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100 Articles

Seismic from the start

The watchword for the Grand Départ is to go and meet the real fans. You’re sticking with that in the Basque Country this year… Christian Prudhomme (CP): The Basques have a visceral love of cycling and we remember the orange tide of Euskaltel-Euskadi supporters in the Pyrenean passes a few years ago. Since the San Sebastián Grand Départ in 1992, the authorities have written to us every year to tell us that they were expecting us again. And they never took offence at having to wait. The geography of the Basque Country allows you to offer a great show right from the off… CP: We like the idea of having the favourites going head to head from the opening stages, and it’s obviously easier when there are steep slopes. The…

Seismic from the start

Yellow The yellow jersey, or maillot jaune, is worn by the general classification leader – the rider who’s taken the least cumulative time to complete the race after each stage. Time bonuses are available at each stage finish, which means the yellow jersey contenders will fight even harder for stage wins. Green The green jersey is worn by the leader of the points competition, usually a sprinter. The maillot vert rewards the race’s most consistent finisher based on points gained from intermediate sprints and end-of-stage placings. This year, points are weighted to favour sprint stage winners. Polka Dot The ‘King of the Mountains’ – the race’s best climber – wears the maillot à pois, which was first contested in 1975, although the competition extends back to 1933. Points are available…

In a peloton of 176 riders, there are a number of objectives, depending on the temperament, qualities and targets of each racer. The most collective of individual sports ensures that most of the riders have a tactical part to play in most of the stages. Some have their eyes set on one or more of the various jerseys, while others go all-out chasing stage wins. Here, we explain the jerseys that are fought over by the world’s finest depending on their race objective and the prize money that’ll (hopefully) reward their exhaustive efforts. LCL Yellow Jersey The honour of pulling on the yellow jersey each day goes to the leader of the overall individual time classification. Prize money: €500,000 to the final winner. Škoda Green Jersey This is the jersey…

JONAS VINGEGAARD

Stage 11 of the 2023 Tour de France will go down as one of the most dramatic days in the history of the race as the collective force of Jumbo-Visma ground down two-time defending champion Tadej Pogacar before Jonas Vingegaard left all for dead ascending the Col du Granon. It was Vingegaard’s first-ever stage win at the Tour and slipped him into the yellow jersey. From there to Paris, he showed no sign of nerves as he took a famous victory. Here we catch up with the 26-year-old in an exclusive interview to reflect on last year and look ahead to his title defence… A little less than a year after your success on the Champs-Élysées, are you now fully aware of the significance of what you achieved last July…

JONAS VINGEGAARD

HUNGRY FOR SUCCESS

“I’m going to come back hungry.” Barely off the podium on the Champs-Élysées last July, Tadej Pogačar was already sharpening his teeth to feed his voracious appetite for victory. Beaten for the first time in his career at the Tour de France, the 24-year-old Slovenian isn’t bitter when he talks about finishing second behind Jonas Vingegaard. That result only feeds his competitive instinct. “In my eyes, my last Tour wasn’t a defeat,” says the winner of the 2020 and 2021 editions. “I still won three stages and the best young rider classification. You can’t be disappointed with a result like that. I’ve never been driven by anger but rather by a huge feeling of desire. I’m even more motivated by the idea of winning a third Tour.” The UAE Team…

HUNGRY FOR SUCCESS

CLASSIC RIVALRY

When you’ve spent more than half of your life doing battle with each other amidst the damp undergrowth that provides the setting for cyclocross races in the depths of winter or on the glistening cobbles of the great Northern Classics, you inevitably share certain values. Rivals since their early days, Belgian Wout van Aert and Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel appear to have applied to the road the principles that they learned in their first discipline, in which the hour-long effort is so intense that there’s no time to ease off. The ambassadors of total cycling, they’re capable of blowing a race completely apart up to 100km from the finish. When summer comes, though, these two kings of the Classics look a little less like twins. While both have given…

CLASSIC RIVALRY

CHASING SUCCESS

The 2022 Tour de France turned out to be one of the most exciting in the history of the race with Jumbo-Visma’s ‘attack, attack, attack’ finally breaking Tadej Pogacar on an historic 11th stage from Albertville to Col du Granon. Jonas Vingegaard gained three minutes on the Slovenian and the rest, they say, is history. A year later and with both riders arguably racing stronger than ever – at time of press, Vingegaard had won the Tour of the Basque Country while Pogacar couldn’t stop winning, Amstel Gold Race and the Tour of Flanders two of the standouts – it’s hard to look beyond one of them being dressed in yellow come Paris. But not impossible. You see, what makes the Tour so special is the element of surprise. Two…

CHASING SUCCESS

AG2R Citroën Team

Established 1992 Team manager Vincent Lavenu Directeur sportifs Laurent Biondi, Alexandre Abel, Arturas Kasputis, Stephen Barrett, Cyril Dessel, David Giraud, Didier Jannel, Julien Jurdie 2022 WAS SUPPOSED to be the season that AG2R cranked up to the next level thanks to an injection of money from car manufacturer Citroen. But it wasn’t to be as they recorded fewer victories than 2021 – 11 vs 12. By early April 2023, they’d won just twice. And in the off-season they lost 2022 Tour stage winner Bob Jungels to Bora-Hansgrohe. That’s the bad news. On the positive, Ben O’Connor’s recovering well from an injury-plagued 2022 and hit top-15 at a smattering of early races, while Benoit Cosnefroy’s shown solid, if not sparkling, spring form. A stage victory in France plus top-five for O’Connor…

AG2R Citroën Team

Alpecin-Deceuninck

Established 2009 Team manager Philip Roodhoft Directeur sportifs Christoph Roodhoft, Rik Van Slycke, Bart Leysen, Frederik Willems, Gianni Meersman, Kris Wouters, Preben van Hecke THE BELGIAN TEAM secured WorldTour status for 2023 off the back of a 2022 where they won 34 times including Jasper Philipsen’s double stage win at the Tour. The Belgian will be sniffing out further sprint success in July. As will Mathieu van der Poel. After an indifferent 2022 that derailed due to a persistent back injury and arrest after an altercation with two teenagers at the 2022 UCI World Championships, he’s started 2023 in stellar form, winning Milan-San Remo plus finishing second at the Tour of Flanders. As long as he stays healthy, he’ll be in the mix for week-one yellow at the Tour. UCI…

Alpecin-Deceuninck

Established 2005 Team manager Emmanuel Hubert Directeur sportifs Franck Reminel, Theo Ouvrard, Arnaud Gérard, Frederic Ostian, Jasper Vaeck, Kévin Rinaldi, Roger Trehin “THE ANALYSES OF two dried blood samples provided by the rider on 8 and 13 July during the 2022 Tour de France revealed the presence of tramadol and its two main metabolites. In accordance with the UCI Medical Rules, the rider is disqualified from the 2022 Tour de France.” And with that UCI statement, Nairo Quintana’s sixth at the Tour was wiped from the record books. Quintana and Arkéa-Samsic parted ways soon after, leaving the French team looking relatively lightweight for the 2023 Tour, albeit 21-year-old Kévin Vauquelin’s won twice already in 2023 so could launch a surprise if he makes the Tour team. UCI RANKING 17 SEASON…

Astana Qazaqstan

Established 2006 Team manager Alexandre Vinokourov Directeur sportifs Alexandre Shefer, Bruno Cenghialta, Claudio Cucinotta, Dmitriy Fofonov, Giacomo Notrari, Orlando Maini ASTANA RESCUED MARK Cavendish’s chances of winning a record 35 Tour stage wins with his late signing in 2022. But the Kazakh team’s started 2023 in the same vein of poor form as 2022 where they won just five times. This year, at time of press, their sole victory’s come from Simone Velasco at the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana. Cav’s not looked consistently competitive in 2023 but, well, we all know that it’s foolhardy to write off the Isle of Man rider. And there remains a glimmer of light in the shape of home rider Alexey Lutsenko who finished eighth at last year’s Tour de France. UCI RANKING 24…

Astana Qazaqstan

Bahrain-Victorious

Established 2017 Team manager Milan Erzin Directeur sportifs Gorazd Stangelj, Alberto Volpi, Enrico Poitschke, Franco Pellizotti, Mical Golas, Neil Stephens, Roman Kreuziger BAHRAIN-VICTORIOUS ENDURED A turbulent start to the 2022 Tour, their hotel raided by police for the second year running. No charges were brought but it’s not a great look. (General manger Milan Erzen was under UCI investigation in 2019 after claimed links to doping doctor Mark Schmidt, which he denied.) Come the racing, they enjoyed a solid Tour thanks to Luis Leon Sanchez’s 13th and Brit Fred Wright just missing out on stage victory into Saint-Etienne. This year, will it be Mikel Landa who again leads the team? Or Pello Bilbao who finished fifth at the 2022 Giro? If he does, Bilbao will look to better his best…

Bahrain-Victorious

Established 2010 Team manager Ralph Denk Directeur sportifs Rolf Aldag, Bernhard Eisel, Christian Pomer, Enric Gasparotto, Helmut Dollinger, Hendrik Werner, John Wakefield GERMAN TEAM BORA-HANSGROHE’S quietly assembled one of the strongest teams in the WorldTour, finishing 2022 fourth in the UCI rankings after winning 30 times including Jay Hindley’s memorable victory at the Giro d’Italia. Hindley’s pencilled in to lead the team with Ireland’s Sam Bennett looking to add to his 10 GrandTour wins. Expect Bora-Hansgrohe to show for the full three weeks into Paris. And expect further great things down the line. Earlier this year, Bora linked up with Red Bull to launch a scouting programme to identify talent based on Strava segments and Zwift. It’s a high-tech method to unearth the next cycling superstar. UCI RANKING 14 SEASON…

