The Basque Country presents in Paris the Grand Départ of the 2023 Tour that will thrill its fans

• The Lehendakari, Iñigo Urkullu, accompanied by a large institutional representation of the BAC, attended the presentation of the 2023 Tour de France men's and women's route in Paris
• The Lehendakari pointed out that today's presentation symbolises “a dream come true” and that “the Basque Country will experience the three stages of the Grand Départ with passion”
• All the Basque institutions present showed their enthusiasm for taking advantage of this opportunity to make known what the Basque Country is and what it wants to be in the world
• During the event, the audiovisual presentation of the Grand Départ Pays Basque 2023 was screened for the first time and the name and winning proposal for the official poster of the Tour de France 2023 was announced
• The design by the artist and illustrator from Alava, Raisa Álava, was the winning entry in the 2023 Tour poster competition organised by the Basque Professional Association of Illustrators - Euskal Irudigileak

This morning, the Palais des Congrès in Paris hosted the official presentation of the routes for the men's and women's 2023 Tour de France. The event was attended by the Lehendakari, Iñigo Urkullu, who was accompanied by a large representation of authorities from the seven Basque institutions involved in the Grand Départ Pays Basque 2023, such as the three general deputies, Ramiro González (Álava), Unai Rementeria (Bizkaia) and Markel Olano (Gipuzkoa); the mayors of the three capitals and of Amorebieta-Etxano, Gorka Urtaran (Vitoria-Gasteiz), Juan Mari Aburto (Bilbao), Eneko Goia (Donostia/San Sebastián) and Andoni Agirrebeitia. In addition, the presentation of the gala round was attended by various representatives of the Basque executive such as Bingen Zupiria, Minister of Culture and Linguistic Policy and Spokesperson of the Basque Government, Javier Hurtado, Minister of Tourism, Trade and Consumption of the Basque Government, Marian Elorza, General Secretary of Foreign Action, and Mikel Antón, Director of European Affairs of the Basque Government.

In his speech, the Lehendakari stressed that this presentation of Paris symbolises a dream come true. “All the Basque institutions present at this event share the hope of taking this opportunity to make known what the Basque Country is and what it wants to be in the world. We come to Paris with the excitement of seeing a long-desired wish fulfilled. Our country will host the start of the 2023 Tour”.

Likewise, the Lehendakari stressed that the Basque Country will experience the three stages of the Grand Départ with passion, "an emotion that will remain in our memory and that of this legendary race. The Basque Country is preparing conscientiously. The Basque Country shares the same values of cycling: working as a team, striving, helping those who lag behind and, always, celebrating the triumphs in a collective way”.

The last words of the Lehendakari invited the whole Tour family, both those present and those following the broadcast, to experience the Grand Départ Pays Basque 2023 live, “we will welcome you with the desire to make you feel at home”.

After the end of the statement by the Lehendakari, the audiovisual of the Grand Départ Pays Basque 2023 https://youtu.be/0UTxi0cA4E0 was projected for the first time.  The video, in addition to showing the beautiful landscapes of the Basque Country, demonstrates the passion, desire, fervour and enthusiasm of the Basque fans for the Tour and cycling in general.

The event also served to announce the name and the winning proposal for the official poster of the Tour de France 2023. The design by the artist and illustrator from Alava, Raisa Álava, was the winning entry in the competition organised by the Basque Professional Association of Illustrators-Euskal Irudigileak.

As usual, the director of the Tour, Christian Prudhomme, was in charge of explaining the details of each of the 21 stages that make up the 2023 Tour de France. During the presentation, it was announced that Baiona will host the finish of the third stage, which will start on 3 July in Amorebieta-Etxano.

The event also saw the presentation of the second edition organised by ASO of the Women’s Tour de France, a top category race, which will be held from 23 to 30 July 2023 with eight demanding stages.

Importantly, the presentation was attended by numerous professional cyclists such as Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), Thibaut Pinot (Groupama FDJ) and Greg Van Avermaet (AG2R Citroen) among others. As for the women cyclists, Annemiek Van Vleuten (Movistar Team Women), Amandine Fouquenet (Arkea Feminine) or Elise Chabbey (Canyon/Sram Racing) were some of the cyclists present.

ON 1, 2 AND 3 JULY THE TOUR WILL TRAVEL ALONG THE MOST EMBLEMATIC ROADS OF THE BASQUE COUNTRY

In 2023, the Tour de France will celebrate 120 years. The 110^th edition of the French round will start for the second time in the Basque Country, after its start in 1992 from Donostia/San Sebastián. From 1 to 3 July 2023, the cycling race will cross our country in 3 stages and will start in Bilbao, chosen as the starting point of the Grand Depart and first finish line. A demanding circular stage of 185km through the Biscayan territory with more than 3,320 m of accumulated altitude gain. 

The route will link the Cantabrian coast and the Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve, crossing emblematic places such as Gernika-Lumo. The peloton will have to overcome the punctuated climbs of Laukiz, San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, Morga, Vivero and Pike Bidea. This first stage will be the most hilly course ever presented on an opening day of the grand tour de France.

(More information about the first stage https://labur.eus/ABeCc and video of the route https://tinyurl.com/39pfe7vj)

The second stage will start in Vitoria-Gasteiz and finish in Donostia/San Sebastián. The second 210km route, no less demanding than the first, will take the peloton over the Udana, Aztiria and Alkiza passes to tackle Jaizkibel. They will take on the opposite side as usual in the famous Clásica de San Sebastián. 10 km at 4.6% average elevation gain.

After around 25 kilometres, they will pass through Goierri, a region made up of 18 villages, most of them with less than 1,000 inhabitants, with a privileged natural charm, between the Aralar Natural Park and the Aizkorri-Aratz Natural Park.

(More information about the second stage https://labur.eus/Eugn0 and video of the route https://tinyurl.com/4zhw7u7t)

The third and last stage will start in Amorebieta-Etxano and finish in Baiona. The first stages of the itinerary will take place in Durangaldea. The peloton will pass through the Trabakua, Milloi, Itziar and Benta peaks. During the tour, the cyclists will cover nearly 80km of coastline passing through the picturesque coastal towns of Lekeitio, Ondarroa, Zarautz, Donostia/San Sebastian, Hondarribia and Irun, among others.

(More information about the third stage https://labur.eus/2euNj and video of the route https://tinyurl.com/4hcpurwy)

PRESSBOOK OF THE GRAND DÉPART PAYS BASQUE 2023: a document gathering the information related to the Gran Salida de the Basque Country: the route of the three stages, the most important dates and other information of interest: https://labur.eus/5XvGl)