Monday 31 October 2022 at 23h18

Without much surprises if you have followed the search for the Tour de France 2023 race route on this website in the past few weeks, the 110th edition of the Grande Boucle will take place on a rather limited part of France after the Grand Départ in Bilbao and in the rest of the Spanish Bask country, but it does visit all French mountain areas.

Indeed, after the Grand Départ and a visit of the Pyrenees, the race will go up north up till Bordeaux before taking off, via Limoges, towards the Massif Central followed by the Jura to get to the Alps where the race will camp for several days before getting back on its steps, visit another part of the Jura and end off in the Vosges before the transfer towards Paris. Only one time trial, not without any difficulties, of 22 kilometers will be on the programme of this Tour!

The little details of the Tour de France 2023 race route: from Bilbao to Paris for the 110th edition

After having discovered the main information about the Tour de France 2023 race route based on rumours, it is of course with the official presentation - which took place last Thursday at the Palais des Congrés in Paris - that we discovered all small details of what awaits the riders in July next year. Let's have a detailed look on all this.

The Tour de France 2023 in numbers

First of all, as usual, let's start with having a look on the statistics in order to present this new edition of the Tour de France.

The Tour de France 2023 will be made up of 21 stages which are made up of:
- 8 flat stages
- 4 hilly stages
- 8 mountain stages of which 4 with a mountain top finish (Cauterets-Cambasque for the 6th stage, Puy de Dôme for the 9th stage, Grand Colombier for the 13th stage and Saint-Gervais Mont Blanc for the 15th stage)
- 1 single individual time trial, Passy > Combloux (the 16th stage), of 22 km

To which we of course add 2 rest days (in Clermont-Ferrand and at the Mont Blanc).

3,404, that's the number of kilometers which make up this race route, which will visit 2 countries, Spain and France.

These stages visit 6 French regions and 23 departments, probably the lowest numbers in the modern history of the Tour de France! And that's even more surprising when you realise that 3 of the visited regions are visited in only 3 stages [the 3 last ones], which thus basically means that the 3 other regions are visited by the 16 other stages which are partly or completely French! The most visited regions of this Tour are of course, in this order (in terms of number of stages), Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Occitanie.

The longest stage is the shortest of the longest stages in these past few years: this will be the stage between Vitoria-Gasteiz and San Sebastian (2nd stage), with its 209 km.

Concerning the 40 different stage cities or sites, 12 of them will be new in the history of the Tour de France: Bilbao (start and finish of the 1st stage), Amorebieta-Etxano (start of the 2nd stage), Nogaro (finish of the 4th stage), Vulcania (start of the 10th stage, in Saint-Ours-les-Roches), Moulins (finish of the 11th stage), Belleville-en-Beaujolais (finish of the 12th stage), Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne (start of the 13th stage), Les Gets Les Portes du Soleil (start of the 15th stage), Passy (start of the 16th stage), Combloux (finish of the 16th stage), Poligny (finish of the 19th stage) and Le Markstein Fellering (finish of the 20th stage).

The 5 French mountain areas will be on the programme (Pyrenees, Massif Central, Jura, Alps and Vosges) and there will be 30 climbs of the 2nd, 1st or outside category on the programme of the Tour de France 2023 (compared to 23 in 2022, 27 in 2021, 29 in 2020 and 27 in 2019; in 2023 there will be 1 in the Bask country, 6 in the Pyrenees, 4 in the Massif Central, 1 in the Jura, 13 in the Alps and 5 in the Vosges).

We'll find 3 climbs among them on the race route of this Tour de France: the Côte de Vivero in the Bask country, the Col de la Croix Rosier in the Massif Central and the Col du Feu in the Alps. The Puy de Dôme (Massif Central) will make its comeback after 35 years of absence while the Col de la Loze will be the rooftop of the Tour de France 2023 with its 2,304 meters of altitude.

The bonifications and bonus points

No changes are planned for the bonifications at the finish of each stage in line (10, 6 and 4 seconds for the three first riders). And we'll see the comeback of the bonus points which award time bonuses to the 3 first riders on the summit of a strategic location in the race (8, 5 and 2 seconds). According to Christian Prudhomme "the Tour de France 2022 race route wasn't adapted to this system 🤔!

The Tour de France 2023 race route stage by stage

The table of stages of the Tour de France 2023

Here's the list of stages which make up the Tour de France 2023 race route as announced last Thursday. You can click on a stage in order to directly access its presentation.

