tour de france laruns 2023

Tour de France: Jai Hindley wins stage 5 as Vingegaard drops Pogacar in Pyrenees

Australian moves into yellow jersey after day-long attack

Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe) won a tumultuous stage 5 of the Tour de France in Laruns to move into the yellow jersey, but Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) is now the clear favourite for overall victory after he dropped Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) on the Col de Marie Blanque, gaining more than a minute on his rival in the process.

Vingegaard is now up to second overall, 47 seconds behind Hindley, and the Dane is already some 53 seconds ahead of Pogačar after an ominous show of force on the Tour’s entry into the Pyrenees. Paris is still two and a half weeks away, but the road to overall victory very clearly runs through Vingegaard.

The Basque Grand Départ meant the first high mountains of this Tour arrived much earlier than normal, but there was nothing cagey about the peloton’s approach to a day that produced spectacle from start to finish, with Hindley part of a dangerous split that went clear before the road had even started to climb.

Powered by strongmen that included Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma), that sizeable group built up a maximum lead of four minutes over the top of the Col de Soudet and they still had 2:30 in hand at the base of the Col de Marie Blanque.

Four kilometres from the top of the Marie Blanque, Hindley tracked an acceleration from Felix Gall (AG2R-Citroën) and the 2021 Giro d’Italia winner then proceeded to drop the Swiss rider to crest the summit alone and drop to the finish in Laruns as the stage winner.

“I was sort of improvising out there and enjoying bike racing and I just managed to find myself in that group,” said Hindley, who is making his Tour debut. “I enjoyed it out there today. It's really incredible. I have no words – I really have no words.”

Further down the mountain, Jumbo-Visma had taken over the pace-making in the yellow jersey group from UAE Team Emirates, and when Sepp Kuss went into overdrive on the upper slopes of the Marie Blanque, only Vingegaard and Pogačar could follow.

Vingegaard was clearly encouraged by what he saw. 1500m or so from the summit, he delivered a familiar acceleration that Pogačar simply could not match. While Pogačar battled to limit his losses, Vingegaard zoomed ahead into the mist, picking off the remnants of the break as he set about closing the gap to Hindley.

“We didn’t think this was the perfect stage for me, but, yeah, then when they started riding on the last climb, I had the feeling I had good legs,” Vingegaard said. “I said to Sepp that maybe he goes on the front. He did and I decided to attack as well.”

As simple and as complicated as that. The defending champion crested the summit 1:05 down on Hindley but 36 seconds clear of Pogačar, and he continued to improve his position on the 18.5km that remained to the finish in Laruns.

Vingegaard caught Gall, Emanuel Buchmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) in the closing kilometres, coming home fifth on the stage, 34 seconds behind the Australian.

Pogačar, meanwhile, waited for overnight leader and teammate Adam Yates on the descent off the Marie Blanque, but the damage was still considerable by the finish. In the Basque Country at the weekend, Pogačar picked off the bonus seconds, but the momentum of the race is suddenly all with Vingegaard, who confessed that he was surprised by his gains.

“Actually, yes,” Vingegaard said. “I wanted to test him a bit. And my legs were good and I’m super happy with where I am. I’m super happy with taking a minute, that’s a good time gain for me.”

How it unfolded

The opening instalment of the Pyrenean doubleheader saw the race encounter its first hors categorie ascent, but in keeping with the anarchic, ‘new normal’ of the modern Tour, the first defining moment of the day came even before the climbing had even begun.

The flat terrain after the start Pau encouraged a rapid start, and the peloton split after 15km or so during which Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) was always prominent towards the head of the bunch.

Once the dust settled, Van Aert was part of a 35-strong front group that also included Jumbo-Visma teammates Tiesj Benoot and Christophe Laporte, as well as GC dangerman Hindley, who had quality support in the form of German champion Emanuel Buchmann. The 37-strong group would proceed to amass a lead in excess of two minutes over the bunch before the Col de Soudet.

The UAE Team Emirates squad of Pogačar and yellow jersey Adam Yates took up the reins of pursuit, given that Vingegaard teammates up ahead, but their efforts failed to prevent the leaders from stretching their advantage to four minutes over the top of the mist-shrouded Soudet after Van Aert had briefly gone off the front with Victor Campenaerts (Lotto-Dstny) and Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek).

