australian tour de france 2023

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The Australians racing the 2023 Tour de France

Late nights in July mean one thing - it's Tour de France season.

Start lists for the 2023 Tour de France have all been officially released ahead of Stage 1 departing Bilbao on July 1 and there are 12 Australians preparing for 21 stages of action.

Find out about those 12 Aussies below.

• Team: Bahrain Victorious
• TdF starts: 3
• Where you'll see him most: Mountains supporting Mikel Landa
• Hometown club: Bendigo & District Cycling Club/Bendigo Mountain Bike Club (VIC)

It's been a busy 2023 for Haig, who has amassed 53 race days, and will start and hopefully finish the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France double.

The tall climber wasn't expected to race at the Tour following the Giro, but is clearly in good shape a month removed from the Rome finish and a solid fifth-place finish at Critérium du Dauphiné three weeks ago.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Team Bahrain Victorious (@teambahrainvictorious)

Haig won't have the pressure of general classification ambition of years past on his shoulders and will be supporting team leader Mikel Landa.

The 2021 Vuelta a España third-place finisher has never won a Grand Tour stage but could have his day in the sun if he finds himself with some race situation-driven freedom as a satellite rider in a breakaway.

Jai Hindley

• Team: BORA–hansgrohe
• TdF starts: Debut
• Where you'll see him most: Mountains and GC group
• Hometown club: Midland Cycle Club (WA)

The 2022 Giro winner was all-in on the Tour before the season even began and has prepared meticulously for the three-week GC battle that awaits him.

He himself has stated the 2023 Tour de France route is "as good as it gets" for a rider of his profile, one with solid but not amazing time trial pedigree.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jai Hindley (@jhindley_)

"It will be a GC fight from day one," Hindley told SBS Sport before his fourth-place finish at Critérium du Dauphiné three weeks ago.

"There’s lots of climbing, and a hard first week so already the GC is pretty well-established after the first week of racing.

"There’s only one time trial which is also not super long and it is a bit lumpy. For me, I was super excited when I saw the route and I’m really keen."

Matching it with Tour heavyweights Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard will be Hindley's toughest task to date in his career, but the Western Australian is up for the fight.

Nick Schultz

• Team: Israel–Premier Tech
• TdF starts: 1
• Where you'll see him most: Breakaways and stage hunting
• Hometown club: Hamilton Wheelers Cycling Club (QLD)

Schultz and Israel–Premier Tech have one thing on their mind over the next month and it's stage wins.

The Queenslander came within millimetres of winning Stage 10 of last year's Tour de France from the breakaway and will hope the same opportunity arises in July.

The scenes from the @SBS commentary box as @nick_schultz5 came within inches of a maiden @LeTour win! 🇦🇺 The thrill and the agony on full display! #sbstdf #TDF2022 #couchpeloton pic.twitter.com/GN5XfrbVvh — SBS Sport (@SBSSportau) July 12, 2022

The Tour's Grand Depart in Bilbao is a long way away from the possible career purgatory Schultz found himself in last December after the collapse of B&B Hotels, the team he had been strongly linked to signing with for 2023.

Thankfully Israel–Premier Tech deservedly offered Schultz a last-minute spot on their roster for this season, and in May extended that contract for another two seasons.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Israel – Premier Tech (@israelpremiertech)

Simon Clarke

• TdF starts: 7
• Stage wins: 1
• Hometown club: Carnegie Caulfield Cycling Club (VIC)

It's been covered time and time again over the last 18 months but the facts and results don't lie when it comes to Clarke's late-career surge at Israel–Premier Tech.

The veteran has spent more than 20 years in Europe and finally ticked off the Tour de France stage win he had been chasing on Stage 5 last year .

Simo nearly won his first Giro stage during Stage 6 this year after 145km in the breakaway and had another big 174km involvement ahead of the peloton on Stage 14 before leaving the race after Stage 15 with illness.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Simon Clarke (@simoclarke)

His team will be wanting more of the same trademark breakaway nous in France in the hope of recreating last year's memorable winning moment.

• Team: Lotto Dstny
• TdF starts: 4
• Stage wins: 5
• Where you'll see him most: Sprint finishes
• Hometown club: Southern Highlands Cycle Club (NSW)

It's been a tough 2023 for the five-time Tour de France stage winner, with only one UCI 1.1 victory to his name, but Ewan is hungry to make amends in France.

The 28-year-old star sprinter has received the backing of Lotto Dstny via their team selection and will have the support of Jacobo Guarnieri and Jasper de Buyst as his leadout men.

✈️ Now boarding: #TDF2023 ✈️ See you soon, @LeTour ! 😉 pic.twitter.com/MaxRkl4LBB — Lotto Dstny (@lotto_dstny) June 21, 2023

Despite his struggles over the past 18 months, Ewan remains his team's best option for stage glory at the Tour, as Lotto Dstny sports manager Kurt Van de Wouwer said.

"The past two years, he has had his share of bad luck at the Tour and also the past months haven’t been going perfectly but he still remains one of the fastest riders of the bunch," Van de Wouwer said in the team announcement.

"He is our biggest chance to take a stage win. That is why we have surrounded him really well with De Buyst, who has shown his excellent shape the past weeks, and Guarnieri as important elements in the sprint train. Florian (Vermeersch) and Frederik (Frison), their task is to launch that train in a good position."

Chris Hamilton

• Team: Team DSM
• Where you'll see him most: Mountains supporting Romain Bardet

Hurricane Hamo is as dependable of a teammate as you can get in the UCI WorldTour.

The Bendigo product will start his second consecutive Tour de France as part of a core GC group supporting team leader Romain Bardet that contains Australian neo-pro teammate Matt Dinham and Kevin Vermaerke.

That quartet had a steady test at Tour de Suisse a fortnight ago, where Bardet finished fifth overall.

Team DSM but make it...🇫🇷 𝓕𝓻𝓮𝓷𝓬𝓱 🇫🇷 We're ready for 3 weeks of tough but exciting racing 🔜 @LeTour 👋🏻 🇫🇷 @romainbardet 🇩🇪 @johndegenkolb 🇦🇺 @Matt_Dinham 🇦🇺 @alexedmo 🇳🇱 @nilseekhoff 🇦🇺 @ChrisHamo_ 🇺🇸 @kvermaerke 🇦🇺 @sam_welsford #KeepChallenging #TDF2023 pic.twitter.com/iwwUNJhr8K — Team DSM (@TeamDSM) June 22, 2023

Alex Edmondson

• Where you'll see him most: Sprint train for Sam Welsford
• Hometown club: Central Districts Cycling Club (SA)

The 2018 road race national champion has had to wait eight years for an opportunity at the Tour de France, but has received it in his first year with Team DSM after leaving Australian-based GreenEDGE Cycling (Team Jayco AlUla) in the off-season.

Edmo will play a big part in Team DSM's stage hopes on the flatter days of the Tour, largely in support of Australian teammate Welsford, who is the designated leader of the sprint train.

The 28-year-old's best results outside of his national road race championship have come in prologues and flat individual time trials, so a sneaky good performance in Stage 16's 22.4km time trial could be on, but the 2.5km ramp to the finish at 9.4% is likely too tough.

🎥Australian @alexedmo ( @TeamDSM ) enjoying the hot seat 🔥⤵️ pic.twitter.com/laMEis5Lg4 — Baloise Belgium Tour (@belgium_tour) June 16, 2023

Nevertheless, the London 2012 Olympian has good chemistry with Welsford and both were on form at ZLM Tour and Baloise Belgium Tour in June.

Sam Welsford

• Hometown club: Northern Beaches Cycling Club (WA)

Big Sammy has been waiting for this day for a long time.

Welsford will make his Grand Tour debut in Bilbao on Saturday and will be in the mix to light it up on the flatter days.

The Olympic silver and bronze medallist has nine podium finishes this season, three of which were wins.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by sam welsford (@samwelsford)

Two came at Vuelta a San Juan Internacional in Argentina in January, and the most recent came in March at the Belgian Grand Prix Criquielion.

If you want a potential breakout sprint star from this year's tour then Welsford is your man. He has the speed to win stages - stamp it.

Matt Dinham

• Hometown club: Manly Warringah Cycling Club (NSW)

Things are happening very quickly for Dinham, who will be racing in his debut Grand Tour during his neo-pro season with Team DSM.

The 23-year-old will ride in support of team leader Bardet in the mountains after impressive stage results of 13th and 10th at Tour de Suisse a fortnight ago.

It's been no secret in Australia that Dinham can ride a bike pretty fast, and that's any bike for that matter.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Matt Dinham (@matt_dinham)

The Sydneysider was the 2022 elite men's XCO national champion and was splitting his time on the dirt and road fairly evenly until the road path became the real deal in recent years.

He was also Australia's top finisher in seventh at the U23 Road Race World Championships during Wollongong 2022.

The Team BridgeLane product is consistent, quiet and determined. One to watch both now and over the coming years as he continues to improve.

Chris Harper

• Team: Team Jayco AlUla
• Where you'll see him most: Mountains supporting Simon Yates
• Hometown club: Norwood Cycling Club (SA)

Harper gets his Tour de France debut in support of Simon Yates in his first year with Team Jayco AlUla.

