2023 Tour de France Femmes

Our 2023 Tour de France cycling trip for the Final Week starts in Lyon Saint-Exupery airport at 10 am, where staff will greet you and assist you to our first hotel. We have about a 2-hour transfer taking us to the heart of France, well geographical center at least. Clermont-Ferrand will host the opening stages of the Women’s Tour de France in 2023.

The area is most famed geographically for its dormant volcanoes. The largest of which, Puy de Dome will host a stage for the Men’s 2023 Tour de France. We’ll have a chance to ride this narrow climb during its inaugural year on the Tour de France course.

Upon arrival at our hotel, we will set off on a short warm-up ride. Later today we will catch the team presentations as each rider and team is presented to the audience and interviewed about their ambitions for the next week of racing. After the team presentations, we will head out for a welcome dinner together, including wine.

Today is the opening stage of the 2023 Tour de France Femmes. The ladies peloton has a 120km opening flat stage to negotiate before the yellow jersey is presented to the winner of the stage. With time bonuses on offer and the pride of wearing yellow the following day, the competition will be fierce. It is not purely flat, as the undulations near the finish will animate a few mini breaks.

It is certain to be a very scenic stage as the stage crisscrosses the Allier river before slicing through the Volcanoes of Auvergne. We will catch the race in the final moments, ride some of the course, and have an option to test ourselves on Puy the Dome. While we are in Mauriac today, we recommend tasting some of the local cheeses. Cantal is a famous area for cheese production in France, come to think of it you can’t go wrong with French cheese!

In 2023 the Tour de France Femmes travels from the center of France to the South-West. It is an area that Bikestyle Tours is excited to share with our guests, for our headquarters are in the South West of France. The riding is incredible, the villages are friendly, the landscape is breathtaking and due to the elevated central plateau of France (the Central Massif) the water courses have carved their way through fertile lands. The water courses supported trade and transportation between inhabitants many centuries ago. Today, there are many sleepy villages with to-die-for outlooks. Bring your camera, this area is stunning!

We will leave our hotel after breakfast and make tracks for the finish village of today’s stage, Mauriac. There are many climbs in today’s stage, the longest being 4.5 km at 5%. It will ignite the end of the race, which is where the action will be to watch today.

We’ll take a step away from the tour today and watch the stage on television later. It is important that we share some favourite destinations as we travel through France. You will be familiar with many knives produced in France. Each region typically has its own design and manufacturing process. One of the most famous knives are the Opinel knife (from the Savoie region). It is a camping knife and without surprise designed for cutting cheeses and baguettes. The other knife that has been sadly replicated by cheap Chinese manufacturers is the Laguiole knife. You are probably familiar with them from a fine-dining restaurant that you’ve been to, or you may even have a set at home. The Laguiole knife is a knife made in Laguiole. Sadly, like champagne did for many years, only represents a product from a region made in a traditional method. The entire village is fascinating and pays homage to their knives, with many artisans producing custom knives. There is even a Laguiole knife made from a fragment of the Eiffel Tower.

Laguiole is in the Aubrac region, and they have a famous dish known as Aligot. It is a must to try while you are here. The riding is fabulous, and the villages that we will pass through are spectacular. Today will be memorable as we negotiate our way through the French countryside.

We’ll reconnect with the 2023 Tour de France Femmes today. We’ll target another stage finish. The finish is in the beautiful city of Rodez. The city can be seen from a distance, as the old town is perched elevated with an impressive church. We’ll arrive in time for you to explore the ancient city with ramparts dating back to the 15^th century.

After the arrival of the race in Rodez, we will travel to our hotel where the Pyrenees comes into sight.

We’ll take another day away from the race today and ride our favourite climb in France. Favourite as it is our local, and it was included for the first time in the Tour de France only recently. The most famous cyclist to come from this area is Laurent Jalabert, and each year there is a dedicated amateur cycling race in his honour.

We have left this evening available to you with a free itinerary. So you can have dinner at one of the local restaurants in town.

We will go to the stage start today and watch with preparations for the stage in Toulouse. Riders must sign on each day before starting the race. As riders sign on the announcer may interview riders and discuss their strategies for the day. It is a great opportunity for you to get photos of your favourite riders.

Once the race rolls off the start, we will have a short ride on some favourite roads. At the conclusion of our ride with will make our transfer to our hotel in the Pyrenees. Our final hotel in the Pyrenees is at the centre of multiple climbs – you’re spoilt for choice.

Today is the Queen Stage of the 2023 Tour de France Femmes. Watch the race on the final climb and see women be added to the historical victories on this legendary Tour de France climb.

In the final stage, the overall winner has a final hurdle. Anything can happen in an individual time trial – it is the ultimate race of truth. But everything must go to plan first. The 22km circuit is a small climb mid-way through. If times are close at the top of the leaderboard, we may see an upset or a shuffling of positions perhaps.

This evening, after the final presentations in Pau, we will return to our hotel for a final farewell dinner, including drinks.

Sadly, our 2023 Tour de France Femmes cycling trip comes to an end today. After breakfast, we will offer a single transfer to Toulouse-Blagnac airport. There are many connecting flights from Toulouse. We should arrive at Toulouse close to 1 pm, so if you are organising departure flights make sure that domestic flights have a scheduled departure after 3 pm and international flights after 4 pm.