Gall attacked atop the climb to nab the mountains points, with Hindley looking very comfortable indeed, and the front group split up still further over the other side. Krists Neilands (Israel-Premier Tech) would slip away, later joined by Van Aert and Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal-QuickStep) over the Col d'Ichère, but they were pinned back by the rest of the break at the base of the final climb, the Col de Marie Blanque.

At that point, the Hindley et al had 2:30 in hand over the UAE-led peloton, but the AG2R contingent were keen to press on the pace on behalf of Gall. When the Swiss rider attacked 4km from the summit, only Hindley could follow. After working together for a time, the Australian opted to proceed alone.

At that point, the question seemed to be whether UAE Team Emirates could make inroads into Hindley’s buffer or indeed whether Pogačar would take matters in hand himself. Instead, it was Jumbo-Visma who laid down a marker in the yellow jersey group once Van Aert had dropped back, and their forcing created a selection that saw Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers), Romain Bardet (Team dsm-firmenich) and Ben O’Connor (AG2R-Citroën) among those quickly distanced.

Adam Yates, Simon Yates (Jayco-AlUla) and David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) were the next to go, and once Sepp Kuss came to the front on the upper reaches of the climb, only Vingegaard and Pogačar were able to follow. It was a striking selection given that this was still only the fifth day of the Tour, and an even starker message arrived shortly afterwards when Vingegaard pressed clear of Pogačar to strike the first telling blow of their prize fight.

It is far too soon, of course, to couch this as a knock-out blow, but Vingegaard’s early advantage on the scorecard is a sizeable one all the same. Pogačar, meanwhile, found himself relying on help from the undercard to stay in the contest, reaching Laruns in a group that included the Yates brothers, Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek), David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) and Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos).

Others suffered even more sobering afternoons, including Ben O’Connor (AG2R-Citroën), who lost 1:57, Mikel Landa (Bahrain Victorious), who conceded 2:55, and Egan Bernal (Ineos), who shipped 3:22.

The day and the jersey belonged to Hindley, who confirmed his credentials as a contender for the biggest prize, but Vingegaard already looms with intent. “We’ll just do our best,” the Dane said at the finish. “We’ll see what it ends with in Paris.”

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Barry Ryan is Head of Features at Cyclingnews. He has covered professional cycling since 2010, reporting from the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and events from Argentina to Japan. His writing has appeared in The Independent, Procycling and Cycling Plus. He is the author of The Ascent: Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche and the Rise of Irish Cycling’s Golden Generation , published by Gill Books.

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Tour de France 2023 Route stage 5: Pau - Laruns

Pau is a Tour de France staple. The town in the foothills of the Pyrenees hosted 65 stage starts and 62 stage finishes.

The first half of the race is played out on flat roads. While the climbing in the 2020 Pau-Laruns stage commenced on the Col de La Hourcère to continue onto the Col de Soudet, the latter is now tackled from Sainte-Engrâce. This way, the ascent is 15.2 kilometres long and averaging 7.2%. The first part is relatively easy before it gets wildly irregular after 5 kilometres with numerous sections at double digits.

The riders descend towards a flat section, which leads onto the Col d’Ichère. The 4.2 kilometres climb at 7% precedes the last obstacle of the day. The Col de Marie Blanque is a killer, although it opens in a friendly disguise. The gradients hardly exceed 5% in the first 3 kilometres before Marie Blanque shows her ugly teeth in the finale 4 kilometres, respectively rising at 10%, 12%, 13%, and 10%. The ascent totals 7.7 kilometres and the average gradient sits at 8.6%.

The first rider at the top is far from sure to win the race. As Marc Hirschi might tell him. In 2020, the Swiss rode solo at the front from the Col de La Hourcère onwards. He crested the Col de Soudet 5 minutes ahead of the peloton, a gap that was down to 20 seconds to the first chasers at the Col de Marie Blanque. The chasers – Tadej Pogacar, Primoz Roglic, Egan Bernal, Mikel Landa – caught Hirschi with 2 kilometres remaining before Pogacar took the spoils in the five-up sprint.

The first three riders on the line gain time bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds, while the first three on the Col de Marie Blanque get 8, 5 and 2 seconds.

Ride the route yourself? Download GPX stage 5 2023 Tour de France.

Another interesting read: results 5th stage 2023 Tour de France.

Tour de France 2023 stage 5: routes, profiles, more

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Tour de France Stage 5 Preview

A stage in the Pyrenees that promises plenty of action with a fight to get in the breakaway and the steep upper slopes of the Marie Blanque towards the end.