The 28-year-old is a quiet achiever among the Australians in the UCI WorldTour and was a handy pick-up for Jayco AlUla after three seasons at Jumbo-Visma.

The Australian-based team has their eyes on stages ahead of GC ambitions, however, 2018 Vuelta a España winner Yates could naturally fall into a GC podium chasing position. That's where Harper will answer the call as his closest domestique.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Team Jayco AlUla (@greenedgecycling)

Harper is yet to win a race since the Tour of Japan with Team BridgeLane in 2019 but he could be a breakaway bandit on the climbing days depending on how the Tour unfolds.

Luke Durbridge

• TdF starts: 8
• Where you'll see him most: Being a workhorse, positioning teammates for crucial moments

Durbridge is the stalwart of Team Jayco AlUla and will start his 138th Tour de France stage on Saturday.

He'll be leading the engine room for his team over the next month for both Yates and sprinter Dylan Groenewegen.

There may be days where you see Durbo jump up the road in an early breakaway on tough, undulating stages, however the majority of his Tour will be spent working for teammates.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Luke Durbridge (@lukedurbridge)

Whatever situation Durbo finds himself in over the coming 21 stages, you can guarantee he will ride hard.

Ben O'Connor

• Team: AG2R Citroën Team
• TdF starts: 2
• Hometown club: Peel District Cycling Club (WA)

It was a rough Tour de France crash and injury-driven DNF for O'Connor in 2022 but the Western Australian is back for his third start as a genuine podium threat once again.

O'Connor bounced back quickly from that disappointment last year with a top-10 finish in the Vuelta a España, and closed out his season with a big stint in the breakaway at the Road World Championships in Wollongong.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ben O'Connor (@ben0c0nnor)

The 2021 Stage 9 winner has been building gradually over 33 race days this season and was right there at the Critérium du Dauphiné three weeks ago, finishing third behind Vingegaard and Adam Yates.

AG2R Citroën Team general manager Vincent Lavenu said in the team announcement that his squad has been selected in full support of O'Connor's podium ambition.

"He's in very good physical and mental shape. His third place in the Critérium du Dauphiné showed that he's riding at a very high level," Lavenu said.

"His preparation has been optimal, with a training camp in Sierra Nevada and reconnaissance of the stages of this 110th edition over the last few days.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by AG2R CITROËN TEAM (@ag2rcitroenteam)

"All the indicators are in the green to achieve the best possible overall classification."

The real question is who will win the WA Cup - O'Connor or Hindley?

Feature picture: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images

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Please note that this is an automated translation and it will not be perfect. All articles have been written in English and if anything appears to not make sense, please double check in English.

Your guide to the Australians racing the 2023 Tour de France

Join us as we break down the 12-strong Australian contingent and what we expect from each rider.

The 110th Tour de France is about to get underway in Bilbao, Spain and if you’re a fan of Australian cycling, there’s a lot to be excited about. A total of 12 Australian riders will be in attendance, representing their trade teams, giving fans back in Australia plenty of reason to tune in late at night.

While we wait for the race to start, here’s what you need to know about the Australian contingent at the Tour and what you can expect from each rider over the next three and a bit weeks.

Punching above their weight

Of the 27 nations represented at the 2023 Tour de France , only four have more riders than Australia. France has 32, Belgium has 21, the Netherlands and Spain have 14, and Australia, in fifth place, has 12. Australia is the only non-European country* in the top 11.

That’s a pretty impressive effort when you consider how far Australia is from cycling’s European heartland, both geographically and culturally. Cycling isn’t even close to being a mainstream sport in Australia, so to be one of the most heavily represented nations in the world’s biggest bike race is no small feat. Australia continues to punch above its weight on the global scene.

(*We’ve included Great Britain in “European countries”. Sorry, Brexit fans.)

Team distribution

Australia’s 12 representatives come from a total of seven teams. You’d think it would be the Australian-registered team Jayco-AlUla that would be fielding the most Aussie riders, but no, that honour goes to DSM-Firmenich. Half of the Dutch team’s eight-rider line-up is filled with Aussie riders.

Here’s how the teams break down:

• DSM-Firmenich: 4 (Alex Edmondson, Chris Hamilton, Sam Welsford, Matt Dinham)
• Jayco-AlUla: 2 (Luke Durbridge, Chris Harper)
• Israel-Premier Tech: 2 (Simon Clarke, Nick Schultz)
• Lotto Dstny: 1 (Caleb Ewan)
• Bora-Hansgrohe: 1 (Jai Hindley)
• Ag2r-Citroën: 1 (Ben O’Connor)
• Bahrain-Victorious: 1 (Jack Haig)

An interesting side note: of the 12 riders going to the Tour, seven have raced for the Jayco-AlUla setup at some point.

Team DSM but make it…🇫🇷 𝓕𝓻𝓮𝓷𝓬𝓱 🇫🇷 We're ready for 3 weeks of tough but exciting racing 🔜 @LeTour 👋🏻 🇫🇷 @romainbardet 🇩🇪 @johndegenkolb 🇦🇺 @Matt_Dinham 🇦🇺 @alexedmo 🇳🇱 @nilseekhoff 🇦🇺 @ChrisHamo_ 🇺🇸 @kvermaerke 🇦🇺 @sam_welsford #KeepChallenging #TDF2023 pic.twitter.com/iwwUNJhr8K — Team dsm-firmenich PostNL (@dsmfirmpostnl) June 22, 2023

Rider types

With Australian riders of all different specialities at this year’s Tour, Australians are likely to be in the mix on most days of this year’s race. Here’s how they breakdown:

• GC contenders : 3 (Ben O’Connor, Jack Haig*, Jai Hindley)
• Sprinters: 2 (Caleb Ewan, Sam Welsford)
• Domestiques : 5 (Matt Dinham, Chris Hamilton, Chris Harper, Alex Edmondson, Luke Durbridge)
• Opportunists: 2 (Simon Clarke, Nick Schultz)

(*Bahrain Victorious has said Haig is riding for Mikel Landa, but Haig is a GC contender in his own right, if the race breaks that way.)

Backgrounds

While all 12 riders had their own distinct road to the world’s biggest race, we can see some similarities when we look at each rider’s pre-WorldTour background. A couple of key Australian development pathways certainly helped usher riders from the junior ranks to the big leagues.

Of the 12 Australian riders at the Tour, five were part of the BridgeLane/Bennelong SwissWellness/Avanti IsoWhey/Genesys Wealth Advisers/Praties setup:

• Matt Dinham (2020-2022)
• Ben O’Connor (2016)
• Chris Hamilton (2014, 2016)
• Chris Harper (2017-2019)
• Jack Haig (2013-2014)

Spearheaded by team manager Andrew Christie-Johnston, no team has been more instrumental in getting Australian male riders into the WorldTour in recent years. For context, here are just some of the other riders from that program who made it to the WorldTour: Richie Porte, Nathan Earle , Nathan Haas, and Steele von Hoff.

Another program with a strong record of helping Australian male riders to the WorldTour is the Jayco-AIS WorldTour Academy. That program ran in various forms from 1997 until roughly 2018* and gave promising riders the chance to represent their country and hone their racecraft in the U23 ranks before, hopefully, stepping up to the WorldTour.

(*The program didn’t really have a clean end date, as such. It morphed into the Mitchelton-Scott Continental team in 2017, which closed in 2019 having morphed into a Chinese-registered team with no Australian riders.)

Seven of the 12 Aussie starters at the 2023 Tour came through the WorldTour Academy, in its various guises:

• Jai Hindley (2016)
• Caleb Ewan (2013-2014)
• Alex Edmondson (2013-2015)
• Jack Haig (2015)
• Simon Clarke (2006-2008)

Note that Haig and O’Connor spent time in both the WorldTour Academy setup and Christie-Johnston’s Avanti program before joining the WorldTour.

Other backgrounds are represented too. Sam Welsford is one of many Australian riders to have started his international career in the velodrome, before making the transition to the road. Welsford is a former scratch race and team pursuit world champion, and a two-time Commonwealth Games gold medalist to boot (scratch race and team pursuit).

In addition to their road pathways, Jack Haig, Matt Dinham, and Chris Hamilton were all mountain bikers of note earlier in their careers. Dinham was even Australia’s elite cross-country national champion in 2022.

Nick Schultz’s journey, meanwhile, was a little different to many of his compatriots’ in that he didn’t race for BridgeLane or the WorldTour Academy, or come across from the track. Instead he worked his way through the Continental and Pro Continental ranks (with SEG Racing and Caja-Rural respectively), before joining Mitchelton-Scott (now Jayco-AlUla) in 2019.

Of the 36 debutants in the 2023 Tour de France, five are from the Aussie contingent:

• Matt Dinham
• Jai Hindley
• Sam Welsford
• Chris Harper
• Alex Edmondson

Matt Dinham is of particular note. At 23, this is his first season in the WorldTour ranks and the Tour will be his first-ever Grand Tour. That’s something of a rarity – most teams will send a young rider to the Giro d’Italia or Vuelta a España for their first taste of three-week racing, before throwing them into the madness of the Tour. 

