Experience the thrilling start of the Tour de France as cyclists embark on a challenging 182km loop ride from Bilbao. With a total ascent of 3300m, riders will face five climbs, including the Côte de Pike and the Côte de Vivero. Don’t miss the opportunity to witness the polka dot contest in action!

Stage 2: Sunday, July 2 – Vitoria-Gasteiz to San Sebastian, 209km

Discover the Basque region’s scenic gems on this 209km stage from Vitoria-Gasteiz to the popular seaside resort of San Sebastian. Although ending on the coast, the route features five climbs, promising an exciting and challenging ride for the competitors.

Stage 3: Monday, July 3 – Amorebieta-Etxano to Bayonne, 185km

Start the day in Amorebieta-Etxano and join the journey across the border into France in this 185km stage, offering a captivating blend of landscapes and thrilling racing action.

Stage 4: Tuesday, July 4 – Dax to Nogaro Circuit, 182km

Witness the sprinters battle it out on the Nogaro circuit as they compete over 182km from Dax. Expect an exhilarating display of speed and skill.

Stage 5: Wednesday, July 5 – Pau to Laruns, 165km

Immerse yourself in the iconic Tour de France atmosphere with a visit to Pau, marking the start of the first mountain stage. As riders cover 165km, including challenging climbs, anticipation builds for an epic day of mountainous terrain.

Stage 6: Thursday, July 6 – Tarbes to Cauterets, 145km

Prepare for an awe-inspiring display of climbing prowess as the cyclists tackle the Aspin and Tourmalet, among other challenges, in this 145km stage. With a total ascent of 3750m, the competition is set to reach new heights.

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

Experience the historic city of Bordeaux, a long-awaited destination for the Tour de France. This 170km stage, which concludes at the picturesque Place des Quinconces, promises a thrilling sprint finish along the scenic riverfront.

Stage 8: Saturday, July 8 – Libourne to Limoges, 201km

Watch out for the sprinters who excel on short but demanding climbs in this 201km stage from Libourne to Limoges. The battle for victory will be intense as the peloton navigates challenging terrain.

Stage 9: Sunday, July 9 – Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat to Puy de Dôme, 184km

The iconic Puy de Dôme makes its return as the cyclists take on a challenging 184km stage. Brace yourself for breathtaking views and intense racing on this epic mountain climb.

Rest day – Monday, July 10 – Clermont-Ferrand

While the riders take a well-deserved break, explore the surroundings of Clermont-Ferrand, a city that also plays a prominent role in the Tour de France Femmes 2023.

Stage 10: Tuesday, July 11 – Parc Vulcania to Issoire, 167km

Expect excitement as riders vie for a breakaway victory on this 167km stage from Parc Vulcania to Issoire. It’s a day where the underdogs can shine.

Stage 11: Wednesday, July 12 – Clermont Ferrand to Moulins, 180km

Speed demons and sprint enthusiasts will relish this 180km stage from Clermont Ferrand to Moulins. With a flat and fast route, it’s a perfect opportunity for the sprinters to showcase their explosive power and claim a victory.

Stage 12: Thursday, July 13 – Roanne to Belleville-en-Beaujolais 169km

The hilly terrain of this 169km stage from Roanne to Belleville-en-Beaujolais sets the stage for an exciting battle among the breakaway specialists. Keep an eye out for the formation of the breakaway, as it could be a decisive moment in determining the stage winner.

Stage 13: Friday, July 14 – Châtillon-Sur-Chalaronne to Grand Colombier, 138km

Prepare for a day of mountainous challenges as the riders tackle the renowned Grand Colombier in this 138km stage. With demanding climbs and breathtaking descents, it’s a test of strength and endurance in the heart of the mountains.

Stage 14: Saturday, July 15 – Annemasse to Morzine, 152km

Get ready for a grueling stage featuring 4200m of climbing, including the daunting Col de la Ramaz and Joux Plane. As the riders conquer these monumental ascents, they’ll leave spectators in awe of their climbing abilities. This stage also serves as the 2023 L’Etape du Tour stage, adding an extra level of excitement.

