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What to know about the 2023 tour de france: route, teams, rules, prize money.

Since 1903, the Tour de France has encaptured the beauty, rigor and passion of cycling. The race that embarked over a century ago, however, bears many differences to the 2023 Tour de France we will see shortly.

The Tour de France has catapulted to popularity since its early days, becoming the pinnacle of the sport of cycling and inspiring riders for generations to come. The 110th Tour de France is mere weeks away, with NBC and Peacock providing full coverage of the thrilling event. See below for everything you need to know about the highly anticipated 2023 Tour de France.

RELATED: Tadej Pogačar, Jai Hindley among cyclists to watch at 2023 Tour de France

When is the 2023 Tour de France?

The 2023 Tour de France will take place from July 1-23. The riders will embark on the first stage in Bilbao on Saturday, July 1, with coverage on NBC Sports and Peacock from start to finish.

As the riders venture along the difficult course, the race will find its finish as it has since 1975, on the street of Champs-Élysées in Paris.

What is the Tour de France schedule and route?

How long is this year’s route.

This year’s Tour route is a total of 3,404 km (2,115 miles) that is spread out over a span of three weeks. The riders will complete one stage per day, with two rest days on July 10 (between stages 9 and 10) and July 17 (between stages 15 and 16).

What are the rules of the Tour de France?

While the Tour de France is an event known well by most, fully understanding how the race works can sometimes pose a challenge.

The Tour de France is a team race, featuring a total of 198 cyclists from 22 different teams competing over a span of 21 days. Across these 21 days, riders will complete 21 stages: 6 flat, 6 hilly, 8 mountain and 1 individual time trial.

This year’s race will be the first year since 2015 that the Tour has only one individual time trial rather than two, with just 14 miles of time trial racing on the route.

Each stage winner receives €11,000, with every rider in the top 20 from each stage receiving a cash prize as well.

While the general classification champion of the Tour de France is the rider wearing the yellow jersey as the race concludes, there are numerous accolades to be granted to cyclists throughout the race and at the Tour’s end.

Aside from the yellow jersey, the most notable of these accolades are the green, polka-dot and white jerseys. These achievements all hold different meanings and are accompanied with a cash prize. It is possible for one rider to earn numerous jerseys at the conclusion of the Tour, such as last year’s winner Jonas Vingegaard, who took home both the yellow and polka-dot jerseys.

RELATED: 2023 Tour de France Jerseys: What do the yellow, green, white and polka dot jerseys mean?

What does the winner receive?

Throughout the years, the prize awarded to the winner of the Tour de France has varied. The first Tour de France ever staged in 1903 granted a prize of 20,000 francs, which amounts to approximately $22,280.

For 2023, a grand total of €2,308,200 is on offer ($2,526,735). This number, however, is not all given to one rider, but rather split among top general classification riders, stage winners, top sprinters and winners of other minor awards.

The largest share of the prize is granted to the winner of the maillot jaune (general classification), who will take home €500,000. The runner-up receives €200,000, third gets €100,000 and fourth is awarded €70,000.

If a rider is donning the green jersey ( maillot vert), however, the prize is divided as follows:

Other prizes are granted to riders, such as those wearing the “King of the Mountains” jersey and the white jersey, along with the cyclist dubbed “Most Aggressive Rider”. Numerous other small prizes will be distributed throughout the tour.

One of the most sought after prizes, however, is the team award. The team who wins the Tour de France is the group that contains the three fastest cumulative finishers on each stage. The amount granted to each team on the podium is as follows:

Last year’s winner was the group hailing from Denmark in Team Jumbo-Visma.

How many teams are in the Tour?

22 teams will make up the peloton of the Tour de France. Of these teams are the 18 UCI WorldTeams that received an automatic invite and four UCI ProTeams.

UCI WorldTeams

• AG2R Citroën Team (Fra)
• Alpecin Deceuninck (Bel)
• Astana Qazaqstan Team (Kaz)
• Bora-Hansgrohe (Ger)
• EF Education-Easypost (Usa)
• Groupama-FDJ (Fra)
• Ineos Grenadiers (Gbr)
• Intermarché-Circus-Wanty (Bel)
• Jumbo-Visma (Ned)
• Movistar Team (Esp)
• Soudal Quick-Step (Bel)
• Team Arkea-Samsic (Fra)
• Team Bahrain Victorious (Brn)
• Team Cofidis (Fra)
• Team DSM (Ned)
• Team Jayco AlUla (Aus)
• Trek-Segafredo (Usa)
• UAE Team Emirates (Uae)

UCI ProTeams

• Lotto Dstny (Bel)
• TotalEnergies (Fra)
• Israel-Premier Tech (Isr)
• Uno-X Pro Cycling Team (Nor)

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Results have arrived, tour de france explained: how you win & how it really works.

What do the Yellow, Green, and Polka-Dot Jerseys mean? How do you win? How do cycling teams work? Who are the favorites? We explain the basics of bike racing in this guide to the Tour de France.

Written by: Spencer Powlison & Bruce Lin

Published on: Jun 18, 2024

Posted in: Features

Did you recently get bit by the  road bike  bug? Did you watch Tour de France: Unchained and feel hungry for more? Or have you always been puzzled by the daily deluge of Tour de France news? This guide is for you.

We’ll cover the fundamentals of how this “game” is played. Also, we’ll delve into cycling’s paradoxical balance between being simultaneously a team sport and an individual sport, and many ways riders and teams play to win. 

• How the Tour de France Works
• How To Win The Tour de France - the Yellow Jersey

Other Ways to "Win" at the Tour de France

How cycling is actually a team sport... sort of.

• What Types of Riders Make Up a Team?

What Types of Stages Are in the Tour?

Strategies and tactics, three tips to watch like a pro, more fun tour de france info.

[button] Shop Road Bikes [/button]

How The Tour de France Works

The tour de france: infographic.

What is the Tour de France?

• The Tour de France is the world's most prestigious bike race which has been running for over 100 years. 
• The Tour takes riders all across France, through the Alps and the Pyranees, and finishes in Paris. 
• This year it will take place: June 29 - July 21, 2024
• The total race distance this year: 3,492 Km / 2,170 Mi 
• The Grand Départ - The Tour de France often starts somewhere outside of France so other cities and countries can experience the excitement of the Tour. This year, the Tour will start in Florence, Italy. The first 3 stages will head north, back into France. 

Key Details 

• 22 pro cycling teams will compete with 8 riders each ( 176 riders total )
• The race is split into 21 stages
• Riders race 1 stage per day
• Each stage has a stage winner. Winning a single stage at the Tour is a big deal. 
• On average, racers will ride over 100 miles per stage .
• Riders will get 2 rest days , one after the first week, and another after the second week.  
• The overall winner of the Tour de France is the rider with the fastest time after all 21 stages . 

