Bilbao start for 2023 Tour de France, race to test climbers
PARIS (AP) — Next year’s Tour de France will start from the Basque Country in northern Spain. It features four mountain-top finishes and a Tour record 30 difficult climbs but only one time trial. Race director Christian Prudhomme revealed the route for the July 1-23 race on Thursday. The 110th edition covers 3,404 kilometers (2,115 miles), encompassing eight mountain stages across five mountain ranges and eight flat stages for sprinters. Dutchwoman Annemiek van Vleuten defends her title when the women’s Tour begins on July 23 and ends on July 30.