Stage 15: Sunday, July 16 – Les Gets to Saint Gervais, 180km

The mountains continue to dominate the landscape in this 180km stage from Les Gets to Saint Gervais. As the peloton faces more challenging climbs, the battle for the yellow jersey intensifies, providing spectators with thrilling mountain racing.

Rest day: Monday, July 17 – Saint Gervais Mont Blanc

Take a breather and enjoy the picturesque surroundings of Saint Gervais Mont Blanc. It’s an ideal opportunity to soak in the natural beauty of the region and recharge before the final stages of the Tour.

Stage 16: Tuesday, July 18 – Passy to Combloux, 22km

In this short but intense individual time trial, riders will push their limits over a 22km course from Passy to Combloux. It’s a test of both physical and mental strength as they strive for a podium finish.

Stage 17: Wednesday, July 19 – Saint Gervais to Courchevel, 166km

Prepare for the ultimate mountain challenge in this 166km stage. With over 5000m of vertical gain and the infamous Col de la Loze en route to Courchevel’s altiport, this stage promises to be a defining moment in the Tour. The climbers will push themselves to the limit, battling for supremacy in the mountains.

Stage 18: Thursday, July 20 – Moutiers to Bourg en Bresse, 186km

After five grueling stages, the sprinters will find a route that suits their strengths in this 186km stage. It’s their chance to shine as they aim to reclaim the spotlight and secure a stage victory.

Stage 19: Friday, July 22 – Moirans-en-Montagne to Poligny, 173km

With an 8km long final straight, this stage presents a dream scenario for the sprinters’ teams. They will unleash their speed and power in a thrilling battle for the finish line in Poligny.

Stage 20: Saturday, July 22 – Belfort to Le Markstein, 133km

The mountains make a final appearance in this 133km stage, featuring the last two climbs of the Tour. It will be a captivating showdown among the leaders as they navigate the challenging terrain from Belfort to Le Markstein. The stage is set for a fierce battle in the mountains, as the contenders give their all to secure their positions on the overall leaderboard.

Stage 21: Sunday, July 23 – Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines to Paris Champs-Elysées, 115km

The grand finale of the Tour de France unfolds with a 115km stage from Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines to the iconic Champs-Elysées in Paris. As the riders enter the city, they will be greeted by a jubilant crowd, cheering them on towards the finish line. The sprinters will be vying for the prestigious stage victory, while the overall winner celebrates their hard-earned triumph on the podium.

Experience the excitement, drama, and endurance of the Tour de France as the world’s top cyclists battle it out across diverse terrains and iconic landmarks. From the challenging mountain stages to the thrilling sprints, every moment promises to captivate both avid fans and casual observers alike.

The post Tour de France 2023 – Map and guide to every stage appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

The Carrick-On-Suir man, who won his first Tour de France stage yesterday, was bidding to become the first Irish cyclist to win consecutive stages in the world’s most famous cycle race, and was hoping to emulate his fellow ‘Carrick’ man, Seán Kelly, who the first of his five Tour de France stages in Poitiers in 1978.

Wednesday’s 167.5 kilometres stage from Châtelaillon-Plage went to Australian Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal), who was taking his second stage in this year’s event, with Peter Sagan second across the line and Bennett third.

When officials reviewed the race finish, Sagan was deemed to have shoved Jumbo-Visma sprinter Wout van Aert in the closing metres and was relegated to 85^th place, last in the finishing bunch sprint.

This meant Bennett was promoted to second, earning him more green jersey points, to add to the points he claimed earlier in the day when taking second behind breakaway leader Matthieu Ladagnous at the intermediate sprint.

“I don’t really know what happened it was so hectic,” admitted Bennett. “It (the final sprint) was hard to make the switch from following my teammate to going alone. I found myself too far forward too early and then I was trying to drift back and it was a bit late to drift back. Then they came at speed – it was just a complete mess. I just tried to limit my losses and get the best result I could.”

The Irish rider is now on 234 points, 68 points ahead of seven-time points’ classification winner Sagan on 175, with Frenchman Bryan Coquard third on 157.

Race leader Primoz Roglic from Slovenia maintains his lead over the defending Tour champion Egan Bernal.