How To Win The Tour de France - the Yellow Jersey

The winner of the Tour de France is the rider who has the fastest time after all 21 stages. Every stage is timed from start to finish, and every second counts toward the race's General Classification (GC). Every day, the current leader of the race will wear the Yellow Jersey so they are easy to spot. The rider wearing the Yellow Jersey when the race reaches the last stage Paris is the winner . 

Yellow Jersey Favorites & Riders to Watch:

The big favorite this year is  2020 & 2021 winner Tadej Pogačar. He is on good form and his top rival,  2022 & 2023 winner Jonas Vingegaard , suffered a bad crash/injury this spring that affected his preparation. 

The two other main favorites this year are Primoz Roglic and Remco Evenepoel .  Carlos Rodriguez is also looking very good, but has yet win or podium a 3 week Grand Tour. This could be his breakout year and he's my dark horse pick. 

Outside contenders include Jonas Vinegaard's teamates, Sepp Kuss  (edit: Sepp won't be going due to illness) and Matteo Jorgenson , and Tadej Pogačar 's teammates, Juan Ayuso and Adam Yates . They'll really only have a chance at Yellow if their team leaders struggle or drop out.  

[newsletter]

The Yellow Jersey is the biggest prize, but there are multiple secondary prizes on offer too. Some teams and riders don’t even bother racing for the Yellow Jersey and instead focus on these prizes . 

Just like the Yellow Jersey, the current leader in each classification wears a special jersey color so they're easy to spot.

Points Classification - the Green Jersey

Also known as the sprinter’s jersey , this award goes to the rider who scores the most points throughout the race. Points are earned by finishing in the top-15 in a stage.

This classification favors “pure” sprinters (riders who don't compete on mountain stages), and more points are offered for winning flat stages. Riders can also earn points in mid-stage "intermediate sprints" that are usually stationed in towns to please the fans.

Green Jersey Favorites & Riders to Watch:

Jasper Philipsen dominated the sprint stages last year and he is currently the fastest sprinter in the world. He's already taken some big wins this spring, showing that he's in great form. I wouldn't bet against Philipsen, but t he best-ranked sprinters behind him are Arnaud De Lie and Dylan Groenewegen .

Other contenders include all-rounders like Mads Pedersen , who could go for green by nabbing consistent finishes on hilly and mountain stages where pure sprinters might struggle and stealing points throughout the race in  intermediate sprints.  Wout van Aert  is similar, and he has also won green before (and 9 stages), but his form is unknown after a major crash/injury sidelined him this spring. 

One sprinter to watch is Mark Cavendish . He is currently tied with Eddy Merckx for the all-time Tour de France stage win record (34 wins) and is coming back for one last year to try and score a record-breaking 35th win. 

King of the Mountains Classification - the Polka-Dot Jersey

The Tour gives the Polka-Dot “ King of the Mountains ” Jersey to the rider who collects the most points over the course of the race by reaching the summit of categorized climbs first.

The climb categorization system is opaque and subjective. What you need to know is that there are five climb categories. From easiest to hardest they are: category 4,  category 3,  category 2,  category 1, and hors category (HC - French for “beyond categorization”). Riders get more points on harder climbs. Riders also get more points on mountaintop stage finishes, especially if they win.

Polka-Dot Jersey Favorites & Riders to Watch:

Giulio Ciccone beat Neilson Powless last year for the Polka-Dots. Photo: A.S.O./Pauline Ballet

This one is tough to call until you reach the high mountains. Because the Yellow Jersey winner tends to gain the most time on climbs, anyone who’s in contention for the Yellow Jersey is a good bet. I'd put my money on Tadej Pogacar .

However, some riders might specifically target the Polka-Dot Jersey — 2023 winner,  Giulio Ciccone,  battled over the Polka-Dots with Neilson Powless last year. Maybe they will go for it again. 

Other Prizes

Best Young Rider Classification - White Jersey

This classification works the same way as the Yellow Jersey but is awarded to the highest-placed rider under 26 years of age. On rare occasions, a phenomenal young rider will win both the Yellow and White Jerseys. 

White Jersey Favorites & Riders to Watch:

Tadej Pogačar . This is an easy pick. Tadej is still 25, and as the favorite for the  overall win, it's doubtful anyone else can challenge him. 

Time to pick a new favorite since Tadej is finally too old! (The rule is " cyclists who will remain below 26 in the year the race is held are eligible" and Tadej turns 26 in September.)  In that case, Remco Evenepoel , Carlos Rodriguez , and Juan Ayuso are likely candidates. 

If the White Jersey leader also happens to be the overall leader (This happened in previous years when Tadej was in Yellow), then the next highest placed rider under 26 will generally wear the jersey during the race (this is mainly ceremonial).

Best Team Classification - Yellow Helmets

Like the Yellow or White Jerseys, this award is given based on overall time in the race and the team with the lowest overall time wins this prize . Each team tabulates the finish times of its three best riders on every stage. The team leading this classification usually wears yellow helmets, helping them stand out in the bunch.

Teams don't necessarily target this, but if a team realizes they're leading in week two or three, they definitely fight to try and hang on to it. 

Most Aggressive Rider - Red Number

Also known as the Combativity Award , this is likely the most mysterious prize in the Tour. In every stage (except time trials), a jury decides which rider in the race was most aggressive — usually, that means attacking a lot or gambling on a breakaway. Late in the broadcast, the announcers usually note which rider was given the combativity prize. If you spot a rider with a red number on their jersey, then he was named most aggressive the stage prior. At the end of the Tour, one rider gets the Super Combativity award.

Why are there teams if only one rider can win the Tour de France? Professional road cycling has a curious tension between the team and the individual. The key thing to remember is this: If a cyclist wins a stage or holds one of the leader’s jersey for a single stage, it is viewed as a team success . 

So if only one rider “wins,” what do the other seven riders on the team do to contribute to this elusive concept of teamwork? Here are some ways a group of individual cyclists comes together as a team to support their leader:

• Getting into breakaways (small groups that attack off the front of the main group) — that way his team doesn’t have to work to chase the breakaway down.
• Chasing down breakaways — to give the leader a chance to win or place well.
• Retrieving food and water for the leader or other key riders — bottle service on the road … what could be more luxurious!
• Pacing the leader up key climbs — although drafting isn’t as crucial, it can be a psychological advantage to have a teammate at your side.
• Pacing the leader back to the peloton in the event of a crash, mechanical, or split in the group — without teammates to draft, it might be nearly impossible to rejoin the peloton on some fast-paced stages.
• Giving the leader their bike or a wheel in the event of a mechanical — this can often be quicker than waiting for a team car or neutral support to show up with a spare.

What Types of Riders Make Up a Team? 

GC (general classification) riders - These are the riders vying for the Tour de France overall win. They need to be solid all-rounders who are also good climbers and time trialists. They are usually the team leader and the rest of the team works to support them. 