#	date	start	finish	distance
1	Sat. 1er July 2023	Bilbao 🇪🇸	Bilbao 🇪🇸	182 km
2	Sun. 2 July 2023	Vitoria-Gasteiz 🇪🇸	San Sebastian 🇪🇸	209 km
3	Mon. 3 July 2023	Amorebieta-Etxano 🇪🇸	Bayonne	185 km
4	Tue. 4 July 2023	Dax	Nogaro	182 km
5	Wed. 5 July 2023	Pau	Laruns	165 km
6	Thu. 6 July 2023	Tarbes	Cauterets-Cambasque	145 km
7	Fri. 7 July 2023	Mont-de-Marsan	Bordeaux	170 km
8	Sat. 8 July 2023	Libourne	Limoges	201 km
9	Sun. 9 July 2023	Saint-Leonard-de-Noblat	Puy de Dôme	184 km
R1	Mon. 10 July 2023	repos à Clermont-Ferrand
10	Tue. 11 July 2023	Vulcania	Issoire	167 km
11	Wed. 12 July 2023	Clermont-Ferrand	Moulins	180 km
12	Thu. 13 July 2023	Roanne	Belleville-en-Beaujolais	169 km
13	Fri. 14 July 2023	Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne	Grand Colombier	138 km
14	Sat. 15 July 2023	Annemasse	Morzine Les Portes du Soleil	152 km
15	Sun. 16 July 2023	Les Gets Les Portes du Soleil	Saint-Gervais Mont Blanc	152 km
R2	Mon. 17 July 2023	repos au Mont Blanc
16	Tue. 18 July 2023	Passy	Combloux	CLM individuel - 22 km
17	Wed. 19 July 2023	Saint-Gervais Mont Blanc	Courchevel	166 km
18	Thu. 20 July 2023	Moûtiers	Bourg-en-Bresse	186 km
19	Fri. 21 July 2023	Moirans-en-Montagne	Poligny	173 km
20	Sat. 22 July 2023	Belfort	Le Markstein Fellering	133 km
21	Sun. 23 July 2023	Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines	Paris Champs-Elysées	115 km
TOTAL				3,404 km
(before official administrative registration)

Let's now have a look at the different stages of this Tour de France 2023, 110th edition, in detail.

Before we start, the Grand Départ of the Tour in the Spanish Bask country 🇪🇸 will of course start right on Wedsnesday. This will be the second Grand Départ in the Spanish Bask country, after the one in 1992 when the Tour de France started in San Sebastian and it will be the 25st start from abroad, the first one was in Amsterdam in 1954.

• Wednesday 28 June 2023: opening of the permanence and the press center in the Bilbao Exhibition Center (BEC) in Barakaldo
• Thursday 29 June 2023: teams presentation of the Tour de France 2023 at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao

1/ Saturday 1st of July 2023 - Bilbao 🇪🇸 > Bilbao 🇪🇸 - 182 km

As a never before visited stage stage in the Tour de France, Bilbao will not only be the start city of this first stage of the Tour de France 2023 but also the finish city. It'll also be in Bilbao that will be celebrated the 120 years of the Tour de France because it was on the 1st of July 1903 that the very first edition of the Tour de France started in Montgéron!

This stage will present no less than 3,300 meters of positive height difference, with the Côte de Laukiz, the Côte de San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, the Côte de Morga and in the last 30 kilometers the Côte de Vivero and Côte de Pike (2 km @ 9%), knowing that the finish will also take place after a short climb, at 5%.

• >> discover the detailed race route of this 1st stage of the Tour de France 2023 on Open Street Maps

2/ Sunday 2 July 2023 - Vitoria-Gasteiz 🇪🇸 > San Sebastian 🇪🇸 - 209 km

This second stage of the Tour de France 2023 will already be the longest stage of this 110th edition and it'll start from the city where the Bask government is located, Vitoria-Gasteiz. Things will look like the Clasica San Sebastian on this stage, especially when coming close to the finish in San Sebastian: at less than 20 kilometers from the finish, the riders will arrive on top of the Jaizkibel after 8 kilometers of climbing.