Dan Martin and Nicolas Roche finished in 133rd and 138^th respectively on today’s stage, with Martin maintaining his position as the leading Irish rider in this year’s race. The Israel Start-Up Nation rider is 64^th on the general classification, with Roche 75^th and Tuesday’s stage winner Bennett 139^th, almost two-and-a-half hours behind the yellow jersey wearer.

Stage 11 result

1. Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) 4hrs 00mins 01secs
2. Sam Bennett (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) same time.
3. Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) same time.

General classification after stage 11

1. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) 46hrs 15mins 24secs.
2. Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) + 21secs.
3. Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) + 28secs.

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The Carrick-On-Suir rider, who became the sixth Irishman to win a stage in the Grande Boucle, held off Australian Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) and Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) to take victory in Ile de Re Saint-Martin-de-Re.

Twenty-nine-year-old Bennett’s win gave his Belgian Deceuninck – Quick-Step team a second stage win at this year’s Tour following the victory of Julian Alaphilippe on stage 2.

Bennett’s victory means he has won a stage at all three of cycling’s Grand Tours, having taken three at the Giro d’Italia in 2018 and two at the Vuelta a Espana in 2019, both for his former team, Bora-Hansgrohe.

Bennett who has shown great consistency since the beginning of this year’s Tour, with second, third and fourth place finishes during the opening week of the race, said of his first Tour de France stage win:

“You dream of it and never think it will happen. It hasn’t hit me at all yet. Oh man, I was waiting to go and I thought I might have left it too late. I thought he might have got me.”

While reflecting on the day’s sprint, the Irish cyclist admitted:

“I forgot to throw the bike at the line in the moment and I thought he might have got me. I thought I’d be in floods of tears but I’m in shock.”

Bennett, who became very emotional and broke down in tears, continued:

“I just want to thank everyone that has been involved, the whole team, Patrick for giving me this opportunity and just everybody it took to get to here. I want to thank my wife, everyone around me.

“You dream of it, you never think it’ll happen. It did and, I don’t know, it took for a while to hit me.”

To add to today’s success, Bennett now regains the lead in the points classification, by 21 points, from seven-time green jersey winner Peter Sagan.

Tour de France leader Primoz Roglic retained the yellow jersey as he safely negotiated the flat 168.5km route from Ile d’Oleron Le Chateau. The Slovenian maintains his 21 seconds advantage over defending champion Egan Bernal.

In the day’s intermediate sprint Matteo Trentin (CCC) outsprinted Peter Sagan and Sam Bennett at Châtelaillon-Plage with 39 kilometres to go. Jumbo-Visma and Ineos-Grenadier put the pressure on with 18 kilometres to race before the bunch split into three pieces.

With the field back together 10 kilometres from the finish, Jumbo-Visma kept the situation under control before Nicolas Roche’s Team Sunweb went to the front. In the end, it was the races big sprinters who fought it out, with the Carrick-On-Suir man coming out on top.

Bennett becomes the sixth Irishman to win a stage at the Tour de France after Shay Elliott (1963), Seán Kelly (1978, 1980, 1981 and 1982), Stephen Roche (1985, 1987 and 1992), Martin Earley (1989) and Dan Martin (2013 and 2018).

Stage 10 result

1. Sam Bennett (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) 3hrs 35mins 22secs.
2. Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) same time.
3. Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) same time.

Dan Martin finished 130^th on the stage, 5 minutes and 25 second behind his fellow Irish rider. Martin’s cousin Nicolas Roche was 10 minutes 52 seconds back after a crash.

Martin is now the highest ranked of the three Irish riders at this year’s Tour, standing in 64^th place on general classification, 1 hour 11 minutes and 13 seconds behind the race leader Primoz Roglic.

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Van Aert of Jumbo-Visma became the first rider to win two stages in the 107th Tour de France as he outsprinted Edvald Boasson Hagen (NTT) and Bryan Coquard (B&B) in Lavaur after a fierce battle.

It was a double victory for van Aert’s team after they helped to split the 168 kilometres stage with just over 40km to go in a move that saw them work with rivals Ineos Grenadiers as both teams looked to exploit the opposition in the crosswinds.

Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) and Mikel Landa (Bahrain McLaren) both missed the split and would lose well over a minute at the finish but they weren’t the only riders to see their General Classification bids dented with the Trek-Segafredo duo of Richie Porte and Bauke Mollema both missing out. Richard Carapaz, also lost time after he was forced to drop back after a late mechanical on a day that also saw the peloton fracture as early as the first climb due to extensive pressure from Peter Sagan and his Bora-hansgrohe team.

Sagan, for all the effort from his team, could only manage 12th at the line after getting boxed in and being forced to slow. His consolation came from the fact that he now leads the green jersey by nine points ahead of Sam Bennett.

Bennett finished a tough day empty handed, part of a group that finished more than 10 minutes down on the road. That means that Sagan, who began the day trailing Bennett by 12 points in the fight for green, now leads the category by nine.

Nicolas Roche is the leading Irish rider on general classification, 27 minutes 53 seconds down in 54th place, while Dan Martin is 72nd, nearly 14 minutes behind his cousin.

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Bennett, who became the first Irish cyclist to wear the green jersey since Seán Kelly, gained six points on the day’s intermediate sprint to increase his lead over his current main rival for the jersey, Sagan. With Bennett set to spend a second day in green on Friday, he will match the feat of his fellow Irishman, Stephen Roche, in 1987.

“Wearing this jersey today was amazing, a lovely experience”, Bennett proudly admitted. “People applauded me, I heard my name as the stage progressed, and to see the support I got was just beautiful. Coming into the Tour it wasn’t a goal, but it would be a huge honour to win it. I know it’s still a long way to Paris and a lot of work has to be put in to conquer this jersey, but I will take it day by day and see what happens”, the Waterford rider said of his first day’s experience of wearing the green jersey.

The day’s eight-man breakaway included Team Sunweb’s Nicolas Roche, who won two King of the Mountain points before a difficult finish, which saw the group splinter on the day’s principal climb, the Col de la Lusette, late in the 191km stage from Le Teil.

Roche, who won the stage’s combativity award as the day’s most aggressive rider, is now third overall in the polka-dot rankings, on 11 points, behind leader Benoit Cosnefroy on 23 points and Michael Gogl on 12.

Adam Yates, who yesterday became the ninth Briton to wear the Tour de France’s yellow jersey, retained the race leadership following today’s stage.

Nicolas Roche finished 56th in the stage, seven minutes and seven seconds down on the stage victor Lutsenko and now finds himself in 44th place overall, 11 minutes and 59 seconds behind Yates.

Israel Start-Up Nation’s Dan Martin was 71^st today and now finds himself in 76th position in the general classification, almost 40 minutes behind the race leader.

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The Carrick-On-Suir rider finished just behind stage winner Wout van Aert and Cees Boll but ahead of green jersey holder Peter Sagan, who was fourth on the 183km trip from Gap to Privas.

Bennett won the intermediate sprint after 48 kilometres at l’Épine this afternoon, giving the Deceuninck – Quick-Step cyclist 20 points. With the incumbent Peter Sagan of Slovakia claiming only 13 points for a fourth-place finish in the sprint, Bennett moved to the head of the standing with 103 points, ahead of Sagan on 96 points, with the yellow jersey wearer after stage 1 on Saturday, Alexander Kristoff next on 90 points.

Bennett’s teammate Michael Morkov took second in the intermediate sprint, taking 17 points away from the Irishman’s main rivals, with the stage winner on Monday, Australian Caleb Ewan finishing third. With Bennett finishing ahead of Sagan in the sprint at the end of the stage, the Irishman moved to 123 points, ahead of Sagan on 114 in the points classification.

“It’s special for me to be the third Irishman to wear the green jersey,” Bennett said. “I will do everything I can to keep it.”

“I’m honoured to wear (green) at least once and I’m really happy that happened today. It’s hard to go for stages and the green jersey – today I was so focused on the green I almost forgot to really, really try to win”, the 29-year-old Irishman said.

“I’ve never had such mixed feelings in my career. I’m really happy to have green but sad to have lost the stage. But I did everything I could. In the last two kilometres I didn’t have the legs to sprint, but I’m pretty happy with my performance in the end.