Established 1997 Team manager Cédric Vasseur Directeur sportifs Bingen Fernandez, Alain Deloueil, Benjamin Giraud, Gorka Gerrikagoitia, Jean-Luc Jonrond, Roberto Damiani ARGUABLY THE BIGGEST news coming out of the Cofidis camp during the 2022/2023 off-season was the return of Look Cycles to the WorldTour peloton. And the French reunion – Cofidis rode Look between 2009 and 2014 – seems to be paying dividends with 10 victories at time of press including Ion Izagirre’s victory at the GP Miguel Indurain. If selected, the 34-year-old Spaniard will prove a useful ally to team leader Guillaume Martin who finished eighth at the 2021 Tour de France. It’ll also be interesting to see if the experienced Bryan Coquard can break his Tour duck. He celebrated his first WorldTour win earlier this year at the Tour…

EF Education-Easypost

Established 2004 Team manager Jonathan Vaughters Directeur sportifs Charles Wegelius, Andreas Klier, Tom Southam, Tejay van Garderen, Jonathan Breekveldt, Sebastian Langeveld JONATHAN VAUGHTERS’ SQUAD is looking stronger than ever, reflected by a string of early season victories that, at time of press, numbered 13 – four more than the entirety of the 2022 season. Two of those came from Ireland’s Ben Healy, albeit all eyes will be on Richard Carapaz at the Tour. The Ecuadorian struggled in his time at Ineos Grenadiers but, as the saying goes, form is temporary and class is permanent, something Carapaz hopes rings true come Bilbao. If he races, also look out for Neilson Powless. The American finished 12th overall in 2022 and has started 2023 strongly, winning twice and finishing fifth at the Tour…

EF Education-Easypost

Established 1997 Team manager Marc Madiot Directeur sportifs Yvon Madiot, Anthony Bouillod, David Han, Frank Pineau, Julien Pinot, Nicolas Boisson, Sébastien Joly, Thierry Bricaud WHO’D HAVE THOUGHT that the hundreds of thousands of French supporters cheering Bernard Hinault towards his fifth Tour de France title on Sunday 21 July 1985 would, 38 years later, still be waiting for another French victory. Will the diminutive David Gaudu eke out every last watt of power from his 53kg frame to end that drought? Possibly, though, like Bernard Thevenet (right), a podium looks more realistic. He can seek help from the soon-to-be retired Thibaut Pinot. A duet of second places in April, at the Tour du Jura Cycliste and Tour du Doubs, shows his fast-twitchers are still firing sufficiently to challenge for a…

Ineos Grenadiers

Established 2010 Team manager Rod Ellingworth Directeur sportifs Roger Hammond, Carsten Jeppesen, Christian Knees, Ian Stannard, Matteo Tossato, Steve Cummings, Xabier Zandio ON PAPER, IT looks like a year of Tour transition for the British team with a two- or even three-way leadership battle/collaboration (delete as applicable) the most likely option come France with Spain’s Carlos Rodriguez, and Colombia’s Dani Martinez and Egan Bernal, sharing the honours. Then again, don’t bet against 22-year-old Rodriguez poking his head above the parapet. He was in contention for a podium at the 2022 Vuelta a Espana until a crash dropped him to seventh. Mind you, the more experienced Martinez showed in winning this spring’s Volta ao Algarve that he could well be ready to ride out of Bernal’s Colombian shadow. UCI RANKING 5…

Ineos Grenadiers

Intermarche-Circus-Wanty

Established 2009 Team manager Jean-Francois Bourlart Directeur sportifs Aike Visbeek, Bart Wellens, Dimitri Claeys, Frederik Veuchelen, Hilaire Van der Schueren, Lorenzo Lapage, Valerio Piva THE SAD DEMISE of Dimension Data ended the dream of an African team delivering a Tour winner. For now, anyway. But there is a warming balm to heal the wounds in the shape of Biniam Girmay, who’ll look to become the first Eritrean to win a stage of the Tour de France. He’s already carved out his own piece of cycling history, becoming the first black African to win a one-day classic at Gent Wevelgem in 2022. A stage victory in France would elevate his status – and potential impact on a still relatively untapped continent – to another level. Rui Costa, 36 going on 22,…

Intermarche-Circus-Wanty

Israel-Premier Tech

Established 2015 Team manager Kjell Carlstrom Directeur sportifs Rik Verbrugghe, Steve Bauer, Dirk Demol, Dror Pekatch, Jens Blatter, Oscar Guerrero, René Andrle, Sam Bewley ISRAEL-PREMIER TECH endured a miserable 2022, joining Lotto Soudal, now Lotto Dstny, in dropping down to the ProTour. Still, a crumb of comfort came in the form of one of the Tour’s four wildcard slots, which appeases sponsors as a team can garner up to 90% of its annual media coverage in this epic three-week race – vital in the sponsorship-heavy business model of professional cycling. But will the team give the sponsors even more to smile about in France? 2023 hasn’t started well with no wins at time of writing. Their best bet for greater airtime looks to be via Canadians Hugo Houle and Mike…

Israel-Premier Tech

Established 1990 Team manager Richard Plugge Directeur sportifs Merijn Zeeman, Addy Engels, Arthur van Dongen, Frans Maassen, Grischa Niermann, Marc Reef, Mathieu Hejboer THE DUTCH TEAM grow stronger every year with a staggering 24 wins to date (18th April) in 2023. That’s off the back of a spring campaign where nine different riders achieved success, highlighting Jumbo-Visma’s strength in depth. That vast pool of talent will be on show in France with Jonas Vingegaard relying on both his powerful colleagues and immense climbing ability to stave off the threat of Tadej Pogacar. According to reports, Jumbo’s set to end sponsorship at the end of 2024. Could that threaten the team strengthening even further? The recent contract extension of Vingegaard to 2027 suggests they remain confident of an even brighter future.…

Established 1985 Team manager Stephane Heulot Directeur sportifs Kurt van de Wouwer, Allan Davis, Cherie Pridham, Marc Wauters, Mario Aerts, Maxime Monfort, Nikolas Maes LOTTO DSTNY SUFFERED the same fate as Israel-Premier Tech, dropping to the ProTour despite racking up a pretty impressive 25 victories in 2022. The problem is, most of those were at low-profile races. Caleb Ewan remains the team’s best bet for a sprint victory, especially as he won’t wrestle with the fatigue of having already raced the Giro d’Italia like 2022 as Lotto Dstny turned down the Giro’s invite. At time of press, however, the 28-year-old had recorded just one victory all season and that was the relatively modest Schwalbe Classic in January. Thomas De Gendt will go all-out for his third Tour de France stage…

Established 1980 Team manager Eusebio Unzue Directeur sportifs Sebastian Unzue Gravalos, Francisco Javier Vila, Ivan Velasco, Jorge Sanz, Maximillian Sciandri, Yvon Ledanois CAN HISTORY SHINE favourably on the Spanish team? Movistar started out as life as Reynolds back in 1980. Banesto took over sponsorship from 1990 to 2000, in which time Miguel Indurain racked up five Tour victories in a row. With this year’s race starting in the Basque region, can Enric Mas channel Big Mig’s energy (and lung power) and challenge for le maillot jaune? The 28-year-old’s arguably entering his best years and has top-10s to his name in each of the three stage races he’d completed as of mid-April 2023. You just feel he needs to let loose early in the race rather than be dragged along for…

Soudal Quick-Step

Established 2003 Team manager Patrick Lefevere Directeur sportifs Wilfried Peeters, Davide Bramati, Geert Van Bondt, Iljo Keisse, Tom Steels, Klaas Lodewyck JULIAN ALAPHILIPPE’S GIVEN France six of its last 10 Tour stage wins, so it’s with domestic relish that he returns after missing out on 2022 through injury. If his legs are good, the route of the 2023 Tour will offer him opportunities. Stages five, finishing in Laruns, 10 to Issoire and 12 at Belleville-en-Beaujolais look a good bet for a breakaway. The two opening days also look tailor made for a puncheur of his calibre. The first stage in Bilbao offers a chance to wear the yellow jersey again, while on stage two Alaphilippe will retrace his route to success in the 2018 San Sebastián Classic. Fabio Jakobsen will…

Soudal Quick-Step

Established 2005 Team manager Iwan Spekenbrink Directeur sportifs Rudi Kemma, Albert Timmer, Callum Ferguson, Luke Roberts, Matthew Winston, Philip West, Roy Curvers, Pim Lighart IT SEEMS ANOTHER LIFETIME that Marcel Kittel was riding rough shod through the peloton, winning eight stages of the Tour de France over two editions (2013 and 2014). Tom Dumoulin then won the Giro d’Italia (2017), signalling the team’s transition to a GC outfit. Nowadays, it could be argued they’re a feeder team with 22 riders aged 25 or under at the start of the season. So far in 2023 (mid-April), they’ve won just four times with three of those coming in January. All home eyes will be on Romain Bardet but Andreas Leknessund looks a more exciting bet. The 23-year-old Norwegian won last year’s Arctic…

Team Jayco Alula

Established 2012 Team manager Brent Copeland Directeur sportifs Martin Vestby, Andrew Smith, Brian Stephens, David McParland, Marco Pinotti, Matthew Hayman, Shawn Clarke SIMON YATES WILL lead the team on GC. If the Brit makes topfive, he should be happy. And it seems possible after a strong start to 2023 that saw him finish second at the Tour Down Under, fourth in Paris-Nice and top-10 at the Itzulia Basque Country. Michael Matthews will be hunting down a fifth Tour de France stage win, while Dylan Groenewegen will be gunning for his sixth. The Dutch rider’s won twice this season – at the UAE Tour and Saudi Tour – and finished a solid fourth at Scheldeprijs in April. Thirty-seven-year-old Zdenek Stybar will provide invaluable support throughout the three weeks. UCI RANKING 19…