Sprinters - Sprinters don’t contend for the overall win, and are more interested in winning individual stages. They often wait to attack at intermediate sprints and the finish line of each stage. Some teams are built entirely around a sprinter and focus on winning stages or the Green Jersey. 

Climbers - Climbing specialists excel at going uphill. Climbers compete for stage wins on the tough mountain stages or work to support their GC leader in the mountains. 

Domestiques - Most riders on the team will work as “domestiques” to support their team leader. They allow their leaders to draft behind them to conserve energy, pace them up climbs, cover attacks from competitors, keep them in a good position, bring them food and water, and provide support in case of crashes or mechanicals. Good domestiques are essential for success. 

Time Trialists - Some riders specialize in time trialing. They can compete for wins on time trial stages or work as powerful domestiques on flat and hilly stages.  

The Tour de France route is different every year. Each stage is unique and offers different challenges to the riders. Here are the types of stages riders will contend with over three weeks:

Flat Stages - Flat stages are the ideal hunting ground for sprinters. Teams with sprinters will often work to keep the peloton together on flat stages, to ensure it ends in a bunch sprint where their sprinter has the best chance of winning. 

Hilly Stages - Hilly stages mix it up with rolling hills that make it more difficult for the peloton to stay together. These types of stages can be won by sprinters, climbers, or breakaway specialists. 

Mountain Stages - This is often where the Tour de France is won and lost. Mountain stages climb up into the high mountains in the Alps and the Pyrenees and it's where GC contenders will fight to gain time on their rivals.  

Time Trials - The Tour de France always features at least a couple of time trial stages. Riders set off individually to set the fastest time on a set course. With no riders to draft, it’s less about race tactics and more about pure speed and power.

So we just covered some team dynamics, rider types, and stage types. How does it all fit together? Teams often settle on strategies prior to the race. They assess their strengths and weaknesses and find ways to succeed — whether that means winning the yellow jersey or simply wearing a King of the Mountains jersey for just one stage. Here are some examples of how teams might set their strategies, and how they might execute them with the right tactics:

Team with a top GC rider: Naturally, they’ll try to win the yellow jersey. This means surviving inconsequential flat and rolling stages to conserve energy for key mountain stages and individual time trials. The leader’s teammates will try to get into breakaways so that their team won’t spend energy chasing all day. They’ll also set up the team leader to attack on key climbs or at least follow his rivals to defend his position.

Team with top sprinter: To win the green jersey, they’ll target the flat stages. This means controlling the peloton and chasing down breakaways to set up a sprint finish. Like the GC team, they might also put a rider in the breakaway to ease the burden on the team, forcing rival sprint teams to chase. On mountain stages, the team might have to call riders back from the peloton to help pace their sprinter to the finish so he doesn’t get time-cut.

Team with top climber: Winning the King of the Mountains (KOM) classification is often less of an obvious team effort. These pretenders to the throne tend to be opportunistic. However, it is advantageous to have a teammate in the breakaway on a key mountain stage when points are up for grabs. Also, when defending the polka-dot jersey, teammates can contest the climbs and finish ahead of KOM rivals to spoil their attempt to take over the classification lead by scoring points.

Smaller team without top leader: These are the teams that always try to put a rider in the day’s breakaway. This could earn them the Combativity Prize, or if they play their cards right, a stint in a leader’s jersey or even a stage win. This strategy requires constant attacking in the early kilometers of the race — something most fans rarely see on the broadcast. It is a hectic, painful part of the stage, but it’s crucial in establishing a break. Meanwhile, a breakaway rider’s teammates might patrol the front of the peloton to disrupt the chase.

Now that you understand the basics of how the Tour de France is raced, what do you, the new cycling fan do? There are daily stages for three weeks. That’s a lot of cycling!

Even if you don't have a way to watch the TV broadcast, it's easy to find highlights and extended highlights on YouTube. Fortunately, you don’t have to put your life on hold to watch the Tour de France. There are some reliably important stages you can focus on to catch the key action.

Can’t watch daily? Pick the key mountain stages. There are usually about 5-8 key mountain stages when the overall race is won and lost. Most of them are summit finishes, and they’re split between France’s two key mountain ranges: the Alps and Pyrenees. The first few ordinarily come in stages 6-9 before the first rest day, and the second round is often scheduled for the final week of racing. Occasionally, another summit finish, such as Mont Ventoux in Provence, will be on the list of important stages.

Watching daily? Tune in when things really heat up. On most flat stages, you can wait until the final 20 kilometers to tune in and see the sprinters fight it out. Some rolling stages might be entertaining in the final 50-60 kilometers if late breakaways occur. On mountain stages, it’s best to start watching as early as possible because sometimes, crazy things happen on the day’s first climbs.

Watching a LOT of TDF? Look for the nuances. If you’re going to have the race on all day, every day, you’ll need to dig a little deeper to enjoy the subtleties of the race. Try keeping track of riders who are often making the breakaway. Watch the sprint teams work together — or not — to chase an escape. Who looks to have strength in numbers, and who is not present at the front of the race? Are the GC riders staying out of trouble or tail-gunning at the dangerous back of the peloton? Usually, at any given time in the race, any given rider is positioned where they are for a specific reason. Look for clues to sort out what is happening.

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How Do the Tour de France Riders Train?

Coaches, experts, and team staffers share how riders prepare for one of the most physically grueling events in the world.

“The team can only have a goal or execute on a strategy if each athlete they bring to the Tour is as fit as they possibly can be with the most positive attitude,” says exercise physiologist Allen Lim, Ph.D., who has coached several WorldTour riders including Tejay van Garderen of EF Education First. “This means that in order for an athlete to be truly selfless at the Tour for their team, they must be very selfish in their training and preparation.”

From a team perspective, that preparation happens almost as soon as the prior year’s Tour is over. “We start working on the Tour de France plan and selection at the end of September,” says Aike Visbeek, Team Sunweb’s former Tour de France coach. “We make an outline of how we want to set up the season, and then later on in October or November when the route is announced, we fine-tune the selection and our plans.”

The entire year is then mapped out, race-by-race for each rider based on what the rider’s role, responsibilities, and capabilities are. It’s then up to their personal coach to devise a training plan that prepares them to “peak” or perform optimally at two, three, maybe four goal races the following year—including the Tour de France.

“Peaking for a three-week race is really hard,” says Lim. “Every athlete, depending on their own past experience, goals, and physiology takes a different approach. There’s no one-size-fits-all protocol. It’s as much science as it is art.”

However, this year pro cyclists have been forced to take a different approach to their Tour de France training due to the coronavirus pandemic. With that said, here’s a high-level overview of what’s involved in preparing for one of the most physically grueling events in the world—both during a typical year and this year.