While Sam Welsford is in his second season as a WorldTour pro, he too is making his Grand Tour debut at the Tour.

A breakdown of every rider

Here’s a more detailed look at each Australian rider at this year’s Tour and what you can expect from them.

Ben O’Connor (Ag2r Citroën)

• Role: GC contender
• Participation: Third

The West Australian is one of the three Australians who’ll be targeting the GC at this year’s Tour. O’Connor finished fourth overall at the Tour two years ago after an amazing solo win from the breakaway that catapulted him up the GC. That was in his very first Tour.

If you’ve watched Netflix’s Tour de France docuseries, you will know that O’Connor’s 2022 Tour didn’t end as he planned: with a DNF after tearing a glute muscle in a crash. He comes in to this year’s race with solid form, having finished third overall at the recent Critérium du Dauphiné.

Don’t expect to see O’Connor on the attack all that often, or doing anything particularly flashy – he’s more likely to bide his time, sticking with the big favourites as long as he possibly can, minimising his losses. He’ll be hoping that nets him a strong overall result.

Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe)

• Participation: First

It’s somewhat surprising that this is Hindley’s first Tour de France, what with him being a Giro d’Italia champion and everything. Another West Australian, Hindley skipped his title defence at this year’s Giro and is instead all in for the Tour.

Like O’Connor, Hindley comes in with solid form having finished fourth at the Critérium du Dauphiné (just behind O’Connor) and eighth at the Volta a Catalunya earlier in the season.

Many are tipping Hindley to be the best of the rest at this year’s Tour, behind the two uber-favourites Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vinegaard. If he’s on song, Hindley should be one of the best climbers in the race and should emerge near the top of the GC by the third week.

Jack Haig (Bahrain Victorious)

• Role: GC contender/super-domestique
• Participation: Fourth

The Victorian comes to the Tour with a lot of unfinished business. He crashed out of the 2021 edition on stage 3, with a broken collarbone, and a crash on stage 5 last year saw him leave the race with multiple wrist fractures. Haig will firstly be hoping he can get through the nervous first week unscathed, before building into his work over the final two weeks.

Haig had a rather forgettable Giro earlier this season, but comes in with a fifth at the Dauphiné (that’s three Aussies in the top five), plus a couple other strong GC results to his name as well. Bahrain Victorious has said that Mikel Landa will lead the team’s GC tilt, with Haig playing a super-domestique role, but that will likely depend on how Landa’s race unfolds.

If Landa is well off the pace, perhaps Haig gets an opportunity to target GC again. Like O’Connor and Hindley, Haig isn’t likely to be on the attack too often; instead he’ll be focusing on minimising his losses wherever possible and hoping he’s got good climbing legs for the big mountain days, either to support Landa or for his own ambitions.

Luke Durbridge (Jayco-AlUla)

• Role: Flat-lands domestique
• Participation: Ninth

Durbridge isn’t the oldest Australian at the race, but he is the one with the most Tour experience. This will be the West Australian’s ninth visit to the race and he’s there to do what he does so well: ride in support of his team leaders.

Durbridge is a huge workhorse, particularly on flatter terrain, and will be a valuable asset for Jayco-AlUla’s two leaders, Simon Yates (in the mountains), and Dylan Groenewegen (on the flat stages). Expect to see Durbridge at the front of the bunch for long stretches of time throughout this Tour, particularly on days where Jayco-AlUla fancies Groenewegen for a sprint.

Chris Harper (Jayco-AlUla)

• Role: Climbing domestique

In his first season with Jayco-AlUla Harper gets to race his first Tour. A strong climber, Harper will play a key role for Simon Yates in the mountains.

Caleb Ewan (Lotto Dstny)

• Role: Sprinter
• Particiption: Fourth

While Ewan’s Lotto Dstny team was demoted to ProTeam (second-tier) status in 2023, Ewan still gets the chance to add to his five Tour stage wins this year. Ewan won three sprint stages back in 2019 (including on the Champs-Élysées), and two the following year.

Ewan will be the first to admit that 2023 has not been his best season – he has just one victory, at the third-tier Belgian race, the Van Merksteijn Fences Classic in May. If he’s going to tussle with the best sprinters at the race, he’s going to have to improve from where he’s been so far this season. He can certainly do that though. Another sprint victory would be far from a surprise.

Simon Clarke (Israel-Premier Tech)

• Role: Opportunist
• Participation: Eighth

Clarke is the oldest of the Australian riders at the Tour and a rider with plenty of experience at the world’s biggest race. You might remember Clarke’s stirring win from the breakaway on the ‘Roubaix stage’ in last year’s Tour … after only getting a contract for the 2022 season at the very last minute.

Clarke will again be in opportunist mode at this year’s Tour, targeting the undulating stages where he can use his strength and experience to target another stage win for Israel-Premier Tech.

Nick Schultz (Israel-Premier Tech)

• Participation: Second

In his debut Tour last year, with BikeExchange-Jayco, Schultz very nearly won a stage. It was only the wily and fast-finishing Magnus Cort that denied Schultz a win from the breakaway on stage 10 into Megève.

Like his new teammate at Israel-Premier Tech, Simon Clarke, Schultz will again be looking to the breakaway on hilly days in pursuit of that elusive stage win.

Matt Dinham (DSM-Firmenich)

Dinham is the youngest Australian on the startlist and the sixth-youngest rider in the entire race. As noted, his participation is something of a surprise but DSM-Firmenich has obviously been impressed with him so far this year.

Dinham is part of what the team describes as a “good strong core GP group that have been working well together over the past few months … who can support our GC finisher Romain [Bardet] over the mountainous terrain.” Expect more of the same from Dinham in his first Grand Tour.

Chris Hamilton (DSM-Firmenich)

Hamilton is part of the same GC group as Dinham and so will also be riding in support of Bardet in the mountains. If Bardet’s GC tilt falls apart, don’t be surprised to see Hamilton infiltrating breakways in the mountains, late in the Tour. He took second on a stage at the 2021 Giro, and third on a stage at the Vuelta the same year by getting up the road in this way.

Sam Welsford (DSM-Firmenich)

Welsford comes to the Tour as DSM-Firmenich’s man for the flat stages. If all goes well, he’s a real chance of taking his first Grand Tour stage win, but probably not on any stages where there’s much climbing along the way.

The former track world champion has three wins for the year already, including two stages of the Vuelta a San Juan where he beat Fabio Jakobsen – one of the top sprinters at this year’s Tour.

Alex Edmondson (DSM-Firmenich)

• Role: Flatlands domestique/lead-out rider

Edmondson is in his first year at DSM-Firmenich and comes to the Tour as a key support rider for Welsford. Depending on how things shake out, Edmondson might be used earlier in the flat stages, to keep the race together for a sprint, or he might form part of Welsford’s lead-out, alongside the likes of John Degenkolb and Nils Eekhoff.

Follow the links for our breakdown of the Tour de France contenders , our stage-by-stage route breakdown , and the full startlist .

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2023 Tour de France: The Race In Review

Welcome to Bicycling Australia’s day-by-day coverage of the cycling event of the year, the Tour de France. Check this pinned post daily for the latest stage results and at the end of the tour you’ll be able to scroll back to see how the race unfolded. A big thanks to Rouvy who are supporting our coverage – you can check out their impressive augmented reality training platform at www.Rouvy.com

26yo Dane Jonas Vingegaard has won his second consecutive Tour de France, the Team Jumbo-Visma rider strongly defending his ‘22 title and proving unequivocally he’s the world’s top GC rider.

With Jumbo-Visma also winning the teams classification, Vingegaard said the overall victory was all down to teamwork and Jumbo-Visma’s long-held ‘working together’ motto.

“It’s a dream to win the Tour de France again this year”, said an elated Vingegaard on the Champs de Élysées in Paris. 

“The Tour is and remains the greatest cycling race in the world and I am very proud of the team,” he continued. “We have achieved this together. It is a victory for all of us. I could not have done it without the support of my wife and little daughter. I consider myself a family man, so being together is very important. I felt this warmth from my family during the last period, but also from my teammates. After three intense weeks, we can celebrate this triumph.”

A largely ceremonial roll into Paris, Stage 21 delivered the action and adrenaline viewers have come to expect from each and every stage of this year’s Tour.

Bora-Hansgrohe sprinter Jordi Meeus managed to secure the stage victory over several sprinters including favourite Jasper Philipsen. Describing Stage 21 as “the biggest day in my career”, the win was especially sweet given teammate Jai Hindley’s Top 10 overall finish – Jai being 7th on GC.

“I knew I could do better than I was able to show so far in this Tour,” said Meeus.

“Finally, all worked out today. I am super proud to have finished off the job. I had really good legs today and Danny and Marco brought me up in the right moment. Then I was on the wheel of Jasper and in a perfect position to launch my sprint.”

Jai Hindley Best-Placed Aussie

Jai Hindley, the former yellow jersey wearer and best-placed Aussie at this year’s Tour, described how it was a particularly tough race and he’d proud of his overall result.

