Great start for the Grande Boucle. The riders of the Tour de France set off on Saturday, July 1, from Bilbao, in the fervor of the Spanish Basque Country. We can expect huge and passionate crowds along the roads of Biscay, a territory crazy about cycling and with a rich past, which welcomes its second start of the Tour de France after San Sebastian in 1992. Follow our live.
A step that promises sparks. The first stage is a 182 km loop from Bilbao to Bilbao, passing through Guernica. The Tour 2023 attacks directly in the heart of the matter with a leg-breaking stage, strewn with bumps among which five are listed in the mountain classification for 3,300 meters of drop from the start.
Two big favorites for the yellow jersey. On the sporting level, everyone is waiting for a duel at the top between the Danish Jonas Vingegaard, defending champion, and the Slovenian Tadej Pogacar, winner of the two previous editions. On Saturday, we could find the two men neck and neck at the start, especially on the Pike hill (2 km at 10%), placed less than 10 kilometers from the finish line.
Nearly 30,000 police forces mobilized. Tour boss Christian Prudhomme said on Friday that he was “in constant contact with State services” and follow “with great care” the violence that affects many cities in France and has led to the cancellation of several major events. Some 28,000 gendarmes, police officers and firefighters are mobilized again this year to guarantee the safety of the Grande Boucle, one of the most important sports competitions on the planet, broadcast in 190 countries.