The organizers of the Tour de France announced on Thursday the program for the 2023 edition. The start will take place on July 1 in Bilbao, Spain, and a total of 3,404 kilometers will be covered, which will be covered in 21 stages.

Tour of FrancePhoto: Valerio Rosati / Alamy / Alamy / Profimedia

The Puy de Dome volcanic massif (1,465 meters) is the main novelty of next year’s Great Loop, reports AFP.

The Puy de Dome returns to the Tour de France after a 35-year hiatus in a race that visits at least five mountain ranges in the Hexagon, with a record 30 summits and 56,000 meters of elevation gain, four summit finishes and one switchback, 22km .

The route, announced on Thursday in Paris, will start in Bilbao on July 1, marking the second start in Spain and the 25th abroad for the oldest race in the world, which has reached its 110th edition, writes Agerpres.

The route resembles an arrow that crosses France diagonally, from the southwest to the center-east, from the Basque Country to Alsace. Mountain ranges such as the Pyrenees, the Massif Central, the Jura, the Alps and the Vosges will be covered, with the stage featuring six climbs that promise to keep the tension going until the arrival on the Champs-Élysées on July 23.

The inclusion of the Puy de Dome volcano took place 59 years after the legendary duel between Jacques Anquetil and Raymond Poulidor. Champions such as Coppi, Bahamontes, Ocana or van Impe celebrated on Mount Auvergne, but cyclists will also have to climb other legends such as Tourmalet, Sude or Marie Blanc.

Another landmark will be the Grand Colombier in Jura, where the finish will take place on July 14 (France Day), for the second time in history, two years after the terrible failure of Egan Bernal, AFP notes.

Tour de France 2023 route

July 1 – the first stage: Bilbao (Spain) – Bilbao, 182 km

July 2 – Stage 2: Vitoria-Gasteiz (Spain) – San Sebastian (Spain), 209 km.

July 3 – Stage 3: Amorebieta-Exano (Spain) – Bayonne, 185 km.

July 4 – stage 4: Dax – Nogaro, 182 km

July 5 – stage 5: Pau – Laruns, 165 km

July 6 – 6th stage: Tarbes – Kotere-Kambask, 145 km

July 7 – Stage 7: Mont de Marsan – Bordeaux, 170 km

July 8 – 8th stage: Libourne – Limoges, 201 km

July 9 – Stage 9: Saint-Leonard-de-Noblat – Puy-de-Dôme, 184 km.

July 10: day off, Clermont-Ferrand

July 11 – 10th stage: Vulkania – Isouar, 167 km

July 12 – 11th stage: Clermont-Ferrand – Moulins, 180 km.

July 13 – Stage 12: Rohan – Belleville-en-Beaujolais, 169 km.

July 14 – stage 13: Chatillon-sur-Chalaron – Grand Colombier, 138 km.

July 15 – Stage 14: Annemasse – Morzine Le Porte du Soleil, 152 km.

July 16 – stage 15: Les Gets Les Portes du Soleil – Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc, 180 km.

July 17: weekend in Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc

July 18 – stage 16: Passy – Combloux (individual time trial), 22 km.

July 19 – stage 17: Saint Gervais Mont Blanc – Courchevel, 166 km.

July 20 – Stage 18: Moutiers – Bourg-en-Bresse, 186 km.

July 21 – stage 19: Moirand-en-Montagne – Poligny, 173 km.

July 22 – stage 20: Belfort – Le Markstein, 133 km

July 23 – Stage 21: Saint-Canton-en-Yvelines – Champs-Élysées of Paris, 115 km.