“We had some really nice moments, winning a stage already in the first week and then also wearing the yellow jersey for a day,” the West Australian and former Giro winner said.

“Then sitting high in GC for a long time until an unfortunate crash threw a spanner in the works,” Jai continued.

“The impact from the crash lasted the whole race and affected my performance quite a bit, which is shit. 

“We were on the right path for a decent final GC result. But regardless I kept fighting every day and left everything out on the road. And with the support off the boys and the whole staff team here, we managed to end up 7th in the end. Maybe not the result we came for, but one I think we can all be proud of.”

Thanking each and every Bora-Hansgrohe teammate, Jai said he felt their commitment and support for 100% from start to finish. 

“Through the good times and the bad,” Jai said. “And most importantly, the atmosphere we had here as a team was super nice. And in general, it was a really enjoyable month on the road with everyone. So, I would just like to say thanks to the whole team and to all the fans for the incredible support. It’s been amazing.”

Stage 21 Top 3

01 J. Meeus 2:56:13

02 J. Philipsen +0:00

03 D. Grenewegen +0:00

2023 Tour de France Overall General Classification

1. Jonas Vingegaard (DEN) 82:05:42 2. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) +7:29 3. Adam Yates (GBR) +10:56 4. Simon Yates (GBR) +12:23 5. Carlos Rodriguez (ESP) +13:17 6. Pello Bilbao (ESP) +13:27 7. Jai Hindley (AUS) +14:44 8. Felix Gall (AUT) +16:09 9. David Gaudu (FRA) +23:08 10. Guillaume Martin (FRA) +26:30

Stage 20 Belfort – Le Markstein Fellering – 133km 3450m

Tadej Pogačar has returned to form and taken Stage 20 of the TDF, the race now all but won by Jonas Vingegaard who will tonight sip the champagne on the largely ceremonial roll into Paris.

The final climbing day of racing saw the riders compete in a short but intense stage of 133.5km from Belfort to Le Markstein, and provided a thrilling spectacle. 

The real action started around 13km from the finish when Pogačar attacked and was followed up the road by Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) and Gall (AG2R Citroen Team). There were just a handful of riders ahead including retiring Frenchman Thibaut Pinot, who climbed brilliantly through a sea of adoring fans. Video of Pinot’s performance is brilliant viewing – we’d recommend searching for it online!

The Yates & Pogačar Show

Thibaut mania settled as the main GC combatants eventually took charge of proceedings. Then the Yates twins – Adam (UAE) and Simon (Jayco AlUla) – jumped free of the chase group and caught the leading three with 5km to go. Were they working together to help help Tadej? That crossed our mind a couple of times in the final kilometres.

Simon eventually took to the front to guide Pogačar towards the line, the Slovenian powering ahead, sprinting clear of Jonas Vingegaard and convincingly winning the stage. 

Pogačar is now all but set to finish second overall in this year’s Tour, as well as taking the best young rider jersey and enjoying two stage victories.

Tadej Pogačar said he finally felt like himself again. “It was wonderful to feel good from start to finish and be able to push all the way to the line after the tough days I’ve had,” he said.

“In the finale, I waited for Adam to join our group, and I must thank him because he launched me well, making it a bit easier to tackle the finish even though I was a bit nervous. 

“The whole team did a great job today and throughout all the stages. Being with them during these weeks is the most beautiful thing I take home.”

Stage 20 Top 3

1.Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) 3h27’18” 2.Felix Gall (AG2R Citroen Team) s.t. 3.Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) s.t  

General Classification Top 3 After Stage 20

1.Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) 79h16’38” 2.Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) +7’29” 3.Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) +10’56”

Stage 19 Morains en Montagne to Poligny 172.5km

More like a one-day classic than a stage of the the Tour de France, Stage 19 was an edge-of-seat spectacle for viewers as two prominent Aussies, Simon Clarke then later Ben O’Connor battled it out for the win.

In the end it was an emotional Matej Mohorič who took the stage, but just by millimetres – the Bahrain Victorious rider winning by a whisker over Kasper Asgreen in the photo finish.

Ben O’Connor – who was in that lead group of three – finished third after attempting a last-minute solo shot for the line but was overtaken by the faster finishers.

The victory was Mohorič’s third Tour de France stage in his career and the third for Team Bahrain Victorious at this year’s race, following the victories of Pello Bilbao and Wout Poels. 

Dedicating the victory to late teammate Gino Mader, Mohorič said the moment was very emotional. 

“It’s been a hard month for us all, and it’s been a rollercoaster,” he said.

“This has been an incredibly hard race, and the level is hard. It’s the best bike race in the world with the best bike riders. You are suffering and struggling to hold the wheels some days.

“When I get in the right place, I try to exploit my opportunities. I went away with great riders, and even though Ben knew he wasn’t the strongest in the sprint, he tried, and we worked well together,” he added.

“Kasper was incredibly strong, and honestly, he also deserved the win. But in this Tour, the suffering and sacrifice people go through, you’d want each rider to have this chance to win a stage.”

Saturday In The Mountains

Saturday night (Australian time) delivers the final mountain stage of the 2023 Tour de France, with GC riders including Tadej Pogacar expected to battle among themselves to inch higher up the overall ladder. 

Jonas Vingegaard remains at in yellow with a comfortable buffer of more than seven and a half minutes, but tonight’s viewing is highly-anticipated and will no doubt provide more thrilling viewing.

Stage 18 Môutiers and Bourg-en-Bresse – 185km

Dainish rider Kasper Asgreen sprinted to victory at Stage 18 of the Tour, the classics specialist delivering his team Soudal Quick-Step’s 50th overall TDF stage victory.

The 2021 Ronde van Vlaanderen champion’s first-ever Grand Tour victory, Asgreen said the win “means so much to me, especially after the problems I had last summer.”

Those issues? Several nasty crashes along with an ongoing fatigue syndrome. But Asgreen is clearly back, he’s firing on all cylinders and performed faultlessly over Stage 18.

“I came a long way and this result wouldn’t have been possible without all the people who helped me,” he said. “I want to dedicate this win to those who trusted me and stayed by my side, but also to (teammate) Dries Devenyns. He is racing his final Tour de France in his last season as a pro, he was very emotional at the finish, and we will miss him”, he added.

Jonas Vingegaard retains his very comfortable overall lead, being 7m 35s ahead of Tadej Pogacar with Adam Yates in third.

Stage 17 – Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc to Courchevel 160km / 5000m of climbing

There’s not a single cyclist alive who hasn’t had a bad day on the bike, and yesterday, sadly that was Tadej Pogacar’s day.

“I’m dead,” he said over team radio as he struggled on the brutal Col de Loze – considered France’s toughest climb.

“Stay with Tadej, Marc (Soler),” came the sombre but professional reply from the team car, “You go for it Adam (Yates), go for the stage.”

And that’s how the most pivotal and decisive moment of the 2023 Tour de France played out, as Jonas Vingegaard enjoyed his second absolute standout day on the bike after his scintillating Stage 16 time trial win.

With Pogacar losing more than 6-minutes to Vingegaard, the Slovenian is still second overall to the great Dane on GC, with Adam Yates third, Carlos Rodriguez third and Simon Yates fifth. Jai Hindley is currently the best-place Australian, he sits 7th overall.

“I’m super happy”, Vingegaard said after the Queen stage of the race. “We didn’t expect the lead to be more than seven minutes, even though we wanted to take some time today,” he continued.

“We didn’t change our strategy after I won the time trial. The whole team rode great, and that was the deciding factor. We executed our plan perfectly.”

Trying to remain grounded, he said “we’re not in Paris yet.”

“We have a challenging mountain stage on Saturday, so we must stay focused,” he continued.

“I expect attacks. But we are in an excellent position.”

Overall Standings After Stage 17

1. Jonas Vingegaard (DEN) 67:57:51 2. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) +7:35 3. Adam Yates (GBR) +10:45 4. Carlos Rodriguez (ESP) +12:01 5. Simon Yates (GBR) +12:19 6. Pello Bilbao (ESP) +12:50 7. Jai Hindley (AUS) +13:50 8. Felix Gall (AUT) +16:11 9. Sepp Kuss (USA) +16:49 10. David Gaudu (FRA) +17:57

Stage 16 – 22km Individual Time Trial

Jonas Vingegaard has ridden the time trial of his life to surge to close to 2 minutes ahead of main Tour de France rival Tadej Pogacar.

Sticking with his Cervelo P5 TT bike for the duration of the 22km stage – unlike many other riders who made a bike change before the final climb – Vingegaard beat teammate Wout van Aert to set the fastest time and win his first Tour de France Time Trial.

Van Aert was second fastest on the stage with Tadej Pogacar third.

Vingegaard’s win places him in prime position to win the 2023 Tour de France after also winning last year’s race. But, of course it’s the Tour, and anything can happen.

More to come.

Stage 15 Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc 179km

He’s consistently turned himself inside out for others over the years, but on Stage 15 Wout Poels finally enjoyed his first-ever Grand Tour stage victory.