7 Months Out: Build a Base

Most riders start easing back into training mid-November or early December. “December is generally a fairly big volume-building month, as is January,” says Ben Day, Mitchelton-Scott Cycling Team’s high-performance coach. “A standard ‘work week’ would be anywhere from 20 hours to 31 hours. So they spend a lot of time out there on the bike, but we keep the intensity low. The focus is on creating aerobic proficiency and reinforcing the body’s ability to burn fat as fuel.”

Because the demands on WorldTour riders are so great in terms of race length, Day finds that putting a lot of emphasis on building a strong aerobic foundation early in the season makes athletes more resilient and better able to maintain their form. “You can predict their peak quite a lot better,” says Day, “And then when they do peak, they don’t lose it as quickly.”

In addition to developing an aerobic base, many riders will also incorporate strength and flexibility work into their training schedule two to three times a week.

“We try and do this year-round,” says Lim. “Unless you have a routine you can do throughout the year, it’s not worth doing a short block in the off-season and not doing it in-season. So we rely mostly on bodyweight exercise, physical therapy routines to help with muscle imbalances, core work, yoga, stretching, and body work.”

5 Months Out: Crank Up the Intensity

If riders weren’t racing in January, their training starts firing on all cylinders in February and March as racing begins in earnest. “We’ll step up the intensity to a slightly higher level, with a bit more tempo, sub-threshold, and threshold work ,” says Day.

Think of threshold as the hardest effort you can sustain for an hour. “We want to build up a lot of fitness below that level,” says Day. “Once we start working above that level, we’re now working on very specific race intensities. We don’t dive into those for too long because we need to keep some bullets for the races.”

That’s especially important because potential Tour riders will be racing longer stage races that last six to 10 days. “Sometimes, we train right into a stage race to better simulate what a grand tour might look like, or we’ll continue training after that race,” says Lim. “It all depends on how the rider feels and on whether or not they’re still healthy and strong enough to handle the training load.”

As racing begins, riders will also use this time to dial in their nutrition on and off the bike. “Riders who are participating in the Tour de France peak with their body weight like they do with their training sessions,” says Stephanie Scheirlynck, dietitian for Team Trek-Segafredo. “It’s about finding a balance between getting them fit in time but not negatively affecting their training. It’s something that we are working on weeks and months before the Tour.”

3 Months Out: Shift to Race-Specific Training

Starting around April, riders move into more of a race-specific training phase, during which they’re no longer building aerobic fitness so much as managing fatigue and high-intensity efforts. Any strength work that they were doing goes into more of a maintenance phase. The focus during this training block is on getting results and preparing for the Tour.

“Most riders peak at least once before the Tour, whether it’s in April for the Ardennes Classics or the Giro D’Italia in May,” says Day. “They have one peak early on, then there’s a little bit of recovery phase before we move into that next phase of Tour de France preparation.”

Using races as training is a necessity when preparing for a race like the Tour. “It’s such a monster that you will never complete that task in preparation in any kind of simulated way before it,” says Neal Henderson, who has coached Rohan Dennis of Team Ineos, since 2013. “You will never put in a training load that’s bigger than any of the race weeks and especially not three of them in a row.”

In addition to races, one of the ways teams build in additional training blocks is through team camps. “They’re typically between five and 10 days,” says Henderson. And these days, things are much more structured than they used to be.

“Six, seven years ago, a lot of the training camps were a little bit looser,” says Henderson. “Now you know the training schedule for the day and what the expectations are. And the support from the team and staff is greater. The role of these camps has definitely increased in the past few years.”

Day agrees. By his estimate, out of the 12 months of the year, Mitchelton-Scott Cycling holds around eight mini camps. “It means fewer race days, but more specific control of our riders training and preparation.”

Altitude training often plays a part at these camps, as does team time trial training. At an EF Education First Pro Cycling team camp Lim organized last year in Andorra, retired professional cyclist Tim Johnson paced riders preparing for the Tour (including EF’s Tejay van Garderen, Mike Woods, Simon Clarke, and CCC’s Joey Rosskopf) by riding an e-bike to create real race simulations in the mountains. “It was a way to specifically simulate what it’s like to be drug up the steepest and hardest climbs of the Tour by Team Ineos,” says Lim.

How each rider approaches a training camp depends on his role on the team and his specialty. For example, a climber would opt to spend more time in the mountains doing lots of long, steady climbs, while the rest of his team might choose a different destination to work on high-intensity speedwork.

[Want to fly up hills? Climb! gives you the workouts and mental strategies to conquer your nearest peak.]

Regardless of whether riders are racing right up until the Tour or attending a team camp, the biggest peak of their training will typically occur anywhere from three to six weeks prior to the start of the Tour. “Generally there is a recovery after that,” says Henderson “And then just a little bit of a kind of taper or sharpening going into the race.”

But this year, there were hardly any races for training. As spring races were being canceled due to coronavirus concerns, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) finally announced on April 15 that all WorldTour events were suspended until August 1. That turned the usual training timeline on its head and left teams facing months of uncertainty.

“Now you don’t have a specific date you’re working for, so that was really hard,” says Peter Schep, head of performance for EF Education First. “Even if they’ve done some races, there’s a lack of racing compared to the normal approach.” Once the UCI unveiled the revised race calendar , teams were still left with deciding how to best train their riders without months of racing and with little ability to hold standard training camps because of health concerns.

“In early April, May, June we worked on 10- to 20-minute efforts because that’s still the endurance period,” Schep says. He also focused on finding individualized ways to challenge his team, while keeping the training enjoyable during such a difficult time.

“We have been trying to challenge them in different ways, depending on how they feel about it themselves,” Schep says. “Now I gave them way more freedom… More freedom to get them fresh in mind and try to enjoy cycling. During coronavirus you need to enjoy cycling in a different way.” Without anyone to compete against (except virtually), he had riders focus on beating their personal bests, with some using Training Peaks to do so.

Once coronavirus restrictions began to lift in different parts of the world, EF Education First organized small, personalized training camps for those who live near each other. They emphasized hard, hilly rides as a replacement for the intensity of racing, which also tied in training at altitude. They’ve also focused on adapting to riding in the heat . From July onward, Schep says they began stricter training to get back into race rhythm again.

Though he thinks they’ve managed well so far, Schep says it’s still been “really difficult.” Typically, the Tour de France would take place during a WorldTour cyclist’s “second cycle” of racing in the season. This year, the Tour is happening during the riders’ first cycle.

1 Week Out: Taper

In general, most riders will have completed their last long ride the weekend before the Tour, and then they start to dial it back by tapering.

“They go from riding five to six hours a day to riding about an hour or so or just taking the whole day off,” says Lim. “That said, the week before that, we’re already shortening the training blocks to only two or three days with ample rest in between. So in some ways, the taper is really starting two weeks out despite the fact that on the hard days of training, the training is really hard.”