No go to Nogaro : having raised the prospect of protests stopping the race a couple of days ago, the riders conspired not to attack instead. It all made perfect sense through, a stage reserved for the sprinters, many teams have house sprinters, plus the added factor that teams don’t owe their invitation to the race organisers anyway so even if they don’t supply the “animation” they’ll be invited next year. But it wasn’t a day when nobody attacked, Benoît Cosnefroy and Anthony Delaplace had a go to the relief of the TV directors and commentators and enough for Cosnefroy to get the day’s consolatory combativity prize, not much for a rider who can be world class on his day.

The inevitable sprint came and another sprint win by Jasper Philipsen, again towed into place by Mathieu van der Poel although phrasing it like this makes it sound like the Belgian was in a Sedan chair, he had to sprint just to hold his colleague’s wheel before launching again and these two efforts had their price as he faded with Caleb Ewan closing in. Van der Poel was impressive for his lead out, less so for elbow barging Biniam Girmay aside and he was relegated for this.

A big publicity coup for Alpecin in France, their sales must be set to soar right? Only it’s not available in France except online outlets, the usual retailers of shampoo like supermarkets and pharmacies don’t stock it.

The Route : starting in Pau 162km there’s 3600m of vertical gain on the menu. It’s a copycat stage, almost identical to 2020’s Stage 9 except that time the main difference was the Soudet was climbed via another road.

There’s a dash south-west to the intermediate sprint after 40km, it could be that the breakaway doesn’t go until after if the sprinters’ teams want to have a go at this although Philipsen already has twice the points haul of Ewan in second.

There are several ways to the Col de Soudet and the nearby La Pierre Saint Martin ski area, this is from the west and an irregular road but with no surprises, lots of long sections.

The descent is fast and without any nasty surprises and there’s the intermediate sprint of the day. The Col d’Ichère is a nice even ride on the way up, the descent down is rougher and here there’s less than 10km to the final climb, a last chance to eat and drink.

The Marie-Blanque is an unusual climb, 7.7km at 8.6% but with three kilometres at 12-13%, look closely and you can probably see marks on the left of the road where surprised cyclos click-clack their way up in cleated shoes. It’s not just amateurs, Bernard Thevenet had won the Tour in 1977 but climbed off his bike on these slopes in 1978 and Bradley Wiggins once said “this is just the mountain I don’t cope with very easily, it seems to defy analysis” . The steep section is for the most part a long straight ramp, there’s no hairpin to exploit, no flat section to recover for a moment. There’s the 8-5-2 seconds time bonus at the top and a flat plateau section across the top before a fast descent with some tight bends.

The Finish : once off the mountain pass there’s a right turn and the riders head up the valley, there’s a slight gradient of 1-2% in places but otherwise it’s flat.

The Contenders : a good day for a breakaway, UAE might want to put Jonas Vingegaard under pressure but they don’t have to defend Adam Yates in yellow. Neilson Powless (EF Education-Easypost) is an obvious contender and if he’s in the break he can aim for the points on the Soudet and Marie Blanque without using up too much energy. The hard bit now is narrowing down all the other names so many will want to have a go today which means a rider could try but miss the right move, when they rode this stage in 2020 the move didn’t go until the start of the Soudet. George Zimmerman (Intermarché) took a Dauphiné stage. Patrick Konrad (Bora-Hansgrohe) is a versatile rider with a Pyrenean stage to his name already but it’s his only race win outside of Austria. Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar) can handle sharp climbs and packs a decent sprint from a group. Felix Gall (Ag2r Citroën) is climbing well and doesn’t have to shepherd Ben O’Connor.

A GC contender? There’s perhaps more chance of a battle tomorrow but if the break can’t get away and build up a lead then Tadej Pogačar (UAE) is the obvious pick, he won in Laruns back in 2020 with the same finish, the day Marc Hirschi had been away solo for much of the stage. Tom Pidcock and Pello Bilbao have a chance too, both quick finishers and handy for the descent.

Weather : sunshine and clouds, 22°C in the valleys with an increasing chance of rain for the finish.

TV : KMO is at 1.25pm and the finish is forecast for 5.20pm CEST . Tune in at the start for the action if you can.

51 thoughts on “Tour de France Stage 5 Preview”

INRNG, after picking the winner two days in a row, are you happy to sit back and say ‘two out of three ain’t bad’? 🙂

Philipsen’s been an easy pick so far.