• >> discover the detailed race route of this 2nd stage of the Tour de France 2023 on Open Street Maps

3/ Monday 3 July 2023 - Amorebiata-Etxano 🇪🇸 > Bayonne - 185 km

This 3rd stage of the Tour de France 2023 will be the last one of the Grand Départ and after the start in Amorebieta-Etxano, the riders will first go towards the sea side for about sixty kilometers, via San Sebastian, before they cross the border with France and continue for about fifty kilometers up to the finish in Bayonne. The finish should most logically be a bunch sprint close to the rugby stadium, in the city where the Tour de France returns after 20 years of absence!

• >> discover the detailed race route of the Spanish part of this 3rd stage of the Tour de France 2023 on Open Street Maps

4/ Tuesday 4 July 2023 - Dax > Nogaro - 182 km

From the city of André Darrigade (22 stage winner in the Tour de France), Dax, this 4th stage will visit the departments Landes and Gers all the way through to the auto circuit of Nogaro, after a final straight line of 800 meters (slightly uphill), set up for a bunch sprint finish (unless a breakaway manages to stay ahead and will ruin the party of the sprinters!).

The occasion to celebrate the 70 years of the creation of the green jersey for the points classification or, as it is sometimes said, of the "best sprinter".

5/ Wednesday 5 July 2023 - Pau > Laruns - 165 km

From Pau, the riders will start on this 5th racing day on the roads of the first Pyrenean stage (out of two), with a hilly stage start, which could allow the breakaway to be formed.

The riders who will have gotten away from the bunch will find on their road mainly the Col de Soudet (1,540 m, 15.1 km @ 7.2%) and after a visit of the valley, the Col d'Ichère and finally at 19 kilometers from the finish the Col de Marie Blanque (1,035 m, 7.7 km @ 8.6%), before the descent towards Bielle and a slightly climbing part up till the finish at Laruns. In total, the stage represents 3,400 meters of positive height difference.

6/ Thursday 6 July 2023 - Tarbes > Cauterets-Cambasque - 145 km

The second Pyreneen stage is shorter, with its 145 kilometers, after the start in Tarbes. In this cette stage, the most difficult climbs will be during the stage, with the Col d'Aspin (12 km @ 6.5%) and the Col du Tourmalet (17.1 km @ 7.3%) (the two climbs which are most often part of the Tour). Even though this will be the first mountain top finish of the Tour de France 2023 the final climb towards the Cambasque flat above Cauterets will not be the most difficult climb of the stage with its 16 km @ 5.4%, even though Christian Prudhomme indicated it was important to say that the steepness at 5.4% might give a false idea of the truth because the second part of the climb is steeper than the first part.

7/ Friday 7 July 2023 - Mont-de-Marsan > Bordeaux - 170 km

After a short transfer, the riders will get back together in Mont-de-Marsan, 50 years after the victory in the Tour de France by Luis Ocaña, the Spaniard of Mont-de-Marsan.

This will be a stage for sprinters, by its profile, but also with its straight line towards the finish of 2 kilometers on the quays in Bordeaux where the finish line will be drawn close to the Place des Quinconces. Bordeaux, which thus sees the Tour de France return for the first time since 2010!

8/ Friday 8 July 2023 - Libourne > Limoges - 201 km

At the start in Libourne - which sees the Tour de France come back after 2021 when the city received a stage finish for a stage in line and the start of the time trial - it's most logically again a stage which will end in a sprint, in Limoges, which awaits the riders. However, to win this stage in the sprint, a rider must be strong because the finish will be on a short but difficult climb in steps.

9/ Sunday 9 July 2023 - Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat > Puy de Dôme - 184 km

In Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat, there will most probably be a very emotional commemoration, to remember Raymond Poulidor, the eternal second of the Tour de France, who rests there since 2019.

3600 meters of positive height difference further there will most probably be quite some emotion as well, with the reunion with the Puy de Dôme (13.3 km @ 7%, of which the last 4.5 kilometers - without any public - are at 11.8%) which makes its comeback on the Tour de France race route after an absence of 35 years!

R1/ Monday 10 July 2023 - rest day in Clermont-Ferrand

After these 9 stages not so simple, it'll finally be time to get some rest for the riders of the Tour de France 2023 and they'll have the occasion to do so at the foot of the Puy de Dôme, in Clermont-Ferrand.

10/ Tuesday 11 July 2023 - Vulcania > Issoire - 167 km

Not far from Clermont-Ferrand, in Saint-Ours-les-Roches, it'll be at the European volcano park Vulcania that the start of the 10th stage will take place the day after the rest day, still in the Massif central mountain area.

This will be a stage which crosses the the chain of volcanoes (Puys) and with the climb of the Col de la Croix Saint-Robert, which makes this a stage for strong riders before the finish in Issoire.