The week of the Tour, they might do a short speed workout on Tuesday or Wednesday behind a scooter. “That sort of simulates what it feels like to be in the pack,” says Day. “So like a little burst of power and really picking up the pedaling cadence as well. It’s important that we keep the body activated and open and everything functioning well without adding any fatigue into the system. So the sessions will be shorter, but we’ll still keep some intensity in there.”

Later in the week, the riders may have a team time trial session. “They’ll get out there, and they’ll ride two to three hours on the time trial bikes,” says Day. “Make sure everything’s dialed in and do some hard efforts at race pace.”

On Friday, some will do 60 to 90 minutes of active recovery with some openers—two- to five- minute efforts during which the riders progressively pick up the intensity—or a couple of sprints.

This year, cyclists are going into the Tour de France with only a few weeks of racing under their belt since the season restarted on August 1. But as in a normal year, Schep says his team will focus mostly on recovery the week before the Tour. They’ll also do some Tour-specific training, including a time trial session.

And then the race starts on Saturday, and you hope everything comes together. But there are no guarantees.

“There’s no right way to do this,” says Lim. “Every person and every situation is different. When training for a grand tour, the best-case scenario never happens. But bad luck creates opportunity—that’s what the Tour de France is all about.”

And Then There’s La Course

The men aren’t the only riders training all year to race at the Tour, but you wouldn’t know it looking at the schedule. La Course by Tour de France, the women’s stage of the Tour, is back for another year but still only as a one-day race. What’s worse, in a normal year it takes place immediately after one of the most important races on the women’s calendar, the Giro Rosa , severely limiting teams’ ability to prioritize it.

“La Course is obviously a very important race for us because it’s organized by the ASO, it runs parallel to the Tour, and it has the widest reach among media analyzers,” says Ronny Lauke, team manager and sports director for Canyon-SRAM Racing. “But it’s also only four days after Giro Rosa. Both are highlights, so we try to peak for Giro and then the idea is basically to carry the strength and form from Giro to La Course and perform there as well at the highest level.”

Day, who also coaches Ruth Winder, last year’s U.S. women’s road race national champion, agrees. “I wouldn't say there are too many people that peak solely for La Course versus Giro Rosa. A lot of riders focus on nationals, Giro Rosa, and then La Course takes care of itself.”

“It’s basically recover and reload the best you can and then go at it,” says Henderson, who coached Evelyn Stevens to her 2016 Giro Rosa stage win.

It’s not ideal, but it’s doable. “The riders build up so much fatigue throughout the year, they’re pretty used to racing under that sort of a load,” says Day. “It’s only if somebody really finishes the Giro Rosa on their knees or maybe like a little bit sick or something like that, that they wouldn’t recover in that four day period.”

This year, the coronavirus pandemic has also flipped women’s pro cycling on its head: La Course will instead take place before the Giro Rosa.

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The Tour de France is the crown jewel of cycling’s Grand Tours. It pits riders against some of the most difficult terrain on the planet, offering only a couple of days spread throughout the race for riders to rest their utterly exhausted bodies.

Even achieving the honor of riding on a 2023 Tour de France team is a lifelong dream for many cyclists, and only those at the top of the sport — and in the right place at the right time — get the opportunity.

The field of nearly 200 racers is composed of 22 teams that gain entry into the race either by right as a Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) WorldTeams-licensed team, by qualification through the UCI ProTeam season, or through a special invitation from the organizers of the race, Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO).

No individual cyclists can enter the race, and even if they did, they’d have no chance of winning or even doing well. With that in mind, it’s important for world-class riders who hope to compete in the 2023 Tour de France to have earned a spot on a team that has a good chance to participate.

Here is a rundown of how teams qualify for the 2023 Tour de France.

UCI WorldTeams

The most clearcut way to ensure a spot in the Tour de France is to rank among the 18 current UCI WorldTeams. The vast majority of teams in the Tour de France and other UCI WorldTour events come from this category.

For 2023, those teams include:

• AG2R Citroën Team (FRA)
• Alpecin Deceuninck (BEL)
• Astana Qazaqstan Team (KAZ)
• Bora-Hansgrohe (GER)
• EF Education-Easypost (USA)
• Groupama-FDJ (FRA)
• Ineos Grenadiers (GBR)
• Intermarché-Circus-Wanty (BEL)
• Jumbo-Visma (NED)
• Movistar Team (ESP)
• Soudal Quick-Step (BEL)
• Team Arkea-Samsic (FRA)
• Team Bahrain Victorious (BRN)
• Team Cofidis (FRA)
• Team DSM (NED)
• Team Jayco AlUla (AUS)
• Trek-Segafredo (USA)
• UAE Team Emirates (UAE)

These teams represent the cream of the crop in global cycling; they all feature superstars, national champions in various disciplines, and a host of extremely strong riders who can work together to help their teammates win the race.

UCI rules only allow 18 teams to compete in the WorldTeams category, which is the highest category in professional cycling. Teams earn a spot in the WorldTeams field by collecting points in pro races throughout 3 years of racing.

Different types of races come with different point values, and the top 10 riders for each team, and the top eight for women’s teams , have the opportunity to compete in races to bolster overall team stats to get more points. At the end of the years-long cycle of racing, the UCI tallies points and awards WorldTeams licenses for those at the top.

The teams listed above earned their spots in the WorldTeams category in December 2022, so they can rest somewhat easy knowing they all have an assured spot in the Tour de France through 2025.

The Tour de France Femmes uses the same format for its selection. All 15 of the women’s WorldTeams groups are automatically in the race .

The 2023 selection includes:

• Canyon / / SRAM Racing (GER) 
• EF Education-Tibco-SVB (USA) 
• FDJ-Suez (FRA)
• Fenix Deceuninck (BEL)
• Human Powered Health (USA)
• Israel Premier Tech Roland (SUI) 
• Liv Racing Teqfind (NED) 
• Movistar Team Women (ESP) 
• Team DSM (NED) 
• Team Jayco Alula (AUS)
• Jumbo-Visma (NED) 
• Team SD Worx (NED)
• Trek-Segafredo (USA) 
• UAE Team ADQ (UAE) 
• Uno-X Pro Cycling Team (NOR)

For those who do not make the cut, all is not lost.

UCI ProTeams in the Tour de France

The second-highest category in cycling is the ProTeams category. As a complement to the 18 WorldTeams in the 2023 Tour de France, the race also offers spots to four ProTeams.

Those teams include:

• Lotto Dstny (BEL)
• TotalEnergies (FRA)
• Israel-Premier Tech (ISR)

The pathway for these teams to earn a spot in the 2023 Tour de France is not as clear cut. Lotto Dstny earned a spot in all WorldTour races, including the Tour de France, by finishing the latest season with the highest number of points among the ProTeams field, as did TotalEnergies.

Israel-Premier Tech and Uno-X Pro Cycling Team received invitations to compete from race organizer Amaury Sport Organization.

The 2023 Tour de France Femmes offers a few more spots for teams on the bubble.

