The lehendakari attends in Paris the presentation of a route in which the Puy de Dome returns and there is only one time trial of 22 kilometers
“Ongi etorri”. Lehendakari Iñigo Urkullu welcomed the Tour de France 2023 at the presentation of the tour, held at the Palais des Congrès in Paris. “It’s a dream come true. The Basque streets and highways will be filled with the enthusiasm of the fans. It will be an emotion never to be forgotten,” he said of the next edition of the gala round, which will start for the first time from Bilbao (July 1) and will have three stages in Euskadi. Christian Prudhomme has highlighted the “passion” of the Basque fans by referring to Roberto Laiseka’s victory at Luz Ardiden in 2003. “The countdown has already begun,” Urkullu added. “Welcome to cycling country.”
The passage of the Tour through the door of the house is unforgettable. San Sebastián lived it in 1949 and 1992, and also Vitoria in 1977. On July 1, 2023, Bilbao will join that list by hosting the Grand Exit of the next edition. The Basque Country hosts the first three stages: Bilbao-Bilbao, Vitoria-San Sebastián and Amorebieta-Baiona.
Along with this start, Christian Prudhomme has revealed the rest of the route. In this fantastic media showcase on which the Basque roads have been uploaded, also appears the Puy de Dome -the volcano that has been absent for 35 years-, the Tourmalet, Cauterest, the Grand Colombier, the Joux plane, the Domancy hill where Hinault crushed the 1980 World Cup, the Loze and at the end the climb to Markstein, where Annemiek van Vleuten won the last Tour for women. It will be an uphill Tour: with eight mountain stages (four high-end finishes), eight mid-mountain days and only one time trial of 22 kilometers.
Bilbao, with the most mountainous starting stage in 110 editions (climbs to Morga, Vivero and Pike in the last section), sets the standard. Reliving the duel between Pogacar and Vingegaard, the Tour climbs the great mountain ranges of France: the Pyrenees, the Massif Central, the Jura, the Alps and the Vosges. This will be the journey between Bilbao and Paris.
Euskadi’s institutional presence was huge at the Palacio de Congresos. Along with Lehendakari Iñigo Urkullu were the general deputies of Bizkaia (Unai Rementeria), Álava (Ramiro González), and Gipuzkoa (Markel Olano); the mayors of Bilbao (Juan Mari Aburto), Vitoria (Gorka Urtaran), San Sebastián (Eneko Goia) and Amorebieta (Andoni Agirrebeitia), and the councilors of the Basque government Bingen Zupiria (Culture) and Javier Hurtado (Tourism). The Basque institutions invest 12 million euros in the landing of the Tour in Euskadi. The images and associated tourism promotion will reach more than 190 countries.
The countdown to watch the Tour pass through the Basque Country was activated on December 14, 2020. That day, the long negotiations with those responsible for the French round bore fruit. Prudhomme flew almost secretly to Bilbao. He entered through the Provincial Council garage so that no one would see him. He had an appointment with the Basque authorities. He told them, bad news, that Euskadi would not be able to host a stage in 2022 due to the pandemic. He then gave them the good news: He suggested that Bilbao would be the Big Start in 2023. It will be in July. 1. The Tour, one of the great events in world sport, would play its first three days on the roads of Bizkaia, Álava and Gipuzkoa. In the doorway of the house.
The 2023 Tour will start in Bilbao. Prudhomme winked at Athletic, who is turning 125. With the climbs to Vivero and Pike in the final stretch, the layout is perfect for a hard-charging runner. Alaphilippe, Van Aert, Van der Poel… A luxury for the fans. After the three Basque stages, the Pyrenees arrive on the fifth day with the climb to Marie Blanque. A day later, the peloton climbs Aspin, Tourmalet and Marie Blanque.
The ninth stage will be the return to the Tour del Puy de Dome, absent since 1988 and the scene of the great duel in 1964 between Anquetil and Poulidor. From the Massif Central, the Tour heads to the Jura, finishing in Le Grand Colombier, where Pogacar shone in 2020 and Bernal began his descent. Without a break, the Alps take over with the finish in Morzine after entering the Joux plane. Then there is a day of 4,300 vertical meters for the Mont Blanc
The only time trial, in Comblaux, comes in the sixteenth stage. From 22 kilometers and culminating in Domancy, where Hinault crushed the 1980 World Cup.Two more mountain stages follow. The seventeenth, with the very tough Col de la Loze and the finish in Courchevel (‘queen stage’ with 5,100 altimeters). And the 133 kilometers and five climbs of the penultimate day, in the Vosges, via the Ballon d’Alsace, the Grand Ballon and the finish at the top of Le Markstein. Climbers can rub their hands. Also the fans for the duel between Vingegaard and Pogacar, with Enric Mas and Mikel Landa as candidates for a position among the best. Then only the walk to Paris remains, the end of this mountainous journey that starts from Bilbao for the first time.
The Women’s Tour has also been presented in the Paris Congress Hall, which made its comeback in 2022, bringing together two million viewers on French television. “The Planche des Felles Filles stage reached five million,” said race director Marion Rousse.
The 2023 edition will feature 8 stages, starting in Clermont-Ferrand and finishing in Mauriac, Montignanc, Rodez, Albi, Blagnac, the Tourmalet (‘queen’ stage) and a final 22-kilometer time trial in Pau, where it will be known succeeding the Dutch Annemiak van Vleuten, who won the Tour, the Giro and the Vuelta this season, is a milestone. “A lot of girls watched the race from the accounts,” Rousse says. “They are the future.”
Source: La Verdad
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