Going solo on Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc, the 35-year-old Dutch rider achieved his dream and enjoyed the stunning yet emotional victory.

Poels joined the Stage 15 breakaway with more than 30 other riders. He eventually followed Wout Van Aert (Jumbo Visma) to latch on an earlier move made by Marc Soler (UAE) on Col des Aravis. As the three closed in on the final climb – the toughest of the day – Poels launched his attack leaving Van Aert behind and soloing to victory.

“I always dreamed to win a stage at the Tour,” said the veteran rider and former LBL winner. “I won a Monument and now a stage in the Tour. When you are young, you dream of it, look at all the people watching on tv and at the side of the road … the Tour is the Tour,” he said.

“I’ve had great memories at this race; this is my tenth,” continued Wout. “I’ve always worked for people, so it’s incredible to have my chance and achieve this dream. Yesterday I tried, and we didn’t manage to get much time, but today I went all in again. In the beginning, I wasn’t happy the group was so big, but we kept going, and I just had to follow the right moves, and when I saw Van Aert following Soler on the downhill, I knew that was my ticket.”

A Rest Day Before The TT

The Tour riders will now take their second rest day, then on Tuesday it’s back on with one of the most decisive stages so far – the individual time trial. Jonas Vingegaard remains just 10-seconds ahead of Tadej Pogacar and Tuesday’s TT is seen as critical for both superstars of the sport.

Stage 14 Annemasse – Morzine – Portes du Soleil 152km

Spanish national champion Carlos Rodriguez won Stage 14 of the Tour in an absolute thrilling day of bike racing that delivered joy, pain and scintillating action.

It was the Ineos Grenadiers rider’s first Grand Tour stage win, and the teams second in two days after the Kwiatkowski victory.

Dropped by lead duo Tadej Pogacar and yellow jersey Jonas Vingegaard who battled brilliantly on the final climb, Rodriguez dug deep to get back to the GC favourites and attacked them on the descent. He crossed the line a few seconds of the duelling duo Pogacar and Vingegaard who remain neck and neck for the overall title. Rodriguez moves to third overall, just one second ahead of Jai Hindley (Bora Hansgrohe) who crashed heavily during the stage.

Earlier, the stage had started with a large crash after six kilometres, the incident so severe the race was neutralised to allow for numerous riders  to receive medical attention. 

Two From Two For Ineos

“It’s incredible … Just being here was a dream,” said Rodriguez. “Getting a victory in the best race in the world is something I’ve always wanted to achieve. Now I’ve got a victory. I’m super happy and super grateful to the team.”

“I just focussed on doing the best climb I could, going at my own rhythm, and then doing the descent as fast as possible,” he added.

GC Top 3 After Stage 14

STAGE 13: CHÂTILLON-SUR-CHALARONNE – GRAND COLOMBIER, 137.8KM.

The Ineos Grenadiers may not be monopolising virtually every moment of the Tour de France like they were a few short years ago. But the British-based team have been putting in their fair share of effort and today it all paid off with a stunning Stage 13 victory.

Michal Kwiatkowski enjoyed the stunning solo win on the iconic Grand Colombier after making a bold attack on the final climb of the day. Earlier in the day, Kwiatkowski managed to be involved in a strong breakaway. Just over 10km from the finish he backed himself for the win, went for it, and succeeded.

“When I got into the breakaway I thought that this was maybe just a free ticket into the bottom of the climb or something like that,” Michal Kwiatkowski said.

“This morning we just really didn’t want to miss any big breakaway – like any day. I just found probably the best legs that I’ve ever had in my life…I didn’t believe that’s possible but here I am,” he added.

“Winning on the top of a mountain like Grand Colombier – today the last effort was probably one of the hardest of my life but I managed myself well, paced myself well and that was going to be a long effort. Without them (the mountainside fans) I guess that wouldn’t have been possible.”

Caleb Pulls Out Of TDF

In other news today, Aussie sprinter Caleb Ewan pulled out of the 2023 Tour de France mid stage – the 29yo being dropped well before the final climb, then the news broke that he’d abandoned the race. A bittersweet day for team Lotto Dstny, Caleb’s teammate Maxim Van Gils finished second on the stage. The team later issued a statement that read ‘it’s a day of mixed feelings as Caleb was forced to abandon the Tour. After struggling with fatigue for several days, he fought hard but it just wasn’t possible to continue.’

Pogacar Creeps Ahead

Tadej Pogacar managed to reduce his time gap to overall leader Jonas Vingegaard on the Grande Colombier climb. Pogacar is now just nine seconds behind Vingegaard, with Jai Hindley 2m 40s back in third.

Stage 12 – Roanne to Belleville-en-Beaujolais – 169km

After not basking in a Tour de France stage victory since 2008, French team Cofidis, have now enjoyed a second win with Ion Izagirre going solo to win Stage 12.

The 34yo Basque rider’s 30km solo victory came 10 days after  French teammate Victor Lafay’s win in San Sebastián, on stage two.

So far as breakaways go, it was a classic and provided thrilling and exciting viewing.

“For the whole Tour so far I tried to break away and it didn’t work out but today, yes,” Izagirre said. 

“I was confident in my strength. I knew that if I earned enough lead, my adversaries wouldn’t have me in sight and it would play in my favor.”

Mathieu Burgaudeau crossed the line second with Matteo Jorgenson third.

Stage 13 takes riders to Col du Grand Colombier and it’s iconic 17.4-km ascent at 7.1%. All attention will no doubt again be on Pogacar and Vingegaard, and of course Australia’s Jai Hindley who’s third overall.

Stage 11 – 180km Clermont-Ferrand to Moulins 180km

Jasper Philipsen is in the box seat to take the very rare achievement of five Tour de France stage wins in a single year after his latest sprint victory.

The Belgian fast man has now scooped each of the four sprint finishes of the 2023 Tour, and today won against Dylan Groenewegen and Phil Bauhaus. Sadly Aussie powerhouse Caleb Ewan wasn’t able to properly contest the sprint after being boxed in during the final run to the line and unable to launch his attack.

A thrilled Philpsen said it has been an incredible Tour so far, and he hopes to keep the Green Jersey all the way to Paris.

“I can’t realise how good it’s all going,” said the in-form sprinter of the year. “I’m just super proud and really happy with my shape. To get through the final without problems is also a big challenge and we managed to do it already four times in a row so I’m super happy.”

Winning his first stage without the assistance of teammate Matthieu van der Poel, Philipsen said “of course he makes it easier.”

“I had to find my wheel a little today,” he said. “And finding the space it’s technical and a bit dangerous for crashing. I’m happy I can find a good wheel of Groenewegen and he opened up early so I could go over.”

The General Classification remains unchanged with Jonas Vingegaard 17 seconds ahead of Tadej Pogacar. Aussie Jai Hindley remains in third place overall, 2 minutes 40 seconds back. 

Stage 11 Top 10

1. Jasper Philipsen 

2. Dylaan Groenewegen

3. Phil Bauhaus

4. Bryan Coquard

5. Mads Pedersen

6. Alexander Kristoff

7. Luca Mozzato

8. Peter Sagan

9. Wout van Aert

10. Sam Welsford

Stage 10 – Vulcania –  Issoire 167km

Bahrain Victorious rider Pello Bilbao took his first career Tour de France win to take Stage 10 today.

Bilbao won in a thrilling reduced bunch sprint in Issoire, with Aussie Ben O’Connor in on the action and placing third.

In emotional scenes at the podium presentation, Bilbao dedicated the victory to his late team-mate Gino Mader who tragically passed away during the Tour de Swiss last month.

“It was hard to prepare the last two weeks with him (Mader) in mind,” said Bilbao.

“But staying with my family at home helped me a lot, just to keep calm, be positive and put all my positive energy to try to do something nice in the Tour.”

“This is my first victory in the Tour in 13 years as a pro … it is such a special moment for me.”

The peloton arrived at the line around three minutes later with Jonas Vingegaard retaining the yellow jersey and his 17-second advantage over GC rival Tadej Pogacar.

Tomorrow’s Stage 11 delivers one of the final true opportunities for the sprinters prior to the last day of the 2023 Tour de France, the run into Paris.

Top 10 Overall After Stage 10

1. Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) – 42h 33’ 13’’

2. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) +17secs

3. Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe) +2mins 40secs

4. Carlos Rodriguez Cano (Ineos Grenadiers) +4mins 22secs

5. Pello Bilbao Lopez (Bahrain Victorious) +4mins 34secs

6. Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) +4mins 39secs

7. Simon Yates (Team Jayco Alula) +4mins 44secs

8. Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) +5mins 26secs

9. David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) +6mins 01secs

10. Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma) +6mins 45secs

Stage 9 Saint Leonard de Noblat – Puy de Dome 182km

The most thrilling and enthralling stage of the 2023 Tour de France yet? It’s subjective, but that seems to be the consensus! Israel Premier Tech’s Michael Woods enjoyed his maiden Tour de France stage victory on the steep slopes of the revered Puy de Dôme on Sunday.