Team Jayco Alula

Established 2000 Team manager Jean-René Bernaudeau Directeur sportifs Benoit Genauzeau, Alexis Loiseau, Dominique Arnould, Ján Valach, Jens Van Beylen, Lylian Lebreton, Thibaut Macé ALL EYES WILL be on Peter Sagan as, at 33, the Slovakian calls time on a champagne-fuelled career, but one that began to fizzle out around four years ago, when he won the last of his seven green jerseys. Luke-warm performance has spread throughout a squad that’s struggled to justify its increased budget since TotalEnergies came on-board. Pierre Latour doesn’t look the rider he was and it’s no surprise that talk is turning to the future with Lotto Quick-Step’s Julian Alaphilippe linked with a move for 2024. The rumours were fuelled by team owner Patrick Lefevere telling the Grand Plateau podcast, “He takes a big bite out…

Established 2011 Team manager Luca Guercilena Directeur sportifs Steven de Jongh, Adriano Baffi, Grégory Rast, Kim Andersen, Luc Meersman, Markel Irizar, Paolo Slongo THE INDEFATIGABLE BAUKE Mollema continues to represent the team’s best chance of a top-10 GC showing, though similar to the last few years, his chances will be dented by also racing the Giro d’Italia. It’s a concession from the team that his fellow Dane, Mads Pedersen, is the rider who holds the key to Tour success. The 27-year-old won the sprint into Saint-Etienne last year and has won twice this season already. He also looked strong as an ox in finishing third at the Tour of Flanders followed by fourth in Roubaix a week later. Pedersen’s known for extending his training rides. His endurance could see him…

UAE Team Emirates

Established 1999 Team manager José Antonio Fernández Directeur sportifs Alejandro Gonzalez-Tablas, José Antonio Fernández, Andrej Hauptman, Bruno Vicino, Davide Arzeni, Fabio Baldato IN THE NICEST sense possible Tadej Pogacar is a freak who defies cycling specialism to win over every terrain or distance, be it a one-day win on the cobbles at Flanders or a three-week stage race like the Tour. From the outside, it looks like his success is heavily down to the individual and his freakish strength and powers of recovery. But as Jumbo-Visma showed last year, he needs his team to step up to stave off a Jonas repeat. How easy that’ll be remains to be seen as how much can a team prepare for a united defence when the individual (Pogacar) is so far ahead of…

UAE Team Emirates

Uno-X Pro Cycling

Established 2010 Team manager Jens Haugland Directeur sportifs Kurt-Asle Arvesen, Gabriel Rasch, Gino Van Oudenhove, Jesper Mørkøv, Leonard Snoeks, Stig Kristiansen UNO-X IS THE first Norwegian-Danish team to compete at the Tour de France and will be looking for a strong showing in search of graduating from the ProTour to the WorldTour in the near future. Can Tobias Johannessen live up to his billing as a GC contender in waiting? Uno-X expects but it won’t be easy, especially as the 23-year-old’s already undergone surgery for persistent knee pain. Then again, Scandinavian endurance sport’s on a high right now, what with Jonas Vingegaard’s 2022 Tour victory and the likes of Kristian Blummenfelt dominating Ironman. If that momentum lifts Johannessen to greater heights, he could surprise a few on GC. UCI RANKING…

Uno-X Pro Cycling

GRAND DÉPART CRAZY ABOUT CYCLING!

Between the 1st and 3rd of July, the Basque Country will show their passion for cycling. The opening stage will feature the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and the spectacular rocky islet of San Juan de Gatzelugatxe, then the Matxitxako lighthouse on the road to Bermeo and the unforgettable setting of Guernica, which symbolises Basque freedom and was a martyred city during the Spanish Civil War. The following day, the start in Vitoria-Gasteiz will be the occasion to remember that Igor González de Galdeano, who wore the yellow jersey for a week in 2002, and Francisco Galdos, a climber of the Kas team who had many honourable finishes at the Tour during the 1970s, both hailed from the capital of the autonomous region of Euskadi. After reaching the port of Lekeitio,…

GRAND DÉPART CRAZY ABOUT CYCLING!

Bilbao > Bilbao

SATURDAY 1 JULY 182KM WE WON’T BE ON THE NARROW and very steep roads of the Tour of the Basque Country, but it’s still very hilly. Two nice climbs, the Vivero and Pike, come one after the other in the finale. It should explode on the Côte de Pike, where the last kilometre has an average of 13%. It’s as hard as the Mur de Huy in Flèche Wallonne. The contenders for overall victory will be at the front, crossing the summit with 10km to go, where a super-puncheur could emerge. Will he manage to go all the way? Whatever happens, it’ll be a brutal start. On paper, the first stage has never been so demanding. STAGE IN NUMBERS 2021 Julian Alaphilippe (above) will be gunning for his seventh stage…

Bilbao > Bilbao

Vitoria-Gasteiz > San Sebastian

SUNDAY 2 JULY 208.9KM IT’S A BIT OF A copy and paste from the day before, but a bit less “punchy”. The final test, the Jaizkibel, is well known and will be tackled in the opposite direction to the San Sebastián Classic, bringing its summit closer to the finish. The steepest part is towards the top. It offers the chance to split the peloton and attack. The Basque riders will certainly aim to do this. From the summit, there’s 16km remaining, half of which is downhill. The rider who claimed the yellow jersey the day before should be able to defend it, provided he still has his team-mates in the finale. STAGE IN NUMBERS 2002 Tour runner-up in 2002, Joseba Beloki (above) grew up in Vitoria-Gasteiz. 8.1 Distance (km) of…

Vitoria-Gasteiz > San Sebastian

Amorebieta-Etxano > Bayonne

MONDAY 3 JULY 187.4KM THERE’S A CHANCE TO BREATHE a little after two very intense opening days. The coast, which they will ride alongside for 80km, will provide a magnificent setting. There are no obvious difficulties and no risks of echelons because the route is mostly sheltered from the wind. Once over the border and into France, it stays rolling. The last climb is in Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle, where the final time trial started in 2018. It won’t hurt the legs of the sprinters and the peloton won’t have too much trouble controlling a breakaway. Consequently, it’s set up for a sprint finish. The final section is very fast. STAGE IN NUMBERS 2003 Tyler Hamilton (above), nursing a broken collarbone, won a memorable 16th stage from Pau to Bayonne. 01 This is…

Amorebieta-Etxano > Bayonne

TUESDAY 4 JULY 181.8KM IT’S A FLAT STAGE, LIKE the day before. In Dax, there will be a small nod to André Darrigade and then in Armagnac to Luis Ocaña. Once again, we should be heading for a bunch sprint with a finish line located on the Nogaro motor-racing circuit. It’s wide… but a bit twisty. Positioning will be decisive. The finish line will be at the end of an 800-metre straight on a very wide road that’s a rising false flat. A nice sprint is in prospect. STAGE IN NUMBERS 07 Dax is playing host to La Grande Boucle for the seventh time. 2006 Spain’s Oscar Freire (above) won the 169.5km ninth stage from Bordeaux to Dax. He wouldn’t make it to Paris after falling ill. ROUTE ITINERARY…

WEDNESDAY 5 JULY 162.7KM WE’RE ALREADY IN THE MOUNTAINS! This stage is reminiscent of the one won by Tadej Pogačar in 2020. The difference this time is that we’ll be taking the Col de Soudet. It’s a rough Pyrenean road where the percentages that are at 10% actually feel like they’re 12%! Next up are the impressive slopes of the Marie Blanque, which should create gaps. After the descent, there’s 7km of flat riding with what’s usually a favourable wind. It’s a tricky climb, but it remains to be seen if the favourites will want to fight it out there or whether they’ll be satisfied with sizing each other up. STAGE IN NUMBERS 2020 Tadej Pogacar (above) outsprinted Primoz Roglic to take the stage win in Laruns. He’d go on…

A springboard for the climbers

The second half of the race’s two-day sojourn in the Pyrenees, which will take the peloton from Tarbes to Cauterets-Cambasque on the sixth stage, offers a first chance for the contenders to make their mark for overall victory. The previous day, the riders will have battled head-to-head on a mountainous stage featuring the difficult ascents of the Col de Soudet (15.1km at 7.2%) and Col de Marie Blanque (7.7km at 8.6%), before a valley finish at Laruns. The stage on Thursday 6 July will mark a step up in terms of difficulty. This will, firstly, be thanks to altitude, as the riders will climb above 2,000m during the ascent of the Tourmalet, the giant of the Pyrenees, which tops at 2,115m. That’s followed by the finish line, which is located…

A springboard for the climbers

Tarbes > Cauterets-Cambasque

THURSDAY 6 JULY 144.9KM THIS IS THE BIG STAGE in the Pyrenees, even though it might seem rather short. The linking of the Aspin and Tourmalet is no pushover. On the final climb, the last five kilometres are the toughest. It’s relatively easy as far as Cauterets, then gets harder on the approach to the Cambasque plateau. The final part is ideal for attacks and we can expect a show of force there. Could someone attack on the Tourmalet? That would be risky, especially early in the Tour, because beyond it there’s a valley where there’s often a headwind and then, of course, there’s the summit finish. STAGE IN NUMBERS 17.1 Distance (in km) the riders face to reach the top of the Tourmalet. 2001 Roberto Laiseka (above) won the…