The two top teams in the UCI Continental ranking in 2022 qualified for the race by right. These include:

• Ceratizit-WNT Pro Cycling Team (BEL)
• Lifeplus Wahoo (GBR)

Five additional teams earned invitations from the race organizers, including:

• AG Insurance – Soudal Quick-Step Team (BEL)
• Arkéa-Samsic Pro Cycling Team (FRA)
• Cofidis Women’s Team (FRA)
• St Michel Mavic-Auber93 (FRA)
• Team Coop-Hitec Products (NOR)

For these organizations, being a 2023 Tour de France team offers one of the biggest chances to rack up points that could lead to them promoting back into the WorldTeams category.

This year’s race takes on a particular bit of importance on the women’s side, as these teams will undergo the same selection process that solidified WorldTeams licenses for the men in 2022. For many teams, a strong performance in 2023 could mean the difference between remaining in the WorldTeams category or relegation.

Because only WorldTeam and ProTeam licensees are allowed to compete in World Tour Races, ending up in one of these places is the only way into the 2023 Tour de France. Everyone else will have to settle for spectating, which may be a lot more fun anyway.

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Mark Wilson is a freelance journalist for GearJunkie and BikeRumor. Mark has been writing about cycling, climbing, outdoor events and gear for more than a year. Before that, he spent more than a decade as a journalist at major daily newspapers in Texas covering crime, public safety and local government. Mark spent every free moment during that time carving up singletrack and gravel, or climbing with friends and family in Texas, Colorado and Mexico. Based in Texas, Mark is always looking for new trails, crags and gear to help navigate the outdoors. As a new dad, he is particularly interested in learning how to share his love of the outdoors with his son.

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Tour de France 2023 preview: Full schedule and how to watch live

Another thrilling battle at the 2023 Tour de France is in sight as Tadej Pogacer will try to take back the Tour de France crown that he lost to Jonas Vingegaard last year. Here is all you need to about this year’s race which begins on 1 July in Bilbao, Spain.

The Tour de France 2023 has all the makings of another road cycling thriller.

Will the world’s most prestigious race be the third act in the epic battle between defending champion Jonas Vingegaard of Denmark and 2021 champion Tadej Pogacar ?

Soon we will have all the answers with the 110 th edition of the French Grand Tour starting on Saturday (1 July) in Bilbao, the largest city in the Basque Country, Spain.

Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) is hoping to be crowned champion again, after he won last year’s race as just the second Dane in history ahead of Slovenia’s two-time Tour de France winner, Tadej Pogacar

It is the 110 th edition of the French Grand Tour that will feature Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion Richard Carapaz , silver medallist Wout van Aert and bronze medallist Pogacar.

La Grande Boucle will cover 3,404 km over the 21 stages, with the final stage taking place at the Champs-Élysées in Paris on 23 July. There are eight flat stages, four hilly stages, one time trial and eight mountain stages. Four of these have summit finishes, including the stage to the mythical Puy de Dôme.

176 riders will be on the start line at the Guggenheim Museum, one of Bilbao’s major tourist attractions, with eight riders for each of the 22 teams.

Below you will find everything you need to know about this year’s Tour de France.

How to qualify for road cycling at Paris 2024. The Olympics qualification system explained

Tour de france 2023 general classification riders to watch.

In 2022, we witnessed a breathtaking duel between Vingegaard and Pogacar , and they are coming into this year’s race as the two big favourites.

The 26-year-old Dane has participated in four stage races this season, having won three of them in dominant fashion - O Gran Camiño, Itzulia Basque Country, and most recently the Critérium du Dauphiné.

Pogacar and Vingegaard last faced each other at the Paris-Nice in March, where the 24-year-old Slovenian claimed victory ahead of David Gaudu and Vingegaard .

UAE Tean Emirates captain Pogacar has claimed no less than 14 victories this season including Paris-Nice, Tour of Flanders, Amstel Gold Race and La Flèche Wallonne, before he crashed and broke his wrist at the Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

The two-time Il Lombardia winner made his comeback last week, claiming both the Slovenian national time trial and road race championship.

2022 Giro d’Italia winner Jai Hindley is going to be the leader on a strong BORA - Hansgrohe team. At the Critérium du Dauphiné, 27-year-old Hindley finished fourth behind Adam Yates of the UAE Team Emirates and his compatriot Ben O'Connor of AG2R Citroën Team.

With his win at last year’s Giro, the Australian has shown that he has the endurance needed to compete in a three-week Grand Tour.

22-year-old Mattias Skjelmose (Denmark) stunned the world of cycling by winning the Tour de Suisse earlier this month ahead of the likes of Remco Evenepoel and Juan Ayuso .

He continued his impressive run and was crowned Danish road race champion on Sunday (25 June), after a spectacular solo effort in the final kilometres.

The Trek-Segafredo rider has participated in one Grand Tour previously as he rode the Giro d’Italia last year finishing just 40 th . This year’s Tour de France will be a test of his stamina.

And dont count out Enric Mas. The 28-year-old Spaniard has finished second in the general classification at the Vuelta a España three times and is hoping to make the podium at the Tour.

The Movistar rider came in top six overall in three stage races this season.

Other key riders at the Tour de France 2023

Green jersey.

Last year's points competition winner Wout van Aert has already announced that the green jersey will not be a target for him as he aims to win stages and prepare for the UCI Cycling World Championships that takes place just two weeks after the finish in Paris.

That leaves Jasper Philipsen of Alpecin-Deceuninck as the favourite to take the crown. The Belgian clinched two stages last season - including the most prestigious sprint finish on the Champs-Élysées - and he has already six race wins this season. His versatile teammate Mathieu van der Poel seems to be in the shape of his life, and if the Paris-Roubaix winner gets the freedom to chase the green jersey, watch out for the Dutchman.

The biggest threat might come from Soudal-Quick Step that always target stage wins with their sprinter. Fabio Jakobsen will be their trusted sprinter, like last year. The Dutchman is supported by a strong sprint cast with the most experienced lead-out man in the peloton, Michael Mørkøv, to set him up. 

Sprinter’s teams like Team Jayco Alula with Dylan Groenewegen and Lotto Dstny with Caleb Ewan will also chase stage wins and are contenders for the green jersey.

Denmark’s Mads Pedersen and Biniam Girmay of Eritrea are not only great sprinters but also good climbers. That ability can secure points for the green jersey classification on the more hilly stages. Pedersen took his first Tour de France stage win in last year’s edition and claimed the green jersey in the Vuelta a España, but like van Aert he has announced his focus is to arrive in top shape at the UCI Cycling World Championships in Glasgow.

Polka dot jersey

In the last three editions of the Tour de France, the winner of the king of the mountains classification has also been the overall winner of the Tour de France. Therefore, Pogacar and Vingegaard are the top contenders this year.