11/ Wednesday 12 July 2023 - Clermont-Ferrand > Moulins - 180 km

Back in the capital of the Puy-de-Dôme department, this 11th stage will thus start in Clermont-Ferrand. This should be a sprinters stage, even though they'll have to get over some climbs which won't be that easy.

After a visit of Montluçon, the finish line of 1.3 km in Moulins should allow the teams to organise their sprinters trains in order to deliver the best sprinters in the world!

Moulins never before received the Tour de France and this was the last prefecture to never have received the Tour. The Tour de France 2023 thus comes to repair this "mistake" and the list will thus be complete for the visits of the prefectures thanks to this edition!

12/ Thursday 13 July 2023 - Roanne > Belleville-en-Beaujolais - 169 km

The 12th stage will start in Roanne. The Tour comes back there 25 years after the unique visit for a stage start, in 2008. The start will take place at the Scarabée, the local theater (which is actually in Riorges).

Right from the start, the stage will be hilly and a total of 5 climbs are referenced for this stage of which the last part contains the Col de la Croix Montmain and the Col de la Croix Rosier and a big part of the stage takes place in the wineyards of the Beaujolais, up to the finish in Belleville-en-Beaujolais.

13/ Friday 14 July 2023 - Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne > Grand Colombier - 138 km

A short stage is on the programme for this national bank holiday and it will completely take place in the Ain department with a first visit of this Tour de France 2023 to the Jura mountain area.

It'll start in Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne and while the first half of the stage is rather flat, the second half is much more dynamic: the riders will first have to climb to the plateau of Hauteville-Lompnes before they get, after a visit of Culoz, on the final climb, the Grand Colombier (17.4 km @ 7.1%), also known as the pyramid of Bugey.

14/ Saturday 15 July 2023 - Annemasse > Morzine Les Portes du Soleil - 152 km

The entrance of the Alps will be done from the start in Annemasse and with a stage which has a positive height difference of no less than 4,200 meters.

Among the difficulties of the day we'll mainly find the Col de Cou (7 km @ 7.4%), the Col du Feu (5.8 km @ 7.8%), the Col de la Ramaz (13.9 km @ 7.1%) and the Col de Joux Plane (11.6 km @ 8.5%), before the descent towards the finish in Morzine!

15/ Sunday 16 July 2023 - Les Gets Les Portes du Soleil > Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc - 180 km

Close to Morzine it'll be from the Les Gets station that the 15th stage will start at this end of the second week of the Tour de France 2023.

The destination of this stage won't be far either, but for this second episode of the Alps visit, the Tour de France 2023 prepares a longer visit in the Haute-Savoie department, mainly by visiting the Col de la Forclaz de Montmin (7.2 km @ 7.3%), the Col de la Croix Fry (11.3 km @ 7%), the Col des Aravis and a visit of Megève and the descent via Domancy, the climb of the Côte des Amerands (2.7 km @ 11.1% with parts going up to 17%) and a visit of Saint-Gervais before the final climb towards Le Bettex (7.2 km @ 7.7%).

R2/ Monday 17 July 2023 - rest day in Saint-Gervais Mont Blanc

After this second week with no single moment of rest, it'll also be in the Mont Blanc area that the riders of the Tour de France 2023 can get some rest on this Monday 17 July.

16/ Tuesday 18 July 2023 - Passy > Combloux - individual time trial - 22 km

At the start of this last week of the Tour de France 2023 a short and difficult time trial could come modify the general classification or allow the rider wearing the yellow jersey to put it even more solidly on his shoulders. It'll however not only be this time trial which might come hussle up the general classification, this could also be the case with the other stages, including the forelast one before the transfer towards Paris!

In the stage this day, there will be 22 kilometers for each rider to do individually between Passy and Combloux with the climb of the Côte de Domancy (2.5 km @ 9.4%) in the last third of this individual effort.

17/ Wednesday 19 July 2023 - Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc > Courchevel - 166 km

This 4th and last Alps stage of the Tour de France 2023 will return to Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc for a stage full of difficulties and with 5,100 meters of positive height difference, including notably the Col des Saisies (13.3 km @ 5.3%), the magnificent Cormet de Roselend and its lake, the Côte de Longefoy (6.6 km @ 7.6%) and ... just before the descent towards the finish ... the very irregular and difficult Col de la Loze (28.4 km @ 6%) which appeared for the first time on the Tour de France race route in 2020. The Col de la Loze will be the highest point of the Tour de France 2023, with its 2,304 meters. It'll be followed by the descent towards Courchevel .. before a short ramp on the track of the altiport where the finish line will be drawn, with an average steepness of 18%.