Tarbes > Cauterets-Cambasque

Mont-de-Marsan > Bordeaux

FRIDAY 7 JULY 169.9KM THE TOUR HASN’T PAUSED IN Bordeaux since 2010. This is a traditional stage through the Landes, even though the route runs further east than usual. The finish will take place on the riverside, at the Place des Quinconces, at the end of a two-kilometre-long final straight. Bordeaux is known as the capital of sprinting. Mark Cavendish was the last rider to win here. This is the flattest stage of this 110th edition, the only one with less than 1,000 metres of climbing. It’ll be quite easy for the peloton to control the race before the final battle between the sprinters.. STAGE IN NUMBERS 1971 Eddy Merckx (above) won the 188km stage from Mont-de-Marsan to Bordeaux, easing him to the third of his five Tour victories. 81…

Mont-de-Marsan > Bordeaux

Libourne > Limoges

SATURDAY 8 JULY 200.7KM THIS IS A STAGE THAT will showcase some beautiful landscapes. The final section is quite hilly, while the finish will be located after a short climb that rises in steps. It’s completely different from the one where Marcel Kittel narrowly beat Bryan Coquard in 2016. The last 700 metres average 4-5%, a gradient that won’t be tackled at top speed. Consequently, this profile shouldn’t appeal to the same type of sprinters as the day before, especially if the final climbs are ridden flat out. STAGE IN NUMBERS 1957 Libourne’s Tour history began 66 years ago with Jacques Anquetil’s (above) TT victory. 2016 Marcel Kittel outsprinted Bryan Coquard for the win the last time a stage finished in Limoges. ROUTE ITINERARY…

Libourne > Limoges

Puy de Dôme: Rise of a Legend

“The road surface is perfect and winds circle the mountain. I won’t be at all surprised to see the future Tour de France winner prevail at the top of the Puy de Dôme”Romain Bardet FOR A LONG TIME, HISTORY had Johnny Weltz believing that he would be forever remembered as the Tour de France’s last winner on the Puy de Dôme, back in 1988. However, the climb’s 35-year hiatus will come to an end on 9 July 2023 on a stage that’s sure to be a race highlight. Coming from Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat, the town that was so close to Raymond Poulidor’s heart, the riders will tackle the slopes of the Auvergne’s most renowned volcano. Legend has it that Christian Prudhomme made a promise to himself when he arrived at Amaury Sport…

Puy de Dôme: Rise of a Legend

Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat > Puy De Dôme

SUNDAY 2 JULY 182.4KM THIS MARKS THE GREAT RETURN of the legendary cycling terrain that is the Puy de Dôme, 35 years after the Tour’s last visit. This stage will start in Raymond Poulidor’s adopted town. It will then pass over the Millevaches plateau and feature significant vertical gain on the roads of Limousin and Auvergne. In the final section, it drops to Clermont-Ferrand in order to offer an ascent of the Puy de Dôme. The gradient is tough right from the start and then, after a short respite, the finale is frightening: 4.5km at 12%! It’s on a narrow, winding road. It will be every man for himself. We’re expecting a significant battle. STAGE IN NUMBERS 2004 The only previous start from Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat saw sprint king Robbie McKewan (above)…

Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat > Puy De Dôme

Vulcania > Issoire

TUESDAY 11 JULY 167.2KM THE RETURN TO RACING WILL be very tough the day after the first rest day. The stage will start at Vulcania, the entertainment park dedicated to volcanoes, and will offer 3,100m of vertical gain through the Chaîne des Puys. It’s a real leg-breaker. However, the leaders won’t be in danger on a stage where the breakaway specialists should come to the fore, fighting hard among themselves until the Col de la Croix Saint-Robert. The last difficulty is quite a long way from the finish line, which is reached after a downhill finale. STAGE IN NUMBERS 2005 Giuseppe Guerini (above) won the stage from Isoirre, bursting clear 1km from the finish line. 1983 Pierre Le Bigaut took the win the last (and only) time Isoirre hosted a…

Vulcania > Issoire

Clermont-Ferrand > Moulins

WEDNESDAY 12 JULY 179.8KM THIS STAGE SHOULD GO THE way of the sprinters. It’s important to have a degree of balance so that all types of riders can express themselves. As soon as we leave Clermont-Ferrand, the route will search out plains rather than undulations. There are three fourth-category climbs early on in the stage, but they’re not very difficult. The riders will pass through Julian Alaphilippe’s home town of Montluçon, before a first-ever Tour finish in Moulins, where the sprinters will have a 900-metre straight on which to show their paces. STAGE IN NUMBERS 2020 Soren Kragh Anderson (above) won two stages of the 2020 Tour. The first was a meandering 194km from Clermont-Ferrand to Lyon. 01 Moulins is stage town for the first time. ROUTE ITINERARY…

Clermont-Ferrand > Moulins

Roanne > Belleville-En-Beaujolais

THURSDAY 13 JULY 168.8KM THIS WILL BE A VERY hilly stage, punctuated by second-category passes and then with the visit to the vineyards of the Beaujolais vintages. The Col de la Croix Montmain will be followed by the steeper Croix Rosier pass (5.3km at 7.6%). It is well suited to breakaway specialists who can climb well. Riders will need to be very strong in order to get into the breakaway and then have the resources to attack in the final stretch and go for the win. Only the most durable will manage this. The leaders, on the other hand, should be able to save their resources for the days ahead. STAGE IN NUMBERS 2008 Roanne’s debut as Tour host saw Sylvain Chavanel (above) take the stage victory. 01 Belleville-en-Beaujolais is…

Roanne > Belleville-En-Beaujolais

Neoclassical Pyramid

The Grand Colombier pass leads up to a promontory. Sitting atop a steep slope, it offers a breathtaking 360° view where you can pick out Lake Geneva, the Bernese Alps, the Glières plateau, Lake Annecy and Mont Blanc. Over the past 10 years it has become a regular haunt for the Tour, one that provides a reliable gauge of the hierarchy among the race’s strong men. On stage 13, four days on from the Puy de Dôme, this ascent will be crucial. While the Tour de l’Ain has had the climb on its route since 1989, the Tour de France only discovered it in 2012, when Thomas Voeckler claimed victory. 2023 will see the fifth ascent of this pass known as “the Bugey pyramid”, where Rafał Majka and Warren Barguil…

Neoclassical Pyramid

Châtillon-Sur-Chalaronne > Grand Colombier

FRIDAY 14 JULY 137.8KM TO UNDERLINE THE FACT THAT this Tour is extremely mountain-oriented, we’ve included all five major massifs this year. After the Pyrenees and the Massif Central, and before the Alps and the Vosges, we’re heading into the Jura, where the riders will take on the Grand Colombier, which will be tackled from a new direction. In 2020, we opted for a tough stage with a summit finish that resulted in a sprint between Tadej Pogačar and Primož Roglič. This time, it will be a true hill climb, with no difficulties at all before it. But what a climb it is: 17.4km at an average of 7.1%! STAGE IN NUMBERS 7.1 Average gradient of the 17.4km-long Grand Colombier. 2012 Thomas Voeckler (above) led over the Grand Colombier summit…

Châtillon-Sur-Chalaronne > Grand Colombier

Large slice of Haute-Savoie

LEGS WILL BE HEAVY, AND some heads will be too, following the passage over the Grand Colombier the day before. As is always the case, the difficulties set by “the Bugey pyramid” will already have dulled ambitions. Then, on Saturday 15 July, the riders will tackle the 14th stage between Annemasse and Morzine Les Portes du Soleil, the first act of an Alpine saga that becomes progressively more challenging, straddling the Tour’s second and third weeks. “The stage is divided into two parts with medium mountain passes, relatively short but steep climbs, little known to the general public,” explains Aurélien Paret-Peintre, who hails from this region. The Col du Feu (5.8km at 7.8%), which rises in the Chablais massif and is new to the Tour, is a case in point.…

Large slice of Haute-Savoie

Annemasse Morzine Les Portes Du Soleil

SATURDAY 15 JULY 151.8KM THIS IS A FAIRLY SHORT stage but with no less than 4,100m of vertical gain. Lake Geneva will be the backdrop for what starts as a game of leapfrog over the little-known climbs of the Col de Cou and the Col du Feu. The climb of the Ramaz isn’t too difficult but features some very steep sections. It will eliminate some of the leaders’ support crews. At the end, the Joux Plane is a test of an entirely different kind. It’s not all that long or high, but it will do a lot of damage. There may well be a sort-out among the overall contenders, who will need to take care on the final descent, which is technical and fast. STAGE IN NUMBERS 1971 Fabio Parra…

Annemasse Morzine Les Portes Du Soleil

Les Gets Les Portes Du Soleil > Saint-Gervais

SUNDAY 16 JULY 179KM A LONG-RANGE BREAKAWAY COULD go all the way. There’s an opportunity to gain some ground before the Col de la Forclaz de Montmin. And the Croix Fry looks a little far from the finish to tempt the favourites into trying something. With a maximum percentage of 17%, the Côte des Amerands could catch some riders out before we finish on the climb of Le Bettex, where Romain Bardet won in 2016. The leaders will go head to head towards the end, but we shouldn’t expect any significant gaps. They should in any case be smaller than those of the day before. STAGE IN NUMBERS 1990 The Tour’s first stage finish in Saint-Gervais saw Thierry Claveyrolat (above) claim the win after a breakaway. 10.9 The average gradient…

Les Gets Les Portes Du Soleil > Saint-Gervais

Judgement at Domancy

This is one of those decisive days that shapes the destiny of riders, the kind of challenge that they can’t duck and where making the slightest excuse is already an admission of weakness. The day after the second rest day in Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc, the individual time trial between Passy and Combloux, the only one of its kind in this 2023 edition, is one of the handful of decisive stages that the favourites will have highlighted in their roadbook. “On a course like this, they won’t be able to get away with having a bad day,” says local ex-professional Jérôme Coppel, a French time-trial champion and bronze medallist at the World Championships in 2015. The 22km parcours will require less than 30 minutes of effort, beginning with a very fast section…

