Will Mark Cavendish nab a record in his final Tour de France? (Picture: Getty Images)
The Tour de France 2023 cycling race here, and its set to be as gripping as ever, as cyclists journey over 3,400km from Bilbao to Paris.
Tour de France 2023 route
The race will run throughout most of this month, and is already being tipped as a two-horse contest – with defending champion Jonas Vingegaard aiming to fight off competition from two-time winner Tadej Pogacar.
However, nobody should rule out a challenge from Mark Cavendish, taking on his 14th and and final tour after announcing his retirement from the sport.
He’ll be hoping to achieve a record this year having equalled Eddy Merckx’s record of 34 Tour de France stage victories in 2021 – all he needs is one single-stage win to go out on a high.
So when does the race begin, what’s the route this year – and how can you watch it on TV?
When does the Tour de France 2023 begin?
The 2023 Tour de France begins today, July 1.
Cyclists will begin the race at 11.30am, starting from the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain.
What is the route of the Tour de France this year?
The race will tackle eight mountain stages in total and cover territory in the Pyrenees and Alps over its 3,404km route – as you can see here in the map from the official website.
The first, 182km stage, takes in the Bay of Biscay coastline and includes over 3000 metres of vertical gain before ending in the city centre.
From there riders head on to San Sebastian and over the coming days will take in routes around Bordeaux, Limoges, the dormant Puy de Dome volcano, Saint Gervais Mont Blanc, Courchevel and Grand Colombier.
The race will end in the Champs Elysees, Paris, on July 23.
How to watch the Tour de France
UK viewers can keep up with the action on ITV4, which will be kicking off its coverage on Saturday morning from 11am – while coverage of the race will also be screened on Eurosport 1 and 2.
A free livestream of the race will also be available via ITVX.
If you want to watch the Eurosport coverage, you can access it online via Discovery+, while Sky subscribers can tune in via the Sky Go app – or via Amazon Prime video as an add-on.
The Discovery+ entertainment and sport plan costs £6.99 per month or £59.99 per year
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It’s going to be a tense race.