“I’m so happy,” said the 36yo Canadian. “Winning a stage in the Tour is something I’ve always wanted to do, and talked about doing, but is never something I’ve achieved and I finally did it today.”

With the challenging mountain top finish perfectly suiting his style, Woods initially went all in with Canadian teammate Guillaume Boivin.

Eventually, the break got away and managed to distance the pack, and this was the genesis of Woods move.

“ The plan today was perfect”, Team Manager Rik Verbrugghe later said. “We had different scenarios but the ideal was to have Mike and Guillaume in the breakaway, even if everyone could have been there. Today, it all worked out perfectly. I’m so proud of the guys.”

Woods said he tried not to worry about attacks from Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar Team) – but focus upon himself and ride hard all the way to the top.

“It was only with 800 meters to go that I knew I had a shot,” he said. “I’m super happy with how it turned out.”

GC Top 5 After Stage 9

• Jonas Vingegaard (DEN, Jumbo-Visma) 38h 37’46”
• Tadej Pogacar (SLO, UAE Team Emirates) +17″
• Jai Hindley (AUS, Bora-Hansgrohe) +2:40″
• Carlos Rodriguez Cano (ESP, Ineos Grenadiers) +4:22″
• Adam Yates (GBR, UAE Team Emirates) +4:39″

Stage 8 Libourne – Limoges 200.7km

Mads Pederson emerged as the victor in the fast & thrilling finish of Stage 8 of the Tour de France, on an otherwise sad and historic day in the history of the world’s greatest cycling race.

Competing in his final Tour, and yearning for just one more stage win to take the all-time record from Eddy Merckx, Mark Cavendish crashed out of the race and left, clutching his shoulder, in the back of an ambulance.

Finishing 2nd to Jasper Philipsen on Stage 7, Cavendish will forever remain level with the great Eddy Merckx on 34 Tour de France Stage victories. Fittingly, 38yo Cavendish bows out of Tour history as competitive, gritty and talented as ever. We’ll have more news to come after Mark Cavendish speaks with media in coming days.

Meanwhile, Lidl-Trek rider Mads Pederson’s result was super-impressive, the former World Champion fending off the formidable competition of Jasper Philipsen and Wout van Aert. Pederson completed the stage in an impressive time of 4 hours, 12 minutes, and 26 seconds.

Van Aert, who had been in a promising position to claim the stage victory, was unfortunately impeded by his own teammate Christophe Laporte. This forced Van Aert to apply the brakes, hindering his momentum. Nevertheless, he managed to recover and secure third overall.

In the General Classification, Jonas Vingegaard maintains his hold on the coveted Yellow Jersey with Tadej Pogacar in second and Jai Hindley in third.

Stage 8 Top 5

• Mads Pederson (DEN, Lidl – Trek) 4:12:26
• Jasper Philipsen (BEL, Alpecin – Deceuninck) +0″
• Wout van Aert (BEL, Jumbo-Visma) +0″
• Dylan Groenewegen (NED, Jayco AlUla) +0″
• Nils Eekhoff (NED, Team DSM – Firmenich) +0″

Stage 7 – Mont-de-Marsan – Bordeaux

Jasper Philipsen has made it three from three at the Tour de France, the standout sprinter of the race winning again in Bordeaux today.

But veteran fast man Mark Cavendish came agonisingly close to taking his 35th TDF stage win, he was leading the sprint and in sight of the line only to have Philipsen come around him and win by a bike length.

Cavendish also suffered bad luck, the 38yo having his gears jump several times while he was zeroing in on the line.

“I kicked a little earlier than I’d like, but actually, still about the same time as I did in 2010,” recounted Cav, referring to his previous Tour de France sprint victory in Bordeaux 13 years ago.

“Once I kicked, I started, the gears jumped from the 11 to the 12, I had to sit down. Cadence just whacks up. Then it goes back to the 11th, I tried to stand up. I needed to sit down. There was nothing you could do except, like, kind of hope. I’m bitterly disappointed there. I’m really disappointed, but we keep on trying,” he added.

Philipsen wished Cavendish well and also said he’d like to see him take the record, and also thanked his Alpecin Deceuninck teammates and in particular his #1 leadout man Matthieu van der Poel.

“If you told me three stage wins one week ago I’d think you were crazy,” he said. “So far it’s a dream Tour for us and hopefully we can add another one.

“Cavendish was really strong. I would also have loved to see him win, I think everybody would, but I’m sure he will keep on trying. He’s up there, in good condition, and it will be hard.”

Although Philipsen did win, they’re was conjecture over how he won with two teams lodging complaints after alleging he deviated from his line. A penalty would have resulted in Cavendish being awarded the win, and therefore his elusive 35th Tour de France stage victory.

The race continues tomorrow with the 200km Stage 8 from Libourne to Limoges.

STAGE 6 – TARBES – CAUTERETS-CAMBASQUE 149km

The past two stages of the Tour de France have had more ups, downs, highs and lows than a month on the stockmarket! A casual viewer tuning in today could well have thought they were watching stage 19 or 20, the battle was that intense. But still we are in the first week of what’s becoming an absolute thriller of a Tour de France.

Tadej Pogacar either had a bad day yesterday, with Aussie Jai Hindley victoriously pouncing and taking Stage 5 and the Yellow Jersey, or he was bluffing.

 But today both Pogacar and key rival (and defending champion ) Jonas Vingegaard were on a completely different level. Stage 6 was less than 150km, but it showcased some of the most thrilling man-on-man racing of the past decade, and viewers witnessed one of the strongest attacks in recent memory.

The action started on the Tourmalet and continued through the afternoon. The crescendo come as Jonas & Pogacar fought tooth and nail from around 5km to go.

Launching from around 2km to go, Pogacar’s pivotal move was basically 3-2-1… lift off. He accelerated away from Vingegaard in a manner we haven’t seen in years. Staying clear, Pogacar went on to win the stage and climb to second overall on GC.

Hindley Hands The Jersey To Jonas

Vingegaard now leads the race, with Aussie Jai Hindley relinquishing the famed jersey after just 24hrs of temporary ownership. 

“I wanted to win the stage, but Pogacar was very strong at the end of the last climb,” said Jonas after donning the yellow jersey for the first time in 2023. 

“Just like yesterday, we made the race hard. The goal was to test Pogacar early again. We did that on the Tourmalet, but we couldn’t release him.”

Vingegaard gained over two minutes on (former) yellow jersey wearer Jai Hindley 

“I’m thrilled about it, it’s a huge honour,” said the 26yo Dane.

“The yellow jersey is the most iconic in cycling. I am where I want to be now, but the Tour de France is far from over”, he added.

Top 3 GC After Stage 6

1: Jonas Vingegaard 26h 10m 44s

2: Tadej Pogacar +25s

3: Jai Hindley +1m34s

Stage 6 – Tarbes to Cauterets-Cambasque – 144.9km

Today’s Stage 6 is set to be another high-mountain thriller. Again, it will be fascinating to see how the top GC contenders play it, particularly after Jai Hindley took so much time and went into Yellow yesterday.

Stage 6 is the race’s second part of the passage through the Pyrenees and includes the mighty Tourmalet plus a stage finish at Cauterets-Cambasque. There are 3817 meters of climbing in the 144.9km route.

The final 16km climb has only been used once in Tour de France history (in 1989), and is set to be a real test test for the lead contenders.

Climbs of the day include –

Stage 5 – Pau to Laruns 162.7km

West Australian Jai Hindley has claimed the first mountain stage of the 2023 Tour de France and well and truly taken the Yellow Jersey after a stellar Stage 5 performance.

Getting to the breakaway of the day, he attacked on Col de Marie Blanc and held off attacks by big name rivals to sit well ahead of rivals.

Well aware it’s still only very early days, Jai said the stage victory was “really incredible …I have no words.”

“The guys in the radio were just screaming at me to ride to the line,” he recounted. “I couldn’t really hear so much what was happening. I just wanted to take as much time as possible – and also the stage win – and, yeah, found myself in the yellow jersey, so that’s pretty cool.”

The 2022 Giro d’Italia winner said being his first Tour de France, he didn’t know what to expect from the race thus far.

“It’s my first Tour and it’s hard to come here with massive ambitions. But for sure I wanted to come and be competitive and have some form of success – and I’ve just won a stage of the Tour.”

Jonas Vingegaard is 47 seconds behind Hindley and sits second overall. Vingegaard left fellow overall favourite Tadej Pogacar on the day’s penultimate climb, the ‘The Pog’ finishing the stage 1 minute and 40 seconds behind Hindley.

Top 10 Overall After Stage 5

• Jai Hindley (AUS, Bora-Hansgrohe) 22hr 15’12”
• Jonas Vingegaard (DEN, Jumbo-Visma) +47″
• Giulio Ciccone (ITA, Lidl – Trek) +1:03″
• Emanuel Buchmann (GER, BORA – hansgrohe) +1:11″
• Adam Yates (GBR, UAE Team Emirates) +1:34″
• Tadej Pogacar (SLO, UAE Team Emirates) +1:40″
• Simon Yates (Team Jayco AlUla) +1:40″
• Mattias Skjelmose (DEN, Lidl – Trek) +1:56″
• Carlos Rodriguez Cano (ESP, Ineos Grenadiers) +1:56″
• David Gaudu (Groupama – FDJ) +1:56″

Stage 4 – Dax to Nogaro – 181km

Jasper Philipsen has made it two in a row, the Alpecin-Deceuninck sprinter winning yesterday’s Stage 3 and today’s Stage 4 of the Tour de France.