18/ Thursday 20 July 2023 - Moûtiers > Bourg-en-Bresse - 186 km

Leaving the Alps, it'll be from Moûtiers - where the Tour didn't return since 1994 - that the riders will start for a stage which should reward the few sprinters who managed to come through the difficult preceding stages and who arrived in the time limits in each of these stages. Indeed, after a visit of Albertville, the mountains will be voluntarily circumvented in the race route of this stage, heading towards Chambéry and the Lac du Bourget, and in the end there will be a 1 kilometer long straight line towards the finish in Bourg-en-Bresse, close to the Monastère Royal de Brou.

19/ Friday 21 July 2023 - Moirans-en-Montagne > Poligny - 173 km

After a short transfer, this Friday's stage will start in Moirans-en-Montagne - where the Tour already went in 2016 - and will completely take place in the Jura department. It will turn around the numerous lakes of the Jura and will not contain any big climbs, even though it's not completely flat. The most important difficulty will be the Côte d'Ivory and this should not prevent the remaining sprinters from exploiting the finale straight line which was drawn for them, over a distance of nos less than 8 kilometers!

At the end of this long straight line, the finish line will be drawn in Poligny, which will receive the Tour de France for the very first time.

20/ Saturday 22 July 2023 - Belfort > Le Markstein Fellering - 133 km

After these two stages for sprinters, the forelast stage of the Tour de France 2023 will this time not be a time trial, but a mountain stage, which will take place in the Vosges. Indeed, after a transfer of a bit over 150 kilometers and the stage start in Belfort, this is the shortest stage (besides the Paris stage and the time trial) which contains no less than 3,600 positive height difference meters.

We find in this stage the Ballon d'Alsace (11.5 km @ 5.3%) and a bit further two climbs following up on each other, the Col de la Croix des Moinats (5.2 km @ 7%) and the Col de Grosse Pierre (3.2 km @ 8%). After the Col de la Schlucht and the descent towards Munster, the riders will successively climb the Petit Ballon (9.3 km @ 8.1%), Col du Platzerwassel (7.1 km @ 8.4%) and the final climb on Le Markstein.

21/ Sunday 23 July 2023 - Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines > Paris Champs-Elysées - 115 km

The very last stage of the Tour de France 2023 will, as usual, be there more for the form than for the sportive interest.

Indeed, between Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines - for which the exact start location has not been indicated but for which we can imagine it'll be the Vélodrome national of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, the place where the track cycling races of the Olympic Games of Paris 2024 will take place - and the Champs-Elysées in Paris, the riders can drink some champagne and will admire the locations which will be dedicated to cycling for the Olympic Games (the Vélodrome for track cycling, the BMX stadium of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, the colline d'Elancourt for Mountainbiking and the Parisian road cycling sites). These Olympic Games might lead the Tour de France 2024 to not finish in Paris.

The map of the Tour de France 2023 race route

Now it's official, the official map of the Tour de France 2023 race route is also available below:

The video of the Tour de France 2023 race route

The race route in 3D and in video, that's what you can find below:

The Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2023 race route

In 2023, the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift will start in Clermont-Ferrand and visit the Pyrenees, with a last stage being a time trial in Pau:

#	date	start	finish	distance
1	Tue. 23 July 2023	Clermont-Ferrand	Clermont-Ferrand	124 km
2	Mon. 24 July 2023	Clermont-Ferrand	Mauriac	148 km
3	Tue. 25 July 2023	Collonges-la-Rouge	Montignac-Lascaux	147 km
4	Wed. 26 July 2023	Cahors	Rodez	177 km
5	Thu. 27 July 2023	Onet-le-Château	Albi	126 km
6	Fri. 28 July 2023	Albi	Blagnac	122 km
7	Sat. 29 July 2023	Lannemezan	Tourmalet Bagnères-de-Bigorre	90 km
8	Tue. 30 July 2023	Pau	Pau	ITT - 22 km
TOTAL				956 km
(before official administrative registration)

You can discover this race route in 3D and in video below:

door Thomas Vergouwen
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>> The Tour de France 2023 race route on Open Street Maps and in Google Earth, stage profiles and time- and route schedules