I rode end to end across the Pyrenees some years ago (back when 39×26 seemed a low gear even with panniers on) and the Marie Blanque still sticks in my mind as a swine of a climb. I think because the top is so straight: you just go up steeply but with nothing to focus on – the road just seems to rise interminably in front. Definitely harder than a glance at the raw numbers might suggest.

At the right speed, the trajectory of this climb will help you escape the earth’s orbit, but at the wrong speed (and on a bicycle) it has the habit of turning your knees into a pestle and mortar for tendons and cartilage.

You sit on the bike suffering at 10% for a km, only to be surprised that the next km couldn’t be worse, but it is. You sit there at 11% and think the next km has to ease off. It doesnt. It rises to 12%. You think to yourself it’s be a weird mountain road if the next km is 13% and that it has level out. But it is a weird mountain and it only ramps up.

It’s a mountain that leaves a mark on you. When cycling up I spotted some cyclists shades jettisoned at the side of the road. Good ones. I wasn’t going to stop to pick them up. I might not get started again. Imagine my astonishment when the owner buzzed down picked them up and disappeared up the road – who does that? Who can do that?

Great description RQS.

Yes … I felt as though I was reading Kerouac!

It’s an odd climb with the long ramp, the gradient just gets steeper and steeper until suddenly it’s 12-14% with little to aim for. Visit in the summer and if people are grinding and grunting over the Tourmalet or Soulor, many are reduced to walking up this climb, click-clacking in their cleats like some slow tap dance.

I did roughly the same ride with some friends in around 2014 (so I think I had 34/28 gearing!). One of our number ground to a halt on one of the steeper sections of the Marie Blanque and promptly toppled over at the side of the road. A couple of us went back to help him get going again (which too a few goes) and then had to get going again ourselves (which involved a bit if zig-zagging across the gradient). It is a pretty brutish climb and I guess it is ‘only’ a Cat 1 climb because it’s not that long (only feels it!)

I climbed the Marie Blanc for the 1st time during the 2009 L’Etape amateur. It was the queen stage that yr I guess. Back then I was 30-something, lighter and trained and could at least pedal the bike up the hill because right after I passed it got packed and riders had to walk (I suspect most were alleviated lol).

The “race” that year was first the Marie Blanc then the Soulor then the finish at the top of the Tourmalet. My rear tire blew up from the rim (old carbon rims…) at 60kmph on the descent of the Marie Blanc right before a sharp U-turn and I had to ride the whole thing in ripped, bloody shorts and jersey. Still have the scars on my knuckles.

But it was great, I loved the climbs and I always felt better on the Pyrenees than in the Alps. And yes, 39×26 definitely was low, but we were young. It feels much harder today on my still-10 speed and my 53 yo legs lol.

Great memories, lest the blown tyre and a crash. I was among the walking crowd, as all came to a grinding halt 4 km from the top. I think this Etap was in 2010, NOT 2009 though.

You’re right Rokas, my memory failed me lol it was 2010 indeed, tough circuit and it was hot too.

Yesterday’s wide roads near finish did not prevent accidents, it was actually painful to watch going so many men down. Too many curves? Well, even in the finishing straight…

A bit hard to blame the parcours this time. The riders seem to complain no matter how technical the finish. They’ve only got themselves to blame for crashing on a wide, sweeping motor circuit.

As far as I am concerned, I think that both yesterday and the day before the route has not been sufficiently analyzed in term of safety. A slight curve in the las 300m is looking for problems. Gouvenou says «  it was safe, proof of it is that no riders fell ». Well, well,… not sure the occurence of incidents in a road used one day is a very valid argument. The circuit yesterday was also very dangerous, with cumbersome curves. This is ok for motor racing, but for road cycling in one of the sole sprint of the tour de France, I am not sure. Riders looked very desoriented by the apexes of these curves. Last but not least, there is some very aggressive ride nowadays. This should be looked at. If somebody falls after mvdp manoeuvre I am not sure his sanction would have been the same (remember sagan some years ago). Again, the criterion to evaluate the danger seems to be the incident, which really puzzles me.

The change of scale can confuse the riders (and viewers too). The small climb out of the town of Nogaro helped line out the riders and they entered the circuit almost one by one in a line but suddenly everyone could use the whole road. It seemed hectic but not dangerous, like motor racing they could have added the artifice of a chicane to line things out but this would have created a danger in itself.