But much more importantly in our completely unbiased opinion, Caleb Ewan finished 2nd to Philipsen today, on the back of his 3rd place yesterday.

“I have the speed to win, but for that all the puzzle pieces have to fit together,” Caleb said after the thrilling finish on the Nogaro Racetrack south of Bordeaux.

“Even though it is a sour second place, it is nice to compete for the stage victory. At least I’m getting closer and I’ll keep trying.”

A super close finish, the final kilometres of the stage was hectic with two seperate high-speed crashes, one that saw Fabio Jacobsen crash heavily, but fortunately getting back on his bike to cross the line.

Easy Stage, Fast Finish

“It was a really easy stage,” said Jasper Philipsen after claiming his 4th Tour de France stage win.

“I think everybody wanted to save their legs for the Pyrenees tomorrow and the day after. In the final kilometres entering the circuit there were some crashes so I hope everybody is OK and safe.

“It was a hectic final with the turns in the end and I lost my team as well, but in the final straight I found Mathieu and he did an amazing pull to get me to victory. My legs were cramping and Caleb was coming close.”

Mark Cavendish was again in the mix, the soon-to-retire ‘Manx Missile’ dodging, weaving and doing his best to match it with Philipsen and Ewan. But as the top two sprinters of this year’s Tour were throwing their bikes over the line, Cav was still sprinting for fifth.

The race heads into the Pyrenees for Stage 5, with a 15km climb to the summit of Col de Soudet being one of the highlights of the day. Cavendish, Ewan and Philipsen will have to wait until a fast finish into Bordeaux on Friday for their next opportunity to shine.

Stage 4 Top 10 

1. Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) 4hrs 25mins 28sec

2. Caleb Ewan (Lotto Dstny) Same time

3. Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious)

4. Bryan Coquard (Cofidis)

5. Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan)

6. Danny van Poppel (Bora-Hansgrohe)

7. Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X Pro Cycling)

8. Luka Mezgec (Team Jayco-AlUla)

9. Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma)

10. Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek)

General Classification After Stage 4

1. Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) 18hrs 18mins 1sec

2. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) +6sec

3. Simon Yates (Team Jayco-AlUla) +6sec

4. Victor Lafay (Cofidis) +12sec

5. Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) +16sec

6. Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) +17sec

7. Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe) +22sec

8. Michael Woods (Israel-Premier Tech) +22sec

9. Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) +22sec

10. Carlos Rodriguez Cano (Ineos Grenadiers) +22sec

Stage 3 – Amorebieta-Etxano to Bayonne, 193.5km

Jasper Philipsen has set the benchmark at the 2023 Tour de France, the Belgian making the first all-in sprint finish look easy in Bayonne on Monday afternoon. But it may not have been as easy as Philipsen portrayed, the Alpecin-Deceuninck fast-man was led out by lightening-quick teammate Mathieu van der Poel with Philipsen later saying “It’s not easy to stay on Mathieu’s wheel.”

From an Australian perspective, the highlight was definitely seeing Caleb Ewan cross the line third, just behind Phil Bauhaus in second. A ‘23 Tour de France stage podium will be comforting for Caleb who’s had a bad run over the past few months and is desperately seeking the kick and speed he’s renowned for.

The other notable sprinter in the race, Mark Cavendish – who is seeking just one more Tour de France stage win to take the all-time record from Eddy Merckx – was there in the mix finishing sixth.

The first all-in sprint finish of this year’s Tour wasn’t without conjecture with Wout van Aert initially appearing to be boxed in when trying to pass Philipsen on the inside of the final bend. Race commissaries viewed video of the finish for several minutes prior to confirming had indeed won. 

Tuesday’s Stage 4 of the Tour will present another opportunity for the sprinters, with Mark Cavendish hinting the Nogaro finish is one he’s got in his sights. 

Stage 3 Top 10

• Jasper Philipsen (BEL, Alpecin-Deceuninck) 4hr 43’15”
• Phil Bauhaus (GER, Bahrain – Victorious) +0″
• Caleb Ewan (AUS, Lotto Dstny) +0″
• Fabio Jakobsen (NED, Soudal – Quick Step) +0″
• Mark Cavendish (GBR, Astana Qazaqstan Team) +0″
• Jordi Meeus (BEL, BORA – hansgrohe) +0″
• Dylan Groenewegen (NED, Team Jayco AlUla) +0
• Mads Pedersen (DEN, Lidl – Trek) +0″
• 10.Bryan Coquard (FRA, Cofidis) +0″

Stage 2 – 210km from Vitoria-Gasteiz to San Sebastián 

15-years after their last Tour de France stage win, but less than 24-hours after saying Victor Lafay ‘has the form and motivation to take stage victories’, the 27yo Cofidis rider won Stage 2 of the 2023 Tour.

Perfectly timing a jump within 800m of the San Sebastian finish line, Lafay went solo and held off 25 of the world’s fastest bike riders including Wout van Aert who finished second.

After proving he was at his best yesterday, and seemingly matching the duelling Pogacar and Vingegaard over the day’s toughest climb, Lafay said being able to ride at the same tempo as the overall favourites “was incredible.”

“I told my teammates that I felt really good,” he said. “When I passed in front, Pogacar immediately took my wheel and behind him he had a teammate to take advantage of the situation. In times like these, you have to be able to trust yourself.”

It was during the stage to seaside San Sebastián just 24 hours later, on a steep and technical course made all the more difficult by light rain, that he executed his magic and broke the deeply-French team’s TDF drought that started way back in 2008.

Understating his abilities, Lafay said “I am in good condition so it allows to be optimistic for the future.”

After the team’s drought-breaking victory Lafay said “we came into this Tour determined not to finish empty handed. This victory is going to do a lot of good to all of us.”

Stage 1 winner Adam Yates retains the Yellow Jersey with two-time overall winner Tadej Pogacar six seconds behind him. Simon Yates is another six seconds back in third. 

Two stages into the Tour and the overriding theme is that the pace has well and truly been on since the start flag dropped just a day ago. Today’s racing was incredibly fast, reactive and aggressive. Cycling fans are certainly in for a thrilling three weeks, the 2023 Tour de France looks set to be on for the ages.

Top 10 Overall After Stage 2

1:  Adam Yates 9h09m18s

2: Tadej Pogacar +6s

3: Simon Yates +6s

4: Victor Lafay +12s

5: Wout van Aert +16s

6: Jonas Vingegaard +17s

7: Michael Woods +22s

8: Mattias Skjelmose +22s

9: Jai Hindley +22s

10: Michel Landa +22s

Stage 1 – 182km Bilbao circuit

Adam Yates will be the first to race in the famed Yellow Jersey after beating his twin brother Simon to the line at Stage 1 of the 2023 Tour de France.

His first Tour with UAE Team Emirates, team mate and two-time TDF winner Tadej Pogacar finished third on the opening stage of the 110th ‘Grande Boucle.’

Speaking after the stage, Adam said the Yates 1-2 was a particularly poignant occasion, with mama and papa Yates also in the crowd watching.

Twin brothers and close friends, after the stage Adam said the two get on famously and catch up daily. 

“He lives just five minutes away,” Adam said.

“I saw him this morning before the start and he asked what my plans were. Obviously I couldn’t tell him,” continued Adam.

“I’m sure he’ll be a pain in the ass for me somewhere later along the road though,” he added.

Simon agreed, saying the two have a solid relationship and he was thrilled to see Adam in Yellow.

“But I’ll stick it to him in a couple of days,” added the Team Jayco-AlUla rider.

Stage 2 kicks of just after 12 noon local time (GMT +2), and will be raced over 210 hilly kilometres from Vitoria-Gasteiz to Donostia San Sebastián.

Stage 1 Top 10 (Same as overall GC)

1. Adam Yates (GB/UAE Team Emirates) 4hrs 22mins 49secs

2. Simon Yates (GB/Team Jayco-AlUla) +4secs

3. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates) +12secs

4. Thibaut Pinot (Fra/Groupama-FDJ) Same time

5. Michael Woods (Can/Israel-Premier Tech)

6. Victor Lafay (Fra/Cofidis)

7. Jai Hindley (Aus/Bora-hansgrohe)

8. Mattias Skjlemose (Den/Lidl-Trek)

9. Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Jumbo-Visma)

10. David Gaudu (Fra/Groupama-FDJ)

A big thanks to Rouvy who are supporting our 2023 TDF coverage – you can check out their impressive augmented reality training platform at www.ROUVY.com

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The Twelve Australian Riders on the Start List for Tour de France 2023

Australian riders on the start list for tour de france 2023.

Twelve of Australia’s best cyclists are all set to showcase their skills and determination in the highly anticipated Tour de France 2023.               

