Tour de France 2023 route presentation: Race rumours and how to watch

On Thursday morning, the official routes for the 2023 Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift will be presented at the Palais des Congrès in Paris, France. 

The only thing currently known about the 110th edition of the men’s race is that it will begin in Bilbao, Spain on 1 July. The peloton will then spend two days in the Basque hills, with a stage finish in San Sebastián, before entering France for the first time on stage three. 

The remaining 18 stages, however, remain a mystery. 

According to reports, the race will traverse the Pyrenees in the first week, before heading north to Bordeaux, the Tour’s second most visited city after Paris. 

A passage through the Massif Central is then expected to follow, with a stage finish rumoured atop the Puy de Dôme. The 1,465m dormant volcano has not been used in the race since 1988, primarily due to logistical issues, such as a narrow road, lack of space at the top and its Unesco World Heritage status. 

The toughest mountain duels are set to take place in the Alps in 2023, with the Grand Colombier, Col de Joux Plane and Saint-Gervais Mont Blanc all said to be included in the route. The race could also see the return of the monstrous Col de la Loze, whose slopes were conquered for the first time by Miguel Ángel López in 2020. 

The peloton is then set to make its way up the east side of the country before a final stage in Paris, reportedly starting at France’s national velodrome in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines and finishing on the Champs-Elysées. 

Having begun in the French capital last year, the second edition of the Tour de France Femmes is expected to roll out from Clermont-Ferrand on 23 July. The route is also rumoured to include a summit finish on the Col du Tourmalet, the 2,115m-tall Pyrenean giant, which would mark the race’s first hors catégorie ascent. 

According to reports, the eight-stage event will conclude in Pau, a city that has hosted the men’s race a total of 73 times. 

The route presentation for both races will start at 11:30 CET (10:30 BST / 4:30 CT / 5:30 CT) on Thursday 27 October. 

Watch the Tour de France 2023 route presentation in the UK

The Tour de France 2023 route presentation ceremony will be broadcast live in the UK on GCN+, Discovery+ and Eurosport, with coverage starting at 10:30 BST. 

To gain access to Discovery+ and Eurosport coverage, you can subscribe for £59.99 a year, or £6.99 per month. Alternatively, access to GCN+ also costs £39.99 a year, or £6.99 per month.

If you’re not in the country for the ceremony, you can download and install a VPN and use a location inside the United Kingdom to watch the broadcast live as if you were back home. 

Express VPN is compatible with a range of devices and streaming services (e.g. Amazon Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Xbox, PS4, etc.), giving you the option to watch wherever you want.

Watch the Tour de France 2023 route presentation in the USA, Canada and Australia

In the USA and Canada, you can watch the ceremony live on Flobikes, with subscriptions priced at $30 a month or $150 for the year.

You can also watch on GCN+ or Discovery+, should you prefer these platforms, or have these subscriptions.