2023 Grand Depart – Tour de France

Our staff will greet you at Bilbao Airport this morning at 11 am. Bilbao is recognised as the largest city in the Basque region. Basque has its unique culture, cuisine, and their own language. Situated in Northern Spain, beyond their own language, the region is very industrious, and very active locals continue to make efforts towards it’s annexure from the rest of Spain. You’ll find the people very friendly, and the culture very addictive.

We have a short transfer this morning to San Sebastian, which is a well-regarded tourist destination. Our hotel is close to the old town where you will be able to enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of the Basque country and develop a taste for Pintxos. There are many great restaurants within walking distance. Tonight, we will welcome our guests at a local restaurant, including drinks. It is the perfect opportunity for you to have your questions answered about how our famous cycling trips run, and meet your fellow guests.

During the afternoon, your staff will be on hand to assist with assembling your bike before we head out on our shakedown ride.

Today we make our way to Bilbao for the team presentations. After a full buffet breakfast, we will make the short transfer to Bilbao before riding. You’ll be supported on the road today with our support van and professional ride guides. We’ll have several groups of different paces and shorter options for those wishing to save their legs for the mountains. Right at a comfortable pace and enjoy this spectacular area with multiple scenic points along the route.

When you return to our luxury coach, you can freshen up, even with a hot shower, and store your bike before exploring Bilbao. You’ll have time to check out the Guggenheim Museum, an architectural masterpiece that always hosts a great exhibition of art. Later in the day, we will watch the team presentations as they are announced to the crowds. See every rider participating in the 2023 Tour de France. We suggest that you have a restaurant lunch in Bilbao after your ride, and if top up with a Basque classic of Pintxos for dinner in San Sebastian.

It has finally arrived, the 2023 Tour de France. See the opening stage multiple times, for a great vantage point. Expect to see lots of action during today’s stage, the opening stage, in fact, the entire opening week is full of nervous energy. We will catch the race mid-way along where we can see it multiple times. One of the popular locations for tourists is surfers, and it goes hand-in-hand that land conservation is at the heart of this region.

We will watch the race from an area that is also on the famous pilgrimage path — Santiago de Compostela. Guernica lays on a major river estuary that releases in the Bay of Biscay. It has been a strategically important location for conflicts in the past, and with its natural beauty, locals are passionate about peace and conservation. In a nearby forest, local artist Augustin Ibarrola resisted a plan for deforestation by painting trunks and forming an outdoor gallery. The simple act created a tourist attraction and importantly saved the forest from destruction. Worldwide, murals and wrappings on tree trunks deliver an important message to people, be they mental health, climate change, or amnesty.

After watching the race in this beautiful area, we will return to San Sebastian where you can enjoy dinner at a local restaurant.

Today is Stage 2 of the Tour de France, and the race arrives not far from our hotel. The terrain will offer the chance for a small breakaway to hold off a fast-finishing peloton. It should be a spectacle, with an impressive backdrop.

After breakfast we will head out on a short ride, again we’ll offer guests multiple supported ride options. You have the choice of something longer or shorter, and faster or slower. We’ll arrive back at our hotel in time for the final preparations for the race’s arrival.

We transfer to France today. As we farewell our hospitable hosts in the Basque country, we enter the Basque country of France — yes, there is a Spanish-Basque and a French-Basque area. We will follow the final moment of the stage in Bayonne before transferring to our hotel in the Pyrenees.

The French Pyrenees are usually reserved for the second or last week of the French Grand Tour, the Pyrenees will host 2 pivotal stages in the 2023 Tour de France. We will stay in the heart of the Pyrenees with some of the most spectacular rides at our doorstep. Making the most of this situation, we will arrive a day ahead of the race and maximize our rides.

Our accommodation in the Pyrenees is at a wonderful family-run hotel, and each night our hosts will present fabulous local produce so that we are fuelled for the next day.

In a break from traditional stages of the 2023 Tour de France utilise the famous roads of the Pyrenees in the first week, although race organisers defy tradition often these days. Riders will climb the legendary Col du Tourmalet — the climb needs little introduction, other than it was included in the race before Mont Ventoux, Alpe d’Huez, or even Col du Galibier. We will ride the legendary climb today, in the same direction that the race does later in the week.

We’ll re-focus on the race today after riding a legendary climb yesterday. Today, we will see the stage start in Pau, a popular stage town in recent editions of the Tour de France. We will ride over a climb that was included in 2022 where the eventual winner, Jonas Vingegaard demonstrated possibly the greatest moment of sportsmanship in 2022 — his combatant Tadej Pogacar lost control on gravel through a corner, and Jonas eased up so that Tadej could rejoin the battle for the queen stage to the Hautacam.

There are too many historical moments to recall from previous editions of the Tour de France — the edition where Lance Armstrong was dislodged from his bike by a spectator’s plastic bag on Luz Ardiden comes to mind. So many legends of the sport, and so many legendary climbs. We love the Pyrenees.

This is an early treat in the 2023 Tour de France, the opening week of the Grand Tour includes a stage on the legendary Tourmalet. We will ride early this morning and give you the opportunity to watch the race close to our hotel later today on the final climb.

Sadly, our trip to the 2023 Tour de France comes to an end today. However, we have one more treat available to our guests. We will make a stopover to the start village of today’s stage before transferring you to Toulouse-Blagnac airport this afternoon.

You may like to continue your travel with us and join our Grand Tour, following the 2023 Tour de France through to Paris. We understand that chasing the race can be tiring for the three-weeks, so we have the next few days riding through our local area not far from Toulouse. Ride in the backyard of Laurent “Ja-Ja” Jalabert before we reconnect with the race near the Frech Alps.

If you are departing us today, we will have you at Toulouse-Blagnac airport by about 5 pm. So keep this in mind if booking your flight out of Toulouse today. For domestic flights, make sure that they depart after 7 pm and 8 pm for international flights.