For the French riders it will be a special achievement to be on the podium in Paris wearing the polka dot jersey. Thibaut Pinot , who was king of the mountains classification at the Giro d’Italia in May is keen on challenging the two top guns as is 2019 polka dot jersey winner Romain Bardet .

Tour de France 2023 route and important stages

The 2023 Tour de France begins with a hilly stage containing some 3,400 metres of climbing. Contenders for the overall win will have to be ready from the start on the hills around Bilbao. The stage suits classics specialist like Mathieu van der Poel , Wout van Aert and Julian Alaphilippe who all want to be the first rider to wear the yellow jersey at this year’s Tour de France.

After another hilly stage in the Basque Country to San Sebastian on stage two, the peloton will cross the French border and resume the race with flat stages on day three and four. 

Stage five will take the peloton on the first mountain stage in the Pyrenees which includes Col du Soudet and Col de Marie Blanque. The following day, the riders will tackle the mythical mountain Col du Tourmalet before finishing the stage on the category 1 climb Cauterets-Cambasque. Week one concludes with an eagerly anticipated summit finish to the volcano Puy de Dôme that returns to the Tour after a 35-year absence.

On stage 13 in week two, the teams face a gruelling finish to Col du Grand Colombier in the Jura mountains. The two following days will also test the riders’ climbing skills with stage 15 featuring a summit finish to Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc in the Alps to end week two.

The final week kicks off with stage 16, the only individual time trial in the race. It is just 22 kilometres long but contains a fair amount of climbing, especially in the second part of the route. After the time trial, the queen stage of the Tour de France with more than 5000 metres of climbing is sure to generate plenty of drama. Colo de la Loze, the highest point of the race at 2304m, is the biggest obstacle on this stage being 28 kilometres long, with an average gradient of six percent.

Two flatter stages follow ahead of a short but mountainous penultimate stage in the Vosges on stage 20. It will be the last chance for the general classification contenders to gain time before the celebrations in Paris.

Day-by-day route of the 2023 Tour de France

Saturday 1 July: Stage 1 - Bilbao-Bilbao (182km)

Sunday 2 July: Stage 2 - Vitoria-Gasteiz - Saint-Sebastian (208.9km)

Monday 3 July: Stage 3 - Amorebieta - Etxano-Bayonne (187.4 km)

Tuesday 4 July: Stage 4 - Dax - Nogaro (181.8 km)

Wednesday 5 July: Stage 5 - Pau - Laruns (162.7 km)

Thursday 6 July: Stage 6 - Tarbes - Cauterets-Cambasque (144.9 km)

Friday 7 July: Stage 7 - Mont-de-Marsan - Bordeaux          (169.9 km)

Saturday 8 July: Stage 8 - Libourne - Limoges (200.7 km)

Sunday 9 July: Stage 9 - Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat - Puy de Dôme (182.4 km)

Monday 10 July: Rest Day

Tuesday 11 July: Stage 10 - Vulcania - Issoire (167.2 km)

Wednesday 12 July: Stage 11 - Clermont-Ferrand - Moulins (179.8 km)

Thursday 13 July: Stage 12 - Roanne - Belleville-en-Beaujolais (168.8 km)

Friday 14 July: Stage 13 - Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne - Grand Colombier (137.8 km)

Saturday 15 July: Stage 14 - Annemasse - Morzine Les Portes du Soleil       (151.8 km)

Sunday 16 July Stage 15 - Les Gets les portes du soleil - Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc (179 km)

Monday 17 July: Rest Day

Tuesday 18 July: Stage 16 - Passy - Combloux (22.4 km individual time trial)

Wednesday 19 July: Stage 17 - Saint-Gervais-Mont-Blanc - Courchevel (165.7 km)

Thursday 20 July: Stage 18 - Moûtiers - Bourg-en-Bresse (184.9 km)

Friday July 21: Stage 19  - Moirans-en-Montagne - Poligny (172.8 km)

Saturday July 22: Stage 20 - Belfort - Le Markstein Fellering (133.5 km)

Sunday July 23: Stage 21 - Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines - Paris Champs-Élysées (115.1 km)

How to watch the 2023 Tour de France live

The Tour de France will be shown live in 190 countries. Here is a list of the official broadcast partners across different territories.

Basque Country - EiTB

Belgium - RTBF and VRT

Czech Republic - Česká Televize

Denmark - TV2

Europe - Eurosport Eurosport

France - France TV Sport France TV Sport and Eurosport France

Germany - Discovery+ and ARD

Ireland - TG4

Italy - Discovery+ and RAI Sport

Luxemburg - RTL

Netherlands - Discovery+ and NOS

Norway - TV2

Portugal - RTP

Scandinavia - Discovery+

Slovakia - RTVS

Slovenia - RTV SLO

Spain - RTVE

Switzerland - SRG-SSR

United Kingdom - Discovery+ and ITV

Wales - S4C

Canada - FloBikes

Colombia - CaracolTV

Latin America & Caribbean: ESPN

South America - TV5 Monde

United States - NBC Sports and TV5 Monde

Asia Pacific

Australia - SBS

China - CCTV and Zhibo TV

Japan - J Sports

New Zealand - Sky Sport

South-East Asia - Global Cycling Network and Eurosport

Middle East and Africa

The Middle East and North Africa - BeIN Sports and TV5 Monde

Subsaharan Africa - Supersport and TV5 Monde

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Five things to know before the 2023 Tour de France

The Tour de France starts in Bilbao on Saturday with two big favourites – defending champion Jonas Vingegaard and two-time winner Tadej Pogacar, runner-up last year. We look at five things to know before the 110th edition of the three-week race.

Issued on: 30/06/2023 - 16:22

25th start outside France

The Tour will kick off outside France for the 25th time. It will the second start from the Spanish Basque Country after San Sebastian in 1992. After two stages entirely in Spain , the peloton heads for Bayonne in France. In 2022, the Grande Boucle started in Copenhagen and in 2024 it gets underway in Florence, Italy . Cities pay dearly for the right to host the Grand Depart, which race organisers ASO insist expands the international influence of one of the biggest sporting events in the world.

A very mountainous route

With nearly 56,000 metres of climbing, a record 30 passes, five French mountain ranges and a single time-trial, this Tour presents a tough profile that favours climbers. After the Pyrenees, the Tour makes an eagerly-awaited return to the Puy de Dome in the Massif Central after 35 years. The race will then climb through the Jura, the Alps , with the main stage to Courchevel via the Col de la Loze (2,304 m), and finally the Vosges, on the eve of the finale in Paris on July 23. 

Pogacar-Vingegaard summit duel

Dane Vingegaard, winner last year after a second place in 2021, and Slovenian Pogacar, the 2020 and 2021 champion, then runner-up in 2022, are the big favourites. Yet Pogacar's form remains unknown after breaking his wrist on April 23 during the Liege-Bastogne-Liege. For Vingegaard, the question first concerns his ability to resist the pressure of defending his title. At least a dozen other riders, including French duo David Gaudu and Romain Bardet, Spaniard Enric Mas and the Australian Ben O'Connor, could fight for podium places. Remco Evenepoel, Primoz Roglic and Geraint Thomas are the main absentees.

