, one that was years in the making, not something that was just come up with on the fly. And ultimately, it all comes down to China and this idea that you can’t have a social media app like this, a source of news like this, that is even at all at risk of being influenced by the Chinese government and our greatest adversaries.

Sapna, thank you.

Here’s what else you should know today. On Monday, in its latest high-profile showdown with pro-Palestinian protesters, Columbia University gave students until 2:00 PM to clear out from an encampment at the center of campus or face suspension. It appeared to be an effort to remove the encampment without relying on New York City Police, whose removal of a previous encampment there two weeks ago inspired similar protests on campuses across the country.

Free Palestine!

Hi, this is Sharon Otterman reporting for “The New York Times.”

00 PM deadline for protesters to clear out of the encampment at the center of Columbia University has come and gone, and there’s still quite a large contingent inside the encampment.

But Monday’s warning seemed only to galvanize the Columbia protesters and their supporters.

And hundreds of students and others from around the campus have come out to support them. They are currently walking around in a picket around the encampment.

Hundreds of students, standing for or five people deep, encircled the encampment in a show of solidarity. They were joined by members of the Columbia faculty.

There’s also dozens of faculty members, who are prepared to stand in lines in front of the main entrance to the encampment, in case Public Safety or the NYPD move in. But as of 2:00, there was no sign of that happening.

Then, on Monday evening, Columbia announced it had begun to suspend students who had failed to leave the encampment. It was unclear exactly how many students had been suspended.

[PRO-PALESTINE CHANTING]:

Today’s episode was produced by Will Reid, Rachelle Banja, and Rob Szypko. It was edited by Marc Georges and Liz O. Baylen, contains original music by Dan Powell and Marion Lozano, and was engineered by Chris Wood. Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Special thanks to Sharon Otterman.

That’s it for “The Daily.” I’m Sabrina Tavernise. See you tomorrow.

• May 1, 2024   •   35:16 The New Abortion Fight Before the Supreme Court
• April 30, 2024   •   27:40 The Secret Push That Could Ban TikTok
• April 29, 2024   •   47:53 Trump 2.0: What a Second Trump Presidency Would Bring
• April 26, 2024   •   21:50 Harvey Weinstein Conviction Thrown Out
• April 25, 2024   •   40:33 The Crackdown on Student Protesters
• April 24, 2024   •   32:18 Is $60 Billion Enough to Save Ukraine?
• April 23, 2024   •   30:30 A Salacious Conspiracy or Just 34 Pieces of Paper?
• April 22, 2024   •   24:30 The Evolving Danger of the New Bird Flu
• April 19, 2024   •   30:42 The Supreme Court Takes Up Homelessness
• April 18, 2024   •   30:07 The Opening Days of Trump’s First Criminal Trial
• April 17, 2024   •   24:52 Are ‘Forever Chemicals’ a Forever Problem?
• April 16, 2024   •   29:29 A.I.’s Original Sin

Hosted by Sabrina Tavernise

Featuring Sapna Maheshwari

Produced by Will Reid ,  Rachelle Bonja and Rob Szypko

Edited by Marc Georges and Liz O. Baylen

Original music by Marion Lozano and Dan Powell

Engineered by Chris Wood

Listen and follow The Daily Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music

American lawmakers have tried for years to ban TikTok, concerned that the video app’s links to China pose a national security risk.

Sapna Maheshwari, a technology reporter for The Times, explains the behind-the-scenes push to rein in TikTok and discusses what a ban could mean for the app’s 170 million users in the United States.

On today’s episode

Sapna Maheshwari , who covers TikTok, technology and emerging media companies for The New York Times.

Background reading

A tiny group of lawmakers huddled in private about a year ago, aiming to bulletproof a bill that could ban TikTok.

The TikTok law faces court challenges, a shortage of qualified buyers and Beijing’s hostility .

Love, hate or fear it, TikTok has changed America .

There are a lot of ways to listen to The Daily. Here’s how.

We aim to make transcripts available the next workday after an episode’s publication. You can find them at the top of the page.

Special thanks to Sharon Otterman .

The Daily is made by Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, Luke Vander Ploeg, M.J. Davis Lin, Dan Powell, Sydney Harper, Mike Benoist, Liz O. Baylen, Asthaa Chaturvedi, Rachelle Bonja, Diana Nguyen, Marion Lozano, Corey Schreppel, Rob Szypko, Elisheba Ittoop, Mooj Zadie, Patricia Willens, Rowan Niemisto, Jody Becker, Rikki Novetsky, John Ketchum, Nina Feldman, Will Reid, Carlos Prieto, Ben Calhoun, Susan Lee, Lexie Diao, Mary Wilson, Alex Stern, Dan Farrell, Sophia Lanman, Shannon Lin, Diane Wong, Devon Taylor, Alyssa Moxley, Summer Thomad, Olivia Natt, Daniel Ramirez and Brendan Klinkenberg.

Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Special thanks to Sam Dolnick, Paula Szuchman, Lisa Tobin, Larissa Anderson, Julia Simon, Sofia Milan, Mahima Chablani, Elizabeth Davis-Moorer, Jeffrey Miranda, Renan Borelli, Maddy Masiello, Isabella Anderson and Nina Lassam.

Sapna Maheshwari reports on TikTok, technology and emerging media companies. She has been a business reporter for more than a decade. Contact her at [email protected] . More about Sapna Maheshwari

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