Judgement at Domancy

Passy > Combloux

TUESDAY 18 JULY 22.4KM THIS IS AN ATYPICAL TIME trial. It starts with a false flat before the Côte de la Cascade de Coeur, a 1.5km climb at 8%. This is followed by a long section that will suit rouleurs, on a very nice road with long sweeping bends where you can ride flat out. It will then become difficult again on the Côte de Domancy, where a section at more than 15% will cause a lot of riders to come unstuck. The teams will face a real dilemma: should they start with an aerodynamic bike and lose time on the climbs while gaining it on the flat, or should they consider a bike change along the way? Questions, questions… STAGE IN NUMBERS 10 The Tour’s passed through Combloux many…

Passy > Combloux

Rendezvous in Hell

It is a horror without equal. A pass with an unprecedented profile. “At times, the slope is so steep that you wonder if there’s a road at the top,” says five-time Tour de France winner Bernard Hinault, only half joking. He was one of the first to tackle the Col de la Loze, a kind of open-air hell. For a long time, this 2,304m summit was only appreciated by skiers, who had the choice of gliding down to Courchevel or Méribel under the undeviating gaze of Mont Blanc. In 2019, the Col de la Loze was transformed from a dirt track used for the maintenance of the ski lifts into a surfaced road, the revamp carried out initially for a stage finish of that season’s Tour de l’Avenir, the year…

Rendezvous in Hell

Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc > Courchevel

WEDNESDAY 19 JULY 165.7KM WE START WITH THE CLASSIC combination of the Col des Saisies and Cormet de Roselend before cutting through the Tarentaise valley via the Côte de Longefoy, where the descent requires real focus. Then comes the Col de la Loze, rising to 2,304m and with sections at 24%. The “roof” of the Tour is quite a climb. The approach will differ from 2020. The riders will go up through Courchevel before reaching Méribel by a side road. Thanks to the steep grades, the altitude and fatigue, we can expect a grandiose battle. After a narrow descent, there’s an 18% climb to the finish at the Courchevel altiport. STAGE IN NUMBERS 2000 Marco Pantani’s (above) stage win in Courchevel came three days after he’d triumphed atop Mont Ventoux.…

Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc > Courchevel

Moûtiers > Bourg-En-Bresse

THURSDAY 20 JULY 184.9KM THE RIDERS WILL FINALLY BE able to take a breather after five very challenging stages. The route will sidestep potential difficulties as much as possible. It will pass through Albertville, Chambéry and will avoid Mont du Chat, travelling instead alongside Lac du Bourget via the road tunnel. The final stretch is totally flat. The finish, which is approached on beautiful avenues, will be in front of the Brou Royal Monastery. If the sprinters are still around and have enough team-mates to call on, we should see a bunch finish. But it will take manpower and energy. In recent years, we’ve seen that this kind of stage is very fast. STAGE IN NUMBERS 1973 Luis Ocana (above) won four stages en route to winning the 1973 Tour…

Moûtiers > Bourg-En-Bresse

Moirans-En-Montagne > Poligny

FRIDAY 21 JULY 172.8KM WE’RE BACK IN THE JURA. Like the day before, we didn’t want to make the route too tough. The finish will be located at the end of a 7km straight on a main road. Prior to finale in the capital of the Comté, the route will have gone around Lake Vouglans and followed the Jura Lakes Road. The scenery will be superb. It will then pass through Champagnole and Arbois, which was made famous by Louis Pasteur. There will be a few little hills, but nothing insurmountable for the sprinters. But they must, though, be aware of the baroudeurs: this will be the last opportunity for these escape artists. STAGE IN NUMBERS 2,200 Population of Moirantins and Moirantines. 2016 Peter Sagan (above) took the victory when…

Moirans-En-Montagne > Poligny

Verdict in the viscous Vosges

THE VOSGES MOUNTAINS WILL HAVE the final say. The day prior to the finish on the Champs-Élysées, the 20th stage, short and relentless, will be as much a trap for the yellow jersey as it will a source of hope for the other riders still with their eyes on it. It features five climbs and 3,600m of vertical gain in just 133km! Only 6km stand between the start in Belfort and the first ramps of the Ballon d’Alsace, the pass that was the principal climbing test of the 1905 Tour de France, when the race was still a few years away from tackling the Pyrenees and Alps. It has witnessed great exploits by René Pottier, Henri Pélissier, Antonin Magne, Raphaël Geminiani, Eddy Merckx and Bernard Thévenet shine. On this occasion,…

Verdict in the viscous Vosges

Belfort > Le Markstein Fellering

SATURDAY 22 JULY 133.5KM WE’VE TRIED TO PUT TOGETHER a penultimate stage that’s both short and full of character. It could be decisive if the gaps are still small. After the Ballon d’Alsace, the passes all feature intriguing gradients. The idea is to test the leaders’ domestiques, to tire legs and bodies before, hopefully, an explosion of action on the last two climbs. The Petit Ballon is as steep as Alpe d’Huez and its road offers no respite. The descent is technical, a hairpin at the bottom leading straight onto the Platzerwasel. It will be hard for a team to control things. The leaders will be able to battle it out between themselves! STAGE IN NUMBERS 2019 Dylan Groenewegen (above) won the stampede into Chalonsur-Saone after stage seven had set…

Belfort > Le Markstein Fellering

Saint-Quentin-En-Yvelines > Paris

SUNDAY 23 JULY 115.1KM THE START WILL BE AT the National Velodrome, which will host the Olympic track events in 2024. We will then visit the Yvelines department, where the Olympic road events will take place, before climbing the last categorised climb, the Pavé des Gardes. Finally, the riders will be in Paris and on the traditional Champs-Élysées circuit. Given the difficulty of the Tour, will there still be many sprinters at the start bidding for success in Paris? Will an unexpected rider win the sprint? Or perhaps a breakaway group will go the distance, which has only happened four times since 1975? STAGE IN NUMBERS 2012 Can Mark Cavendish (above) roll back the years to the last of his four Champs-Élysées victories and make it number five? 49 This…

Saint-Quentin-En-Yvelines > Paris

Right to believe…

What was most satisfying about the first edition of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift? Marion Rousse (MR): To have witnessed a real Tour de France. All of the ingredients were there: a sporting event, a free show, with fans drawn to the roadside. People were ready for it, they wanted to see the champions, and they made no distinction between men and women. It was touching to see everyone pulling in the same direction. There was the same excitement with people dressed up in costumes, children waving signs and, of course, little girls who did, perhaps, imagine themselves racing in the Tour one day. How did you deal with criticism, mainly about the crashes? MR: Thanks to my experience as a consultant for France Télévisions, I’m exposed to…

Right to believe…

EYES ON THE PRIZE

LCL Yellow Jersey The yellow jersey is worn each day by the leader of the overall individual time classification. Prize money of €50,000 goes to the winner. Škoda Green Jersey This jersey rewards consistency and goes to the rider who leads the points classification. There are points available for the first 15 riders at the intermediate sprints on road stages and at the finish of each stage, with more points allocated to flat stages. Prize money of €3,000 goes to the winner. E. Leclerc Red Polka-Dot Jersey The rider leading the best climber classification receives the polka dot jersey each day. Points are awarded at the summit of all classified climbs. Prize money of €3,000 goes to the winner. Liv White Jersey Awarded each day to the best young rider…

EYES ON THE PRIZE

ANNEMIEK VAN VLEUTEN

Last season, your victories included the Tour-Giro double, the Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta, the World Road championship and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Was 2022 the most successful year of your career? Annemiek van Vleuten (AVV): I don’t think I could have told this you before last year, but winning this race is the greatest achievement of my career. My victory had a considerable impact and went beyond our discipline. I could appreciate how much the yellow jersey meant to everyone. I thought that the popularity of the women’s version of the Tour would grow over the years, but it took off instantly. It must be said that everything, from the route to the quality of the television broadcast, was superbly organised. I think the public really got the feeling that the Tour…

ANNEMIEK VAN VLEUTEN

WORX IN PROGRESS

After finishing second in 2022, is victory in 2023 your goal? Demi Vollering (DV): Yes, very much so. Last season I didn’t start the Tour with this ambition in mind but I realised that it was no longer a pipe dream. Even though more than three minutes separated me from Annemiek van Vleuten, finishing in second place meant that I wasn’t far from the mythical yellow jersey that I had the right to think about it. It was a kind of trigger for me; I realised that victory in the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift could be within my reach in the years to come. What memories first come to mind when you think back to that first Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift? DV: Its extraordinary significance. Everyone…

WORX IN PROGRESS

THE STARS OF SEASON TWO!

The 2023 Tour de France Femmes takes place between 23rd and 30th July 2023, starting in Clermont-Ferrand on the same day that the men conclude their race in Paris. Last year, hundreds of thousands flooded the streets of France to witness history in the making. This year, it promises to be even more exhilarating with the quality of racing higher than ever before. Bigger climbs and that final-stage time trial in Pau will guarantee the riders – and the crowds – are on the edge of their roadside folding chairs for the entire eight stages. But who’ll follow Annemiek van Vleuten into the record books and win the second edition of the Tour de France Femmes? Will the Dutch legend regain her crown? Will sensation of the spring, Demi Vollering,…

THE STARS OF SEASON TWO!