Safety in spotlight

The death of the Swiss rider Gino Maeder  mid-June, descending a mountain in the Tour of Switzerland plunged the peloton into disarray and reignited the debate over safety. Accustomed to exceeding 100 km/h downhill, many riders shared their apprehension, while recalling that danger is an integral part of their sport. To limit the risks, organisers have planned measures including the installation of padded parapets on certain turns to prevent riders  falling into the void.

Covid concerns

In most sports, Covid-19 is only a distant memory, but cycling is resigned to another Tour under virus protocols. Organisers want to avoid the problems of this year's Giro d'Italia when Evenepoel withdrew after a positive test while leading. As in the last three Tours, staff, journalists and guests will have to wear masks when in contact with riders who are advised to avoid selfies and autographs. 

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Tour de France: Standings at the 2021 race

Tadej Pogacar claims his second consecutive Tour title

Arm in arm with his UAE Team Emirates teammates, whose jerseys had been customised with a yellow strip across its front, Tadej Pogačar rode into Paris as the winner of the 2021 Tour de France . Conforming to the long tradition of a largely-neutralised final stage, there was no change in the overall standings.

In the end, the final general classification was separated by crater-like time gaps as Pogačar blew the race apart on multiple occasions. For the first time since Bradley Wiggins’ victory in 2012 only those on the podium finished within 10 minutes of the yellow jersey, while, for the first time ever, each rider in the top 14 represented a different team.

Second placed Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) emerged as the closest challenger to Pogačar after Jumbo-Visma's leader Primoz Roglič crashed out in the first week of the race. He finished his first Tour de France 5:20 behind the yellow jersey.

Richard Carapaz, meanwhile, emerged as the strongest rider from an Ineos Grenadiers team stacked with three Grand Tour winners, but who could only muster a third-place overall at 7:03.

Expectations often dictate the significance of achievements; for Ben O’Connor (AG2R Citroën Team) a fourth place overall at 10:02 back, as well as an impressive stage win at Tignes, marked a career-defining achievement, and a result that justified the faith that his team demonstrated by offering him a four-year contract.

For Wilco Kelderman (Bora-Hansgrohë), too, a fifth place at 10:13 signified his best result in the Tour de France. A minute and thirty seconds behind Kelderman, Enric Mas (Movistar Team) backed up his fifth place finish last year with a sixth place at 11:43.

Seventh place was occupied by Alexey Lutsenko (Astana-Premier Tech) who metamorphosised from a stage chaser into a GC contender to finish 12:23 behind Pogačar. A perennial GC contender who finally fulfilled his potential by achieving a top-10 placing at the Tour de France was Guillaume Martin (Cofidis), this year’s best placed Frenchman, in eighth at 15:33.

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Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) in ninth and Rigoberto Urán (EF Education-Nippo) in 10th completed the remaining spots on the first page of the general classification, 16:04 and 18:34, respectively, behind Pogačar.

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Tour de France: des restrictions de circulation pour le passage des coureurs à Briançon

Une bannière du Tour de France 2024, à Turin (Italie) le 23 décembre 2022, à l'annonce du parcours. - MARCO BERTORELLO / AFP

Top départ pour le Tour de France 2024 ce samedi 29 juin. La course, qui démarre à Florence en Italie, arrive rapidement dans les Alpes françaises, le mardi 2 juillet. C'est lors de cette quatrième étape reliant Pinerolo à Valloire que le peloton va traverser Briançon.

Pour laisser passer les coureurs, la ville met en place des restrictions de circulation et interdit le stationnement tout au long de l'itinéraire de course et des voix afférentes.

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De 11h30 à 16h30, plusieurs axes de la commune seront ainsi inaccessibles: la route d'Italie, l'avenue Baldenberger, l'avenue du Professeur-Forgues, l'avenue de la Libération, l'avenue Maurice-Petsche, la route de Gap, l'avenue de Provence et enfin l'avenue du Dauphiné.

L'avenue de la République est également concernée, mais un sens unique sera également mis en place de 7h30 à 11h30 (dans le sens montant), avant la fermeture totale.

Enfin, l'avenue de Savoie sera quant à elle fermée de 12h30 à 17h30, et la rue Centrale sera bloquée de 8 heures à 16h30.

• Tour de France 2024: le parcours complet, étape par étape

En contre-partie, pour tout de même permettre un accès au centre-ville, Briançon a mis en place le stationnement gratuit dans trois parkings: Artaillauds, Prorel 1 et au Boulodrome du Champs de Mars.

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Slovaquie-Roumanie: "Tout le monde a tout donné", le sélectionneur roumain réfute les accusations de match arrangé

En colère Edward Iordanescu. Si le sélectionneur roumain savoure la qualification de son équipe pour les huitièmes de finale de l'Euro 2024, il n'a pas oublié l'avant-match face à la Slovaquie. Dans groupe E ultra serré, un match nul envoyait les deux équipes dans le top 16. Il n'en fallait pas davantage que des rumeurs de match arrangé circulent sur la toile, alimentées par la voix d'un ancien international roumain: "On va se qualifer avec un match nul face à la Slovaquie, c'est arrangé", a affirmé à AS, Danut Lupu, 57 ans (14 sélections avec la Roumanie entre 1989 et 1998). "Ce serait dommage que les deux pays ne passent pas, pourquoi prendre des risques?"

>> Revivez Slovaquie-Roumanie

"C'est honteux"

Si Edward Iordanescu n'a pas cité l'ex-milieu de terrain de la Roumanie, il n'a pas du tout apprécié qu'on remette en cause l'éthique de ses joueurs, malgré le scenario attendu, c'est-à-dire un match nul (1-1) synonyme de qualification pour la Roumanie, 1ere du groupe E et la Slovaquie, 3e. "Certaines personnes devraient s'excuser. Ils auraient dû attendre de nous voir avant de nous juger. C'était honteux", a déclaré Edward Iordanescu qui s'est dit peiné pour l'équipe mais aussi pour les supporters de la Roumanie.

>> L'actu des Bleus en direct

A propos du match, Iordanescu reconnaît que son équipe a assuré le résultat lors des dix dernières minutes mais pas avant: "Il me semble clair que les deux équipes ont tout donné pendant 80 minutes. Tout le monde a tout donné. Parler avant un match et jeter de la boue sur les équipes et les joueurs, sur notre travail et notre dignité, c'est honteux." En huitièmes de finale , la Roumanie défiera les Pays-Bas mardi (18h) tandis que la Slovaquie tentera de faire tomber l'Angleterre dès dimanche (18h).

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