Axel May 06:00, October 27, 2022

It is this Thursday at the end of the morning that the complete route of the Tour de France 2023 will be unveiled. We already know that it will start from the Spanish Basque Country on July 1.

The route should give pride of place to the mountains with in particular the crossing of the Vosges scheduled for July 22, the day before the finish.

In their desire to preserve the suspense as long as possible, the organizers of the Tour de France have concocted a demanding stage through the Vosges, on the eve of the arrival of the 2023 edition in Paris.

On July 22, the peloton will set off from Belfort, with its statue of the giant lion dominating the riders.

They will join the Markstein, a small family mountain resort.

A Tour de France 2023 panel has been installed on the route.


Credits: Axel May/Europe 1

A short and intense Belfort-Le Markstein stage

Pierre-Jérôme Collard is the deputy mayor in charge of sports in Belfort.

"It's a kind of Grail: to be positioned just before the Champs-Elysées of the most popular sporting event in the world! It's incredible", he proclaims to Europe 1. "The Tour will probably be played on this stage and Belfort will be the start city for this stage", he adds, enthusiastic.

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This penultimate stage will occur after two days without major difficulty.

It will be short (133.5 km) and intense with six climbs (including the Ballon d'Alsace) for a positive elevation of 3,500 meters.

Last August, an arrival of the women's Tour de France had already taken place in the Markstein station.

The 2023 Tour promises to be very mountainous

Thierry Gouvenou is in charge of the route: "It's the last big meeting of this Tour de France 2023. And it's true that we proposed a demanding route. It can create surprises (…) and I think that some runners are not immune to a major failure".

Especially since by approaching this last stage before the Champs-Élysées, the riders will have three weeks of racing in their legs.

The fatigue will be all the greater as the route of the Tour 2023 promises to be particularly mountainous and difficult.

See you on July 22 to find out if this Vosges stage has kept its promises!