When the stakes are high, riders will test the limits which means crashing. The parcours can’t be blamed. Watching the first few riders through the turns (Coquard and his leadout man) was a thing of beauty. Only 15 places back did the bunch struggle to share the road. That’s a result of a relatively benign leadout — one man can’t keep up the pace for 1.5km. I don’t know why alpecin and deuceninck couldn’t collectively boss the peloton, but the days of a highroad caravan seem to be behind us.

At least the crashes didn’t lead to serious injuries, as far as I’m aware, as happen with road furniture or badly designed barriers.

Perhaps sprinters need to start wearing pads a la kierin, although I fear that would just encourage them to push their limits all the harder.

Not commenting on the repeated high-speed crashes in mass sprint contexts says a lot about someone’s actual concern for rider safety.

We didn’t see anything unsafe yesterday though, although Van der Poel’s move was sanctioned.

It is notable that there’s rightly a lot of concern about descending and crashes, but sprints are celebrated for the speed and risk.

I’ve been racing bikes for most of my life and been involved in many high-speed sprints, admittedly not at Tour de France level, but fast and furious enough to find myself puzzled about how little I understand compared to others about what makes for a safe finish and what doesn’t. Of course, some things are obvious, like road furniture, downhill or narrowing finishing straits, etc., but beyond the obvious stuff I would not know what to account for if I was to analyze a finish for safety. When people seem to say that even a motor racing circuit is inherently dangerous, I even start to doubt the things I thought I was sure about before. I would say first that its a complex interplay between roads and racing and second that coincidence plays a lead role.

S Yates if the break doesn’t stay away. He appears to be climbing well and is good on a technical descent (recall him catching Bernal coming down the Iseran in 2019 before the stage was annulled). And after stage 1 he maybe owes Jayco a stage. The problem is that Jayco doesn’t have a team for GC support.

If there’s no breakaway, he’ll surely be going for the 8 second time bonus to put him in yellow on the road (and maybe UAE at least would let him).

I would imagine Pogacar is keen to take all the time bonuses he can at this time. The question mark in my mind is how he will fare in the third week considering his hindered preparation – if he feels strong right now, there’s no reason for him to wait.

Geraint Thomas seems to think that if he picks up all the bonuses that he can then the third week won’t matter.

But does he want the yellow jersey just yet – I’d cost/benefit of the extra seconds against all the post stage podium and media duties.

I think on Marie Blanque Pogačar outsprints Vingegaard, then there’s the look, the shake of the head and a small group forms to contest the sprint

Well, accurate if you reverse the protagonists and subtract the look – Jonas is a more humble-focussed sort. Either Pog’s form is suffering from sub-optimal prep or UAE is playing a game of ever-expanding chicken(s) with both Vingegaard and Hindley to chase… will he even make the podium?

I’m not sure you are doing Col de Soudet justice in your review I climbed it yesterday and it was extremely hard in sections,there are 4/5k over 10%.one k 12.5%. But maybe it was just me I’m not exactly skinny or fully fit.

I always remember the Yorkshire grand départ and not having reconned the roads, readers emailed in tips with talk of the peloton being blown to pieces on the steep climbs. Come the day and Marcel Kittel was riding up one of these fearsome climbs with his hands off the bars as he reached into his musette for lunch. The riders do flatten the landscape

I let the graphic for the Soudet do the talking. Being the first climb but also mid-stage it won’t be so hard for the peloton, the steep sections you mention can be broken down and they’re often visible long ramps but it’s not like 4-5% always over 10%, there are moments at 10% but not always.

Any comments on the supposed disagreements between Van Aert and Vingegaard at TJV? Apparently the DS has come out to say that there aren’t any, which is always a sign that there are.

Is there any evidence or report that there actually is some tension though? From the outside it looks like this all started from WvA’s cry of frustration at the finish line on stage 2, and pundits weighing in to tell the “what if” scenario where the group rode harder behind Lafay, but i saw nothing to suggest he was angry at his own team?

The evidence is in the DS saying there are no problems. In my opinion, Vingegaard and TJV could have spent a fraction of the energy to help Van Aert win and keep him happy. It was a small investment to make.