AG Insurance – Soudal Quick-Step

Established 2019 (Rogelli-Gyproc) Under current name 2023 General manager Natascha Den Ouden Directeur sportifs Jolien D’Hoore, Christian Kos THE BELGIAN TEAM has aspirations for WorldTour status and showed their ambitions over the off-season, securing the services of SD Worx rider Ashleigh Moolman. The South Africa won the Tour de Romandie Féminin last October in her swansong for the Dutch team. For her new team, she’s finished top-10 at La Fleche Wallonne Féminine and Amstel Gold Race Ladies’ Edition. Look for the 37-year-old to show on the climbs. TEAM ROSTER Additional riders: Benito Mireia, Boogaard Maaike, Ghekiere Justine, Goossens Marthe, Henttala Lotta, Kasper Romy, Knaven Britt, Rijnbeek Maud, Steigenga Nicole…

AG Insurance – Soudal Quick-Step

Arkea Pro Cycling Team

Established 2020 Under current name 2020 General manager Emmanuel Hubert Directeur sportif Franck Renimel THE FRENCH TEAM, who compete on the UCI Continental Women’s Tour, has won twice in 2023 (at time of press), both victories coming from one of Ireland’s most talented riders, Megan Armitage. She also finished fourth at Grand Prix Féminin de Chambéry in April. After a strong start to 2023, it’d be hard for team manager Emmanuel Hubert to overlook her. TEAM ROSTER Additional riders: Emond Clara, Hinault Maryanne, Kolesava Anastasiya, Liboreau Luci, Tregouet Maurene…

Arkea Pro Cycling Team

Canyon // SRAM Racing

Established 2002 (Cannondale-USA) Under current name 2016 Team manager Ronny Lauke Directeur sportif Magnus Backstedt IN FRANCE, THE German team will rely on their leader, Poland’s Katarzyna Niewiadoma, who finished third at last year’s Tour de France Femmes. Her palmares also includes victories at The Women’s Tour, Amstel Gold Race Ladies’ Edition and Trofeo Alfredo Binda – Comune di Cittiglo. Her 2023 form looks good with top-five finishes at Amstel Gold Race Ladies’ Edition and the women’s Tour of Flanders. TEAM ROSTER Additional riders: Bauernfeind Ricarda, Bossuyt Shari, Bradbury Neve, Dygert Chloe, Morrice Alex, Niedermaier Antonia, Towers Alice, Van Der Duin Maike…

Canyon // SRAM Racing

Ceratizit – WNT Pro Cycling Team

Established 2016 (Team WNT) Under current name 2020 General manager Dirk Baldinger Directeur sportifs Steffen Radochia, Steve Sergeant CERATIZIT’S ANOTHER GERMAN team who’ll be aiming to make an impression in France, albeit in individual stages rather than GC. Poland’s Marta Lach is a strong rider who can perform under the toughest conditions. Her sixth at this year’s Paris-Roubaix Femmes is evidence of that. Italy’s Alice Maria Arzuffi can show on the climbs but perhaps isn’t up there with the finest ascenders in the game. TEAM ROSTER Additional riders: Archibald Katie, Berton Nina, Brausse Franziska, De Zoete Mylene, Eberle Lana, Fidanza Martina, Gill Nadine, Nilsson Hanna, Teutenberg Lea Lin…

Ceratizit – WNT Pro Cycling Team

Cofidis Women Team

Established 2022 Under current name 2022 General manager Cédric Vasseur Directeur sportifs Gaël Le Bellec, Arthur Quillic MORGANE COSTON’S BEEN brought in from Arkéa and should shine when the terrain rises after finishing fifth on mountains classification last year, while third-place finisher at this year’s Trofeo Oro, Martina Alzini, could challenge in the sprints if selected. The timeless Kiwi Rachel Neylan, who turned 41 earlier this year, retires this season and will look for a higher GC position than 28th in 2022. TEAM ROSTER Additional riders: Boulais Flavie, Éraud Séverine, Kern Spela, Pilote-Fortin Gabrielle, Talbot Josie…

Cofidis Women Team

EF Education-Tibco-SVB

Established 2007 (Team Tibco) Under current name 2022 General manager Linda Jackson Directeur sportif Rachel Hedderman THE AMERICAN TEAM made big moves in the off-season, signing Alison Jackson from Liv Racing Xstra. Jackson has pedigree and showed it at Paris-Roubaix Femmes where she took what the team called “the biggest win in our history”. She’ll challenge for stage victories in France when not supporting Veronica Ewers, who finished ninth last year and will look to better that this summer. TEAM ROSTER Additional riders: Bäckstedt Zoe, Banks Elizabeth, Honsinger Clara, Poidevin Sara, Shapira Omer, Smith Abi, Williams Georgia…

EF Education-Tibco-SVB

Established 2006 (Vienne Futuroscope) Under current name 2023 Team manager Stephen Delcourt Directeur sportifs Nicolas Maire, Cédric Barre DENMARK’S BALL OF positive energy, Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig, is the undoubted star of the French team, winning a stage of the 2022 Tour de France Femmes and finishing sixth overall at the Giro d’Italia Donne. Third at this year’s Strade Bianche Donne was a strong start to 2023, though she didn’t perform at her favoured Ardennes Classics as she’d like despite 10th at Amstel. Australian Grace Brown’s another world-class rider to keep tabs on in France. TEAM ROSTER Additional riders: Adegeest Loes, Borgli Stine, Copponi Clara, Duval Eugénie, Fahlin Emilia, Grossetête Maëlle, Guilman Victorie, Wiel Jade…

Fenix-Deceuninck

Established 2020 (Ciclismo Mundial) Under current name 2023 General manager Heidi Van de Vijver Directeur sportif Camiel van den Bergh THE BELGIAN SQUAD, formerly known as Plantur-Pura, were the 15th team to secure World Tour status this season, ascending from Continental. They haven’t pulled up any trees thus far in 2023 but current Austrian road-race champion Christina Schweinberger, who finished fifth at this year’s Gent Wevelgem, will look to challenge for stage victory. And Yara Kastelijn will hope to break top-10 after finishing 13th in France last year. TEAM ROSTER Additional Riders: Alvarado Ceylin Del Carmen, Couzens Millie, Martins Maria, Marturano Greta, Schrempf Carina, Stiasny Petra, Truyen Marthe, Van De Velde Julie, Wright Sophie…

Fenix-Deceuninck

Human Powered Health

Established 2012 (Optimum Pro Cycling) Under current name 2022 General manager Ro De Jonckere Directeur sportifs Jo Kiesanowski, Andrew Bajadali NINA BUIJSMAN is set to lead the team after a solid performance at the 2022 Tour de France Femmes where she finished 25th. This year she came in 13th at the Tour Down Under, which included third on stage two. On the domestic front, it’ll be interesting to see if Alice Barnes makes the squad after moving from Canyon //SRAM in the off-season, though at time of press she was recovering from a fractured radius. TEAM ROSTER Additional riders: Clouse Katie, Kröger Mieke, Macpherson Makayla, Malcotti Barbara, Pikulik Daria, Schmid Kaia, Van’t Geloof Marjolein, Vandenbulcke Jesse, Yonamine Eri…

Human Powered Health

Israel Premier Tech Roland

Established 2018 (Cogeas-Mettler Pro Cycling Team) Under current name 2023 General manager Ruben Contreras Directeur sportifs Marco Sias, Jochen Dornbusch THE ISRAEL PREMIER Tech Roland turnstiles were on overdrive this winter with 10 riders out and 11 riders in thanks to an injection of funding from Premier Tech, though it’s an existing rider, Tamara Dronova-Balabolina of Russia, who’ll lead the team in France. She’s a strong all-rounder who’ll be supported by the experienced Lara Vieceli, who joined the team from Ceratizit-WNT in the off-season. TEAM ROSTER Additional riders: Collinelli Sofia, Delbaere Fien, Griffin Mia, Kiesenhofer Anna, Magri Silvia, Stannard Elizabeth, Steels Claire…

Israel Premier Tech Roland

Established 2016 (Drops) Under current name 2023 General manager Tom Varney Directeur sportif Malgorzata Jasinska THE LATE LOSS of main sponsor Le Col left the British team scrapping for their future but, thankfully, wellness brand Lifeplus came in with a last-minute rescue package. However, by the time Lifeplus had come on-board, several riders, including Jesse Vandenbulcke, had left. It’s meant 12 out and 10 in with Ella Harris, signed from Canyon //SRAM favourite to lead the team in France. Margaux Vigié could also be in the mix to challenge for stages. TEAM ROSTER Additional riders: King Eluned, Leech Maddie, Richardson Kate, Söderqvist Karin, Van Der Wolf Babette…

Liv Racing Teqfind

Established 2006 (DSB Bank) Under current name 2023 General manager Eric van den Boom Directeur sportifs Wim Stroetinga, Giorgia Bronzini THE DUTCH TEAM bolstered their squad by signing the experienced Mavi Garcia from UAE Team ADQ. The Spaniard is 39 but still performs at the highest level, most recently finishing fourth at Amstel Gold Race Ladies’ Edition. She also powered to an impressive third overall at last year’s Giro d’Italia Donne. Italian Katia Ragusa could also make her mark. At this year’s Paris-Roubaix Femmes, she just missed out on victory to Alison Jackson. TEAM ROSTER Additional riders: Andersson Caroline, Buurman Eva, Jaskulska Marta, Mcgowan Ayesha, Neumanova Tereza, Ragusa Katia, Ton Quinty, Van Der Hulst Amber…