“It was a really hectic sprint, and to be honest, at three kilometres to go I felt that I didn’t have the legs to sprint anymore. The final was really difficult, I could feel that as we were approaching the line. I was focused today on taking the green jersey and having it and following in the footsteps of Seán Kelly and Stephen Roche feels amazing. I am delighted and proud with it and want to enjoy this moment and continue fighting for green.”

Seán Kelly was the overall winner of the green jersey four times in the Tour de France, 1982, 1983, 1985 and 1989, while former Tour de France winner Stephen Roche also wore the green jersey.

The stage victory for Van Aert was another success for the Jumbo-Visma team after Primoz Roglic’s stage win to Orcieres-Merlette on Tuesday.

Dan Martin of Israel Start-Up Nation was 137^th today, 4 minutes 50 seconds behind the leaders, while Team Sunweb’s Nicolas Roche was 7 minutes 4 seconds behind the stage victor. Though Roche falls from 22^nd to 44^th in the general classification, he still remains the leading Irishman on GC in this year’s Tour de France.

Unfortunately for Bennett’s teammate, Julian Alaphilippe, he lost the yellow jersey when penalised 20 seconds by the race jury for taking a water bottle inside the last 20 kilometres of the stage. The Frenchman lost the race leader’s jersey to Briton Adam Scott of Mitchelton-Scott and slips down the general classification to 16^th position, 16 seconds behind the new leader.

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Ireland’s Sam Bennett, now level on points with green jersey wearer Peter Sagan, spoke this morning at the stage start in Gap.

“I’ll probably just try and stay safe. I don’t think we need to make the race today” the Carrick-On-Suir cyclist admitted. “It’s a long way to Paris and the boys are doing a great job so far but if we keep going, working hard every day, we might blow-up after the first week.”

Regarding the final kilometre in Privas of Wednesday’s 183 kilometres, Bennett offered the following assessment:

“I think (the last km today) will be hard. I think the wind will play a big role but I’ll just try to stay calm and stay up there. If we keep riding the way we are, we’ll be done by the first week so it’s up to the other sprint teams today and if they don’t play their part then we’re just going to be rolling home. (I’ll) just try and survive the little drags and then I’m trying to keep open-minded – it’s very hard to predict. (My) confidence is ok but I’m still looking for that win. If I get that maybe that will help.”

The Deceuninck – Quick-Step rider, while admitting to making a mistake in the stage 1 sprint on Saturday, feels other sprinting teams have to work more and not just expect his team to bring it to a bunch sprint.

“I made a mistake in the first stage, but there was nothing else I could do in any other stage” says Bennett. “Today, I’ll just try and read the situation and go for it. I don’t know can we do too much today because we have yellow and have to defend that as long as possible. If the other teams don’t today, then there won’t be a bunch sprint. It’s something we’re not really targeting.  You want it to be a bunch sprint but we’re not going to make it a bunch sprint ourselves. I think every sprinter here is good in this type of finish.”

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The third stage of the 107^th Tour de France ended with a bunch sprint in Sisteron, with Bennett and his teammates hoping to add to yesterday’s stage victory of their team leader and yellow jersey wearer, Julian Alaphilippe.

The Irish rider took the sprint lead in the last 100m but flying Australian Ewan weaved his way powerfully through the field to beat Bennett by three-quarters of a bike length.

“I had to go first, so I just gave the guys another lead out” admitted Bennett. “There was a head wind and it was easy for someone to come off the wheel. (My legs) weren’t the best but it’s enough.”

Today was the 29-year-old Irishman’s second close call in the opening three stages of the Tour, having finished in fourth on the opening stage in Nice on Saturday.

More to follow

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Bennett’s teammate Julian Alaphillipe claimed yesterday’s first mountain stage of the Tour and took the yellow jersey in the process. According to Carrick-On-Suir cyclist Bennett this has taken some of the pressure off.

“I think for the team as whole it takes the pressure off,” he admits, before reaffirming “but I still have a lot of pressure on myself (to win a stage).”

Now that his French team leader wears the yellow jersey, tactics may change for the Deceuninck – Quick Step team.

“I think it just means that we sit back a little more, let the other teams control it more for the sprints as we have a stage now” says Bennett. “We can’t work for the yellow and go for the sprint stages so the other teams are going to have to pull their weight a bit” the Flanders-born Irish rider explains.