There are always stories and rumours at the Tour however there are a number of reports of a lot of shouting going on inside the JV bus post stage, so it seems likely to have happened. At the same time raised emotions in team dressing rooms are hardly an unknown in sport and are often a good thing as it helps “clear the air” and actually removes tensions

Exactly I’m pretty sure w’ll not see Van Aert work (for Vingegaard) in the same way as last year. He was stabbed in the back by Vingegaard in San Sebastian and didn’t get any help of teammates in the final of the two sprintstages. I’m convinced the wife of Van Aert will have early contractions sooner than expected….. as a result of which Van Aert will leave the Tour earlier than expected.

I don’t think you can say he didn’t get any help for the sprint stages. Laporte placed Van Aert perfectly on stage 3 and yesterday the whole team lead into the circuit, but Van Aert got pushed back, several times. Laporte was once again constantly looking for him in the final km.

WvA has a selective memory. Five stages prior to Donostia / San Sébastien, ie at the third last stage of TdF 2022, he was delighted when he was handed the win in the ultimate ITT at Rochamadour by JV.

Some of this is played up by the Flemish media as “their” man Van Aert’s not winning. But of course the team has to portray an image of harmony, especially as they’re trying to sign a new sponsor.

I can see why Vingegaard was leading out Laporte in the Dauphiné but in the Tour the stakes are bigger but most of this is people trying to look for splits, it’s when riders start clashing in public then we know there’s a problem 😉

One thing I’d like to do a post about shortly is asking “where’s the beef?” as there are very few clashes and rivalries these days, when the old days seemed to have all sorts of splits, duels and rivalries that went far beyond events on the road, some like Anquetil and Poulidor or Coppi and Bartali split households, a dividing line in the country at times.

The amount of beef in the peloton has significantly reduced since Contador retired…

But more seriously, the WvA / MvdP rivalry presumably splits some households in Flanders ?

Can’t see why it should, van der Poel’s a Nederlander, not Flemish.

Even more chance for cross-border rivalry but it’s still quite tame, they know they can’t be friends but it’s not more aggressive.

Did you mean remco/wva?

Stage 4 showed ASO and its course director is really bored with cycling. This could have been a really great transition stage along Pyrenean foothill slopes. Ideal breakaway terrain. Maybe there was a thought that crosswinds could have defined this stage, but the finish on a circuit for karts and street motos was just laughable. Wide sweeping turns on nicely oiled and rubbered super-smooth tarmac is bound to bring crashes. Taking top sprinters and their leadouts into such a playground could only end badly. Never again, please.

Having Adam Yates in yellow suits Pogacar just fine as he rides himself back in. Today could be his first test at full effort.

I think it was deliberate, you have a flat stage for the sprinters with not much happening – yesterday’s TV section just listed the race time, it didn’t suggest tuning in for anything – but it means the peloton is rested for today and so we get fireworks.

ASO should hire you to design 2025’s route. I guess it’s just the way it is these daze – everyone in front of a keyboard’s a f__king expert and everyone else’ is an idiot.

And amongst all the crashes Cav came in fifth, I hope he will be able to get another win until the end of the Tour.

He’s gonna need 4 more riders to crash out next time

Interesting, this is not a bunch of wild cards playing to keep the TV director happy, good chance Jai Hindley might be in yellow at eop and might not be so easy to dislodge him

Wonder if anyone saw the bump between Alpecin (I believe it was Jasper) and Fabio that caused Fabio’s crash? I’m a long-time reader but rarely end up watching the race and so I have no idea how to interpret the sprints, but it feels like Alpecin has made both of the sprints more dangerous for the other riders. To my unexperienced eyes, the sketchy moments are starting to add up: the Jasper bump that seemed to contribute to the Fabio crash, MvdP getting relegated on this stage for pushing Girmay, and the Alpecin train move back and forth across the road on stage three. I wonder if the more experienced viewers see the same pattern? Or am I off-base?

It’s always difficult to attribute blame, I don’t like the finger-pointing unless you can see something deliberate, or even careless/negligent but I think this time it was just Jakobsen under pressure and overlapping wheels.

Yeah, shouldn’t have said “caused the crash.” I just can’t quite tell if this is typical for the strongest lead out train with the strongest sprinter, or if Alpecin has been a bit more aggressive than we typically see.

No worries and I didn’t mean you assigning blame, more a general trend online to find someone to pin things on so I try to step away from this. Could get more clicks from the outrage factor but not bothered by all that.