Liv Racing Teqfind

Movistar Team Women

Established 2018 Under current name 2018 General manager Sebastian Unzué Directeur sportifs Jorge Sanz, Jurgen Roelandts THE SPANISH TEAM’S objectives are clear: help Annemiek van Vleuten regain her Tour de France Femmes title and provide the legendary Dutch rider with the send-off she deserves in this, her retirement season. Also look out for Germany’s Liane Lippert, who moved from Team DSM in the off-season. She enjoyed a strong spring, including second at La Fleche Wallonne Féminine. TEAM ROSTER Additional riders: Aalerud Katrine, Erić Jelena, Gigante Sarah, González Alicia, Mackaij Floortje, Martín Sara, Oyarbide Lourdes, Rodríguez Gloria…

Movistar Team Women

St Michel-Mavic-Auber93

Established 2012 (Auber 93) Under current name 2023 General manager Tony Hurel Directeur sportif Charlotte Bravard THE CONTINENTAL SQUAD enjoyed one of their finest-ever results this spring when new signing, Marion Borras, finished fifth at Paris-Roubaix Femmes. She’ll surely line up in France with Canadian Simone Boilard, who’s enjoyed a solid start to the season with top-10 finishes at the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race and Ronde de Mouscron. TEAM ROSTER Additional Riders: Fahy Camille, Le Mouël Célia, Miermont Dilyxine, Onesti Olivia…

St Michel-Mavic-Auber93

Team Coop-Hitec Products

Established 2008 (Hitec Products-UCK) Under current name 2021 General manager Jolien D’Hoore Directeur sportif Tone Hatteland Lima THE NORWEGIAN OUTFIT head to France in search of experience but with little chance of stage success. The team look like they’ll be behind home rider Ane Iversen, albeit it’s Britain’s Josie Nelson who’s arguably been their strongest rider of the season with fourth at the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race to her name. She finished 35th at last year’s Vuelta and, at just 20, she could make a real career statement. TEAM ROSTER Additional riders: Dale Stine, Danford Georgia, Haugset Sigrid, Jonker Kerry, Lind Magdalene, Mohr Mari Hole, Tveit Nora…

Team Coop-Hitec Products

Established 2011 (Skil-Argos) Under current name 2021 General manager Iwan Spekenbrink Directeur sportif Hans Timmermans THE DEPARTURE OF uber-sprinter Lorena Wiebes to SD Worx simplifies the team’s objectives: to throw everything behind France’s Juliette Labous. The 24-year-old finished fourth overall last year and will at the very least be challenging for that podium in Paris. Exciting young Brit Georgi Pfeiffer will be in the reckoning for stage wins. Her 2023 form is good with victory at Classic Brugge-De Panne the standout. TEAM ROSTER Additional riders: Ciabocco Eleonora, Hengeveld Daniek, Peperkamp Esmée, Plouffe Maeve, Rayer Églantine, Storrie Becky, Uijen Elise, Van Der Meiden Anna, Vinke Nienke…

Team Jayco Alula

Established 2012 (GreenEdge-AIS) Under current name 2023 General manager Brent Copeland Directeur sportifs Martin Vestby, Megan Chard If last year’s Tour de France Femmes is anything to go by, the Australian team will turn to Slovenia’s Urska Zigart to lead the team, though she’ll aim for higher than 29th overall. Or will team-mate Alexandra Manly take charge? The Australian’s a more consistent winner with stage victory at the Tour Down Under to her name this year. And watch out for Georgia Baker, who won the Commonwealth Road Race in Birmingham last year. TEAM ROSTER Additional riders: Allen Jessica, Baker Georgia, Campbell Teniel, Howe Georgie, Kessler Nina, Pate Amber, Polites Alyssa, Tan Wei Shi Chelsie…

Team Jayco Alula

Team Jumbo-Visma

Established 2021 Under current name 2021 General manager Rutger Tijssen Directeur sportifs Lieslot Decroix, Marco Postma Unlike their male counterparts, it’s been a relatively subdued start to 2023 for the Dutch team with no victories at time of press. That said, they’ve enjoyed myriad top-10s in the biggest races. The legend Marianne Vos grabbed two of those with third and 10th at Dwars door Vlaanderen and Paris-Roubaix Femmes, respectively. Vos won two stages of the Tour de France Femmes in 2022. She’ll be after more of the same come July. TEAM ROSTER Additional Riders: Achtereekte Carlijn, Beekhuis Teuntje, Cadzow Kim, Kraak Amber, Oudeman Maud, Reijnhout Rosita, Riedmann Linda, Van Empel Fem, Veenhoven Nienke…

Team Jumbo-Visma

Established 2011 (Dolmans Landscaping) Under current name 2021 General manager Danny Stam Directeur sportifs Anna van der Breggen, Lars Boom THE DUTCH TEAM have turned into the Galacticos of women’s cycling with the offseason signing of Lorena Wiebes adding further sprint power to an already strong squad. Demi Vollering enjoyed a spring to remember, winning all three Ardennes Classics in one week, plus Strade Bianche. If she can maintain that form into the summer, she could well usurp van Vleuten in France. Look out for the powerful Lotte Kopecky, too. TEAM ROSTER Additional riders: Bredewold Mischa, Fisher-Black Niamh, Guarischi Barbara, Markus Femke, Shackley Anna, Schreiber Marie, Uneken Lonneke, Vas Blanka…

Established 2019 Under current name 2019 General manager Luca Guercilena Directeur sportifs Markel Irizar, Ina-Yoko Teukenberg IF SD WORX are Real Madrid, Trek-Segafredo’s the Barcelona of women’s cycling with a team that’s bristling with talent. Elisa Longo Borgini, winner of this year’s UAE Tour Women, will lead in France and aim to better her sixth overall in 2022. A stage victory is well within the realms of possibility, too. Then there are the powerful duo of Elisa Balsamo and Amanda Sprat, but no Ellen van Dijk as she’s expecting her first child. TEAM ROSTER Additional riders: Backstedt Elynor, Brand Lucinda, Chapman Brodie, Hanson Lauretta, Realini Gaia, Sanguineti Ilaria, Wiles Tayler…

Established 2011 (MCipollini-Giordana) Under current name 2022 General manager Jolien D’Hoore Directeur sportifs Nic Marche, Roberto San Emeterio ITALY’S SILVIA PERSICO heads up the UAE team after signing from Continental outfit Valcar-Travel & Service in the off-season. And it’s a move that’s paying dividends with victory at De Brabantse Pijl as well as fourth at the women’s Tour of Flanders. She finished a magnificent fifth at last year’s Tour de France Femmes and will aim for the podium in 2023. Sadly, she won’t have the support of Marta Bastianelli, who’s retiring after the Giro. TEAM ROSTER Additional riders: Benito Mireia, Boogaard Maaike, Ghekiere Justine, Goossens Marthe, Henttala Lotta, Kasper Romy, Knaven Britt, Rijnbeek Maud, Steigenga Nicole…

Uno-X Pro Cycling Team

Established 2022 Under current name 2022 General manager Jens Haugland Directeur sportif Stig Kristiansen, Leonard Snoeks THE SCANDINAVIAN TEAM features British talent Hannah Barnes and Elinor Barker but their focus in France looks likely to be Norway’s Mie Bjorndal Ottestad and Maria Giulia Confalonieri. Ottestad’s gunning for a good GC standing, building on her 17th in 2022, while Confalonieri will be seeking a stage victory. TEAM ROSTER Additional riders: Ahtosalo Anniina, Andersen Susanne, Barker Elinor, Dideriksen Amalie, Edseth Marte Berg, Koerner Rebecca, Koster Anouska, Lutro Amalie, Olausson Wilma…

Uno-X Pro Cycling Team

Clermont-Ferrand > Clermont-Ferrand

SUNDAY 23 JULY 124 KM STARTING FROM CLERMONT-FERRAND provides us the opportunity to head into the Pyrenees later. On this first stage that’s in the form of a loop, the early part is relatively flat. We pass the Château d’Effiat early on, and the action will pick up a bit before Volvic. It seems clear that everything will be decided on the Côte de Durtol, which could be used as a springboard by a strong rider. The gradient reaches 9% and there will be a sort-out, even though the gaps won’t be huge. Will there be a regrouping? I’m not sure. There are only 9km left after the summit. The descent is quite technical and it won’t be easy for those that are dropped to come back. STAGE IN NUMBERS…

Clermont-Ferrand > Clermont-Ferrand

Clermont-Ferrand > Mauriac

MONDAY 24 JULY 148 KM THE FIRST PART IS QUITE tough. There are some steep hills and we pass through Mont Dore. The next part is more straightforward before the difficult finale. The Côte de Trébiac (3.4km at 5.8%) could create some big gaps as the finish is located 1.5km beyond its summit. It’ll be worth attacking if you have the legs. The contenders for the overall classification will come to the fore. With 2,500 metres of vertical gain, the stage is clearly slanted towards the climbers, but there’s still a good opportunity for the breakaway specialists. STAGE IN NUMBERS 1988 French rider Thierry Marie (above) won the 223.5km stage from Clermont-Ferrand to Chalon-sur-Saone. He’d win six Tour stages in his career. 5.8% The 3.4km-long, 5.8% Cote de Trebiac could…

Clermont-Ferrand > Mauriac

Collonges-La-Rouge > Montignac-Lascaux

TUESDAY 25 JULY 147 KM A GRANDIOSE SETTING WITH THE start in Collonges-la-Rouge and the finish just a stone’s throw from the famous Lascaux caves. Being in the Corrèze and the Dordogne also allows us to visit sumptuous places like Arnac-Pompadour, Saint-Robert and the Château de Hautefort. The roads are never flat, climbing and descending all the time, but in a moderate way. If there’s a breakaway, the peloton will have plenty of opportunity to reel it in approaching the finish. Consequently, we should see the first bunch sprint of the 2023 Tour, on a beautiful 650-metre-long finish straight. STAGE IN NUMBERS 2 Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx, above) will be looking to add to her two stage wins from the 2022 Tour de France Femmes. 650 Who will revel in…

