Basque Country and Bilbaothe starting point, this Thursday promised a brilliant exit from Tour de France 2023that the first three stages will pass through the roads of Basque Countrycradle of one of cycling’s greatest pastimes.
This Thursday the Tour presented the route of its next edition in a crowded Conference Center in Paris, where the Lehendakari, Íñigo Urkullu, pledged the commitment of Basque institutions and people to make the transit of the Gallic tour a success in that community .
“This performance in Paris means a dream come true”, he owns Urkullu in the act where the route of the next gala round was announced.
The head of the Basque Government assured that “all the Basque institutions” – attended by the general representatives of the three provinces and the mayors of the three Basque capitals – share the commitment to the test.
“The streets, highways, intersections and mountain passes of the Basque Country will be filled with cycling fans” to see the world’s most famous stage cycling event pass, predicted Urkullu.
In a speech that mixed Basque, Spanish and French, the Lehendakari told the audience gathered at the Paris Conference Center that the Basque Country is “a unique country, with its own culture and language”. “We share deep-seated values. We have strong roots,” he said.
“The Basque Country is preparing hard” for the success of this test, promised Urkullu, who also set himself the goal of making guests “at home”.
In a statement to EFE, Urkullu reiterated that the 2023 Tour “means the achievement of a long-desired dream”, as well as “a great pleasure for Basque cycling fans”.
He also emphasized the “commitment” of his Government and the other Basque institutions so that the departure from Bilbao and the three stages that will pass through the Basque Country will be “remembered (as much as possible).”
Urkullu, who admits to being a cycling enthusiast, emphasized that the Tour is an event with a “worldwide” audience that will allow Euskadi reach “a dimension that other events can never reach.”
The 2023 Tour will start in Bilbao on July 1, at the foot of the Guggenheim Museum and Jeff Koons’ Puppy, in a 182-kilometer stage that will end in the same city, next to the San Mamés stadium.
The next day, the gala round will start in Vitoria-Gasteiz, next to the headquarters of the Basque Government, and end in San Sebastián, on a 209-kilometer route that will include part of the classic routes of the Gipuzkoan capital, such as of climbing Jaizkibel, a few kilometers from the finish line.
The third stage will take place between Amorebieta and Bayonne, already in France, with 185 kilometers, of which about 60 are on the Basque coast, where the organization predicts televised images of great beauty.
Tour Director, Christian Prudhommehighlighted “the enthusiasm of the Basque fans” and that 21 Basque cyclists have won at least one stage of the race. Also, of the twelve Spaniards wearing the yellow jersey, three are Basque.
The organizers of the Tour emphasized that in Euskadi there are 419 mountain passes, 250 cycling clubs and hundreds of professionals, four world champions “and a passionate public”.
The start of this 2023 Tour will be under a slogan with a play on words in English: “Welcome to the Basque Country, welcome to the bike country” (welcome to the Basque Country, welcome to the bike country).
The mayor of Bilbao, Juan María Aburto, pointed out that the departure on July 1 is an opportunity “to put the city back on the international map.”
“Bilbao is a city that has reinvented itself and undergone an urban and socio-economic transformation known throughout the world. It started at the Guggenheim and continued at the Tour de France,” he said.
Aburto assured that there is “good work by all the institutions and we will give our chest”.
For the Mayor of Vitoria, Gorka Urtaran, the Tour is “the bicycle sporting event par excellence”, and its arrival in Euskadi will provide “a window for the propagation of the entire Basque society”.
The first mayor of San Sebastián, Eneko Goia, whose city hosts an important cycling classic, the passing of the gala round “will be a cycling party, with entertainment that will fully enjoy it.”
Source: La Verdad
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