Dan Martin of Israel Start-Up Nation, a team that debuts in this year’s race, is targeting a stage victory in 2020 rather than the General Classification, though he has finished top-10 three times in the Grand Boucle in his career.

The opening two stages, according to Martin, have “gone to plan so far (despite the Irishman losing a lot of time on Sunday). We wanted to stay safe and ride into the race. Our ambitions were realistic coming into the race considering the severity of my injury just two and a half weeks ago and the missed training before the start.”

Having crashed in recent weeks in the Critérium de Dauphiné, his preparation race for the Tour, Martin is delighted to just be in the race. He admits to feeling better than he expected and hopes to improve over the course of the three-week Tour:

“I’m actually feeling better than I expected so looking ahead to stage opportunities further into the Tour” says Dan Martin, “It’s a strange approach to the race after so many years riding for GC (General Classification) but I’m enjoying it and hopefully my condition and the injury improves enough to really be aggressive in the second and third weeks.”

Sports News Ireland will have stage reports each evening during the 2020 Tour de France.

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Alaphilippe, who was involved in one of the many crashes on the opening stage of the race on Saturday, launched a perfectly-timed attack on the final climb of the day, the Col des Quatre Chemins, before outsprinting former World U-23 champion Marc Hirschi of Nicolas Roche’s TeamSunweb and Adam Yates of Mitchelton-Scott.

Sunday’s stage, which brought the riders into the high Alps with ascents of both La Colmiane and the Col de Turini, saw Philippe Gilbert (Lotto-Soudal) and Rafael Valls (Bahrain-McLaren) fail to start due to a fractured kneecap and femur respectively, it really is like playing on Gclub with the fun and excitement.

In an eventful day on the 107^th Tour de France, Alaphilippe attacked with 13km to go. Hirschi (Team Sunweb), the eventual stage runner-up, went across to him while Tom Dumoulin of Jumbo-Visma) crashed after touching the back wheel of Michal Kwiatkowski (Ineos).

Britain Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) counter-attacked and rejoined Alaphilippe and Hirschi at the front. Yates took the 8 seconds bonus at the top, before Alaphilippe and Hirschi, with an advantage of 20 seconds over the peloton. They kept the same gap until the final kilometre before Alaphilippe outsprinted Hirschi, with Yates crossing the finishing line in third place.

A tearful Alaphilippe, whose father Jo died in June, dedicated the victory to him.

“It’s always a special emotion to win on the Tour” he said, “but this is a special year. I haven’t won a race since the beginning of the season, although I’ve always continued to work hard despite the difficult moments. I just wanted to dedicate this victory to my dad. It meant a lot to me and I’m happy I did it.”

A chasing pack of 32 riders came in just two seconds behind Alaphilippe, with Greg Van Avermaet (CCC) taking fourth place ahead of Sergio Higuita (EF Pro Cycling) and Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo).

Despite crashing on the final ascent after touching wheels with Michal Kwiatkowski (Ineos), General Classification contender Tom Dumoulin (Jumbo-Visma) came home in that group among the principal overall contenders, though Critérium du Dauphiné winner Dani Martínez (EF Pro Cycling) came home 3:38 down following his crash.

Stage 1 winner and yellow jersey wearer today Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates) struggled and came home over half an hour behind the stage victor.

Nicolas Roche was the first of the three Irishmen home today, as the Nice-based rider finished in 24th, 17 seconds behind Alaphilippe. Dan Martin was 17 minutes 45 seconds behind in 100th while Sam Bennett, who was fourth on Saturday’s opening stage, finished 168^th, 28 minutes 55 seconds behind his stage-winning teammate.

In the overall standings, Alaphilippe holds a lead of 4 seconds over Yates with Hirschi of Switzerland a further 3 seconds back in third, while Higuita and the other GC contenders are 17 seconds behind the Frenchman.

Nicolas Roche is 26^th overall, 17^th seconds off the yellow jersey, Dan Martin is 101^st at 18 minutes down, while Sam Bennett is 149^th, 29 minutes and 10 seconds behind the race leader.

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