Collonges-La-Rouge > Montignac-Lascaux

WEDNESDAY 26 JULY 177 KM THIS IS A MARATHON STAGE and it’ll do some damage. At the start, there’s a loop around Cahors in order to pass in front of the Château de Cayx, which belongs to the Danish royal family. The road then follows the Lot gorges, then the Côte de Colombes will kick off a mini Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Climb, descent, climb, descent… It won’t stop until the finish. And the further we go, the steeper they will be. Some leaders could be caught out. The Côte de Laverne will be challenging because the riders will be fatigued. This is a demanding stage. STAGE IN NUMBERS 2022 Christophe Laporte (above) won the stage into Cahors when the men’s Tour de France visited last year. 10.1% Average gradient of the 570m-long…

Onet-le-Château > Albi

THURSDAY 27 JULY 126 KM WILL THE BREAKAWAY GO THE distance? It’s difficult to predict whether the sprinters will be able to hang on given this profile. Riders with a fast finish who can deal with hills very well will be well advised to be out front. There could be a tug of war between a breakaway of strong riders and the pure sprinters, whose teams will try to get them back on terms. There’s 24km from the top of the final climb to the finish, and the final stretch will favour the peloton’s pursuit as there are long straights. The final 20km are identical to stage 10 of the 2019 Tour, where Thibaut Pinot was caught out in an echelon. STAGE IN NUMBERS 2019 Wout van Aert (above) outsprinted…

Onet-le-Château > Albi

FRIDAY 28 JULY 122 KM THIS SHORT STAGE IS ALSO the flattest. We should see a bunch sprint because the four small hills won’t be enough to create gaps. This is the last chance for the sprinters to express themselves and they’ll do everything they can not to let it escape them. The final straight is more than a kilometre long, a real boulevard. We’ll pass Cordes-sur-Ciel and Puycelsi, two magnificent villages. The wind shouldn’t disrupt the action, although between Grenade and Blagnac, a long section of straight road is exposed to the wind in places. But it has to coming from the right direction! STAGE IN NUMBERS 1988 The year France’s Jeannie Longo (above) won the time trial into Blagnac. It helped her to the second of three Tour…

Lannemezan > Tourmalet Bagnères-De-Bigorre

SATURDAY 29 JULY 90 KM WE’VE REACHED THE HIGH MOUNTAINS. The first part is relatively flat: there’s a loop in order to pass through Lannemezan a second time before heading for Arreau. The Aspin, a very difficult first-category pass, needs no introduction. They’ll descend to Sainte-Marie-de-Campan and there it is, the Tourmalet – the highlight of the Tour de France Femmes. The climbers will leave their mark on this mythical pass. They’ll be going above 2,000 metres, which wasn’t the case last year, climbing the flank that passes through La Mongie. The strongest will inevitably be at the front. STAGE IN NUMBERS 1996 Fabiana Luperni (above) held off Jeannie Longo for victory atop the Tourmalet on stage four of the 1996 Tour Cycliste Féminin. 17 Distance (in km) of the…

Lannemezan > Tourmalet Bagnères-De-Bigorre

SUNDAY 30 JULY 22 KM THIS TIME TRIAL WILL BE familiar. The first part of it featured on the 2019 Tour, when it was tackled in the opposite direction on the day that Julian Alaphilippe won in yellow. Twenty-two kilometres is a proper time trial, and the climb of the Côte de Bosdarros is a fearsome slice of it. There are technical sections on the Côte de Gélos. Taking place on the final day, the time trial offers the opportunity for a late swing in fortunes. Good rouleurs could take advantage of it to gain a few places in the overall classification and, who knows, climb onto the final podium. STAGE IN NUMBERS 956 When the finishers reach Pau, they’d have covered 956km over eight stages. 2 Will Annemiek van…

MULTIPLE VICTORIES FIVE VICTORIES ANQUETIL Jacques (1957, 1961–1964) MERCKX Eddy (1969–1972, 1974) HINAULT Bernard (1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1985) INDURAIN Miguel (1991–1995) FOUR VICTORIES FROOME Chris (2013, 2015, 2016, 2017) THREE VICTORIES THYS Philippe (1913, 1914, 1920) BOBET Louison (1953–1955) LEMOND Greg (1986, 1989, 1990) TWO VICTORIES PETIT-BRETON Lucien (1907, 1908) LAMBOT Firmin (1919, 1922) BOTTECCHIA Ottavio (1924, 1925) FRANTZ Nicolas (1927, 1928) LEDUCQ André (1930, 1932) MAGNE Antonin (1931, 1934) MAES Sylvère (1936, 1939) BARTALI Gino (1938, 1948) COPPI Fausto (1949, 1952) THEVENET Bernard (1975, 1977) FIGNON Laurent (1983, 1984) CONTADOR Alberto (2007, 2009) POGACAR Tadej (2020, 2021) VICTORIES BY NATION France: 36 Belgium: 18 Spain: 12 Italy: 10 Great Britain: 6 Luxembourg: 4 United States: 3 Switzerland, Holland, Slovenia, Denmark: 2 Ireland, Germany, Australia, Colombia: 1 SMALLEST GAP…

The Basque region is known for many things. Historians strain to unlock its unique language; gastronomes salivate at the pintxos and, more importantly to this exclusive magazine, they all love cycling. It’s why the crowds will be out in force on Saturday 1 July 2023, as the Basque region hosts the Tour de France for the first time in 31 years. To celebrate and crank up your enjoyment of the world’s greatest race, we reveal all of the Basque winners at the Tour since its first edition in 1903, plus the Basque cities that have played host to the world’s greatest cyclists. We also bring you the perfect marriage of the two: a rider who many Basques saw as one of their own winning on ‘home’ roads. In fact, that’s…

One of their own

1991-1995 04.07.1992 / PROLOGUE SAN SEBASTIÁN > SAN SEBASTIÁN (8kmTT) “TO THE BASQUES, HE IS one of ours even if he is not quite a Basque,” explained one Basque writer to New York Times’ journalist Samuel Abt. “To the Spaniards, Indurain is a Basque.” When Miguel Indurain won the prologue of the 1992 Tour de France in San Sebastián, home to the finish of the second of three stages in the Basque country at this year’s race, the 10-deep crowd rejoiced for a rider they’d taken as their own. Indurain was born and raised in Villava in the province of Navarre, a town that’s within a whisker of the Basque region’s three provinces; in fact, it was within the borders of the medieval Basque kingdom before it was annexed by…

One of their own

The Eagle of Galibier

1936 19.07.1936 / STAGE 11 NICE > CANNES (126km) GORDEXOLA-BORN FÉDÉRICO Ezquerra claimed the honour of first Basque rider to win a stage of La Grande Boucle in its 30th edition on a mountainous day between Nice and Cannes. The 27-year-old served notice of his climbing abilities at the 1934 Tour de France, when he was first over the Col du Galibier. His effortless ascent, on debut nonetheless, caught the attention of L’Auto (founders of the Tour) who nicknamed him the ‘Eagle of Galibier’. Two years later, the Basque rider dropped his breakaway companions Sylvère Maes and Félicien Vervaecke on the ascent to La Turbie. But the two Belgians reeled him in with 30km till Cannes. A long descent comprised much of the final kilometres, leaving Ezquerra with a dilemma:…

The Eagle of Galibier

King of the Mountains

1953 13.07.1953 / STAGE 10 PAU > CAUTERETS (103km) JESUS LORONO WAS born in Larrabetzu, part of the Coastal Way of Saint James where pilgrims would rest and pray. But 27-year-old Lorono sought neither repentance or divine intervention as he stormed to stage victory in Cauterets at the 1953 Tour. Victory laid the foundations for a greater prize in Paris as Lorono secured the King of the Mountains classification. The Basque climber won the Spanish Hill Championships in 1954 followed by fourth overall at the Vuelta a Espana in 1955. He went even closer 12 months later, finishing just 13secs behind the winner, Angelo Conterno. But Lorono was not to be denied, winning the Vuelta in 1957, a victory made even sweeter by beating his fierce rival, Federico Bahamontes. The…

King of the Mountains

Lasa’s show of stamina

1976 29.06.76 / STAGE 5B LEUVEN > VERVIERS (144km) OIARTZUN’S MIGUEL MARIA Lasa won two stages of the Tour de France, the first coming on stage 5b of the 1976 edition. Split stages were common at the time with a time trial often taking place in the morning followed by a road stage in the afternoon. They were unpopular with the riders due to the “unreasonable demands” – so much so that the peloton organised a strike at the start of 1978’s split stage. But in 1976, Lasa showed no signs of fatigue or disgruntlement after the morning’s 4km team time trial around the streets of Leuven in Belgium as, on a 144km flat parcours from Leuven to Verviers, the 29-year-old was part of a group who reeled in France’s…

Lasa’s show of stamina

Unaware of victory

1990 15.07.1990 / STAGE 14 LE PUY-EN-VELAY > MILLAU (205km) LOOK TO YOUR right. That’s Basque rider Marino Lejarreta winning stage 14 of the 1990 Tour de France, which weaved its way from Le Puy-en-Velay to Millau. It was the first and only time Lejarreta would win a stage of the Tour de France. Look at the way his smile lights up his face. At the way he raises his arms in celebration, before clutching the sponsor’s logo at a job well done. Yep, there’s none of that because Lejarretta was unaware he’d won. On a sweltering day in the south-east of France, Lejarreta attacked off the front of the GC group to track down the breakaway riders in search of stage glory. He dug deep but by his calculations…

Unaware of victory

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