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Race information

• Date: 23 July 2023
• Start time: 16:40
• Avg. speed winner: 39.19 km/h
• Race category: ME - Men Elite
• Distance: 115.1 km
• Points scale: GT.A.Stage
• UCI scale: UCI.WR.GT.A.Stage
• Parcours type:
• ProfileScore: 14
• Vert. meters: 577
• Departure: Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines
• Arrival: Paris
• Race ranking: 1
• Startlist quality score: 1584
• Won how: Sprint of large group
• Avg. temperature:

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Tour de France Route, Stages and Results 2023

Welcome to Escape Collective. Please select your language.

Please note that this is an automated translation and it will not be perfect. All articles have been written in English and if anything appears to not make sense, please double check in English.

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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• Road Cycling
• Tour de France
• Stage 5: Pau > Laruns

Stage 5: Pau > Laruns 5 Jul 2023

• ⏱️ 6 hours Approximate duration
• 🌟 Highly rated Fans scored this event 4.7 stars

Stage 5 of the 2023 Tour de France starts from Pau set along the northern edge of the Pyrenees mountains. Pau made its first appearance in the Tour in 1930 and has been a great base for mountainous stages. The riders will compete over 165 km and finish in Laruns in the huge municipality of Pyrenees-Atlantiques.

Stage 5: Pau > Laruns Tickets

The race takes place over public roads and so no entry ticket is required to watch the cyclists; simply choose your spot along the route and get there in plenty of time before road closures to cheer them on. Hospitality tickets are available in some locations, which are located along the starting and final parts of the day's route.

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Stage 5: Pau > Laruns Schedule

Please be aware that all performances listed are subject to change or removal without notification.

Competitor Lineup

Venue Travel & Parking

🏟️ Address :  Tour de France Route, Touring, Multiple Cities, France Directions in Google Maps

The long course routes mean that travel plans will depend on where you choose to watch the race. As a general rule, if you are watching away from a large city or town, you will need access to a road vehicle.

Parking at the start and finish points can be challenging and there may be road closures, particularly in the city areas. Therefore, be prepared to park further away and walk.

Many spectators prefer to choose a spot along the course and find a parking space on arrival. For hill and mountain terrain, you may choose to park at the base in the morning and hike up to your viewing spot. The course roads close early in the morning, so you need to set out very early to use them. Dedicated fans can arrive up to two days before the stage to find their favourite spot.

Taxi services can be helpful in avoiding the need to find a parking space. However, if you choose to view on a more remote part of the course, be sure to book your pick-up in advance or book the taxi to park and wait for you. The course roads close early in the morning, so you need to set out very early to use them. 

Accommodation

Hotel accommodation in cities such Paris is straightforward, but can be more challenging in the smaller towns and villages along the course. The best advice is to book early.

Destination & Tourism

Stage 5: pau > laruns reviews & tips.

Great day. Exciting. One wee thing tho. There were no toilets in the town. I go there often and there is one public WC behind the tourist info but it was locked that day! Why? There were signs saying ‘WC’ but when you followed them there were none or I couldn’t find any. I eventually just entered a Gymnase school building to try to find a toilet. There was one there with a massive queue. Apart from that tho an excellent day. Caravan r was fun

I enjoy cycling but do not follow it as a sport, but we live in Yorkshire and have enjoyed watching the Tour De Yorkshire in the last few years. So in 2019 we decided to head to Paris for the final leg as part of a few days away. Paris goes a bit crazy so be prepared for busy crowds and get there early. We walked for about 45 minutes from our hotel but I would avoid driving as the traffic was jammed.

Great fun and lots of celebrations watching the parade and riders get to the finish. They must have been tired!! The only real issue was that it wasn't that easy to get a good view, particularly as a petite woman. But I can't complain too much as it's free!

I spoke to some other fans who had watched a mountain stage and that sounds like a better idea - more space and beautiful scenery so I think if we go again we'll make it a trip as part of a weekend in the French countryside and skip Paris.

Me and my hubby watched stages 11 & 12 in 2019 around Toulouse. A very beautiful place to stay - The Pink City. On the second day we also got up early and drove our hire car ahead out of the city and made a picnic to watch from the countryside. Both days were very special and it is a wonderful atmosphere with everybody out celebrating, with good French wine!! I hadn't expected so many people to be watching considering the length of the route but everyone was in good spirits.

Great that it's free to watch too.

We were staying with friends but there are some nice hotel options in Toulouse. Am hoping to make the ending in Paris this year if it's safe to travel.

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