With the prestigious race kicking off in two days, here are the Australian athletes poised to make their mark on the international stage and vie for glory in one of the world's most challenging cycling competitions. Perth born Jai Hindley will make his first appearance at the Tour de France and has his eyes set on winning another Grand Tour. In 2022, Hindley became the first Australian to win the Giro d’Italia, making him one of only two Australians to claim a Grand Tour victory.

Hindley chose not to defend his title in this year’s Giro to prepare for the Tour de France and has been named the lead rider for his team BORA-Hansgrohe. All eyes will be on Hindley as he looks to follow in the footsteps of Cadel Evans and secure the yellow jersey.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jai Hindley (@jhindley_)

Ben O’Connor will line up for AG2R Citroën Team after abandoning the 2022 edition after suffering a torn glute injury early in the race. In 2021, O’Connor finished fourth in the overall general classification and won stage 9 from Cluses - Tignes. This month at the Criterium du Dauphine, O’Connor proved he’s in good shape leading into the TDF, finishing overall in fourth place and the highest of the three Australian’s who finished in the top 10.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by AG2R CITROËN TEAM (@ag2rcitroenteam)

Sprinting specialist Caleb Ewan is going into his fifth Tour de France and will be looking to utilise his explosive power to outshine his fellow sprinters to claim stage victories. Last year’s race was the first since 2018 that Ewan has not secured a stage victory in a Grand Tour. Will he be able to return to his former glory this year?

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Caleb Ewan (@calebewan)

Simon Clarke and Nick Schultz will represent Australia in the Israel-Premier Tech team. Clarke, a Tour de France veteran, is lining up for his eighth edition after a strong start to the 2023 season. Schultz on the other hand is heading into his second Tour de France, but his first alongside Clarke and the Israel-Premier Tech team.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Simon Clarke (@simoclarke)

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Israel – Premier Tech (@israelpremiertech)

Another Aussie duo will represent in the Jayco AlUla team, with Luke Durbridge and Chris Harper racing in the Australian team. Durbridge is a four-time Australian national champion and will be racing in his ninth Tour de France. No doubt Durbridge will be a pillar of support to his teammate Harper, who will make his Tour de France debut at age 28.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Luke Durbridge (@lukedurbridge)

Jack Haig was a late inclusion for his team Bahrain-Victorious, who will be racing in honour of their teammate, Gino Mäder, who tragically passed away following a crash at the Tour de Suisse this month. Haig has had an impressive string of results lately including a podium finish at Tour of the Alps and finishing 10th at Paris-Nice. Haig's versatility will be crucial in aiding his team leaders during decisive mountain stages.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Team Bahrain Victorious (@teambahrainvictorious)

Team DSM’s selection includes an impressive four Australian riders, three of which are making their TDF debut. Victorian rider Chris Hamilton will be racing in his second straight Tour de France following five career appearances at the Giro d'Italia and two at the Vuelta a Espana. Alongside him will be Matthew Dinham, Sam Welsford and Alex Edmondson who each have had strong starts to the 2023 season, with Welsford winning the final two stages of the Vuelta a San Juan and Edmondson finishing fourth overall at the Dutch ZLM Tour. Dinham will be racing in his first Grand Tour in his debut season for the team.

Team DSM but make it...🇫🇷 𝓕𝓻𝓮𝓷𝓬𝓱 🇫🇷 We're ready for 3 weeks of tough but exciting racing 🔜 @LeTour 👋🏻 🇫🇷 @romainbardet 🇩🇪 @johndegenkolb 🇦🇺 @Matt_Dinham 🇦🇺 @alexedmo 🇳🇱 @nilseekhoff 🇦🇺 @ChrisHamo_ 🇺🇸 @kvermaerke 🇦🇺 @sam_welsford #KeepChallenging #TDF2023 pic.twitter.com/iwwUNJhr8K — Team dsm-firmenich (@TDSM_Firmenich) June 22, 2023

Out of the twelve Australians, four withdrew from the 2022 race (Jack Haig, Ben O’Connor, Simon Clarke, Luke Durbridge) and five will make their Tour de France debut (Jai Hindley, Matthew Dinham, Alex Edmondson, Chris Harper, and Sam Welsford). As the Tour de France 2023 unfolds, these twelve Australian cyclists will battle against each other and formidable opponents from around the globe, aiming to etch their names in the annals of cycling history.

Australian fans will be eagerly cheering on their compatriots as they push their limits, overcome challenges, and strive for glory in one of the most prestigious sporting events on the planet.

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‘I’m here for the win’: Aussie leads Tour de France after ‘dream’ win on ‘chaotic’ day

Australian Jai Hindley crossed the line alone to win stage five of the Tour de France on Wednesday to take the overall leader’s yellow jersey as defending champion Jonas Vingegaard won a tactical battle with key rival Tadej Pogacar.

Hindley’s feat however was overshadowed by Vingegaard’s show of class as the Dane pulled off a major coup on the final mountain to carve a 53-second advantage over Pogacar in the overall standings.

The anticipated duel between the pair has been the main focus on the Tour so far, but now Bora-Hansgrohe rider Hindley, the 2022 Giro d’Italia winner, has stolen some of that thunder.

After joining an early escape as the peloton left Pau, the gateway to the Pyrenees, at frantic speed, Hindley eventually shook off his breakaway rivals on the final Col de Marie Blanque climb.

At the village of Laruns the 27-year-old raised his arms to the sky and finished 32 seconds ahead of Italy’s Giulio Ciccone and Austrian Felix Gall with Vingegaard fifth at 34sec.

Ciccone climbed to third in the overall with his second place. The Italian held the yellow jersey briefly in 2019 after a breakaway on the Planche des Belles Filles climb.

The stage winner said he had been ready should an opportunity arise on this first relatively benign foray into the mountains.

“I’m here for the overall win and the aim was to put as much time as possible into the others,” said Hindley.

“It has been a dream since I was six years old but I never thought I’d find myself in the yellow jersey,” he said.

“It was chaotic behind with different teams riding with various aims. I got the win and the lead so I’m delighted, it’s going to be a crazy bike race.”

– Jumbo tactical lesson –

Vingegaard’s Jumbo-Visma stunned the UAE Team when Wout Van Aert dropped back from an early break and led Vingegaard uphill with an impressive 500m pull.

Jumbo climber Sepp Kuss then took the relay until he too peeled away before Vingegaard broke free and put the hammer down over the remaining 15km to the finish line.

Vingegaard expressed surprise at how Pogacar struggled.

“On paper this didn’t look like it was going to be a good day for me, but on the last climb I knew I had the legs,” said the defending champion.

“I was surprised Pogacar didn’t manage to follow, even if I was doing it to test him.” Van Aert was awarded the day’s combativity prize.

“It was a really hard day,” admitted Van Aert, one of the stars of the peloton with three stage wins in last year’s race.

“This puts pressure on them (Team UAE),” he said. “Hindley and Ciccone got away from us, but I was holding back to help Jonas,” he explained.

FULL PREVIEW: ‘Ideal’ chance for Aussie to make history as record 12 riders start

Meanwhile UAE Team rider Pogacar, the 2020 and 2021 champion, was left isolated as overnight leader Adam Yates appeared unable to help in the chase.

“It’s not lost yet,” said Pogacar, who broke a wrist in April and missed some key training time in the saddle.

“He (Vingegaard) was much faster on that climb. He was really strong and there was just nothing you can do,” he said.

“It’s a blow but it’s only the first mountain stage, we shall keep fighting and try to win back time.” On Thursday, trademark Tour climbs Col d’Aspin and Col du Tourmalet will mark out stage six as the toughest test so far with further tremors expected on the second mountain day over 145km from Tarbes to Cauterets-Cambasque.

But those two ascents make only 30km and are only part of the story with a 16km slog to a summit finish coming after an epic descent from the 2,115-metre altitude Tourmalet.

Tour de France 2023

Latest news from the race.

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How Jonas Vingegaard transformed from 'the little guy' to Jumbo-Visma leader

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Tour de france 2023 results.

Stage 21: Jonas Vingegaard crowned Tour de France champion in Paris / As it happened

Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) won the Tour de France for the second  year in a row after finishing safely in the main field with his Jumbo-Visma teammates. Jordi Meeus (Bora-Hansgrohe) sprinted to victory on the Champs-Elysées, beating green jersey Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) by less than a tyre width to take his first stage victory of the Tour de France.

Vingegaard topped the general classification with a 7:29 ahead of Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) and 10:56 on Pogačar’s teammate Yates.

Stage 20: Tour de France: Pogacar rebounds to take stage 20 victory as Vingegaard seals his second overall title / As it happened

Rebounding after a disastrous stage 17 on Col de la Loze, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) won the final mountain stage of the 2023 Tour de France. Crossing the line in third, with the same time, was Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) who is set to claim the overall victory for a second year, with just Sunday’s final parade stage to Paris left to race. Felix Gall (AG2R-Citroën) was second on the stage. Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ), who delivered one final attack on his home roads to the delight of the huge crowds massing the roads, was caught on the final climb.

There were no changes in the top 3 on the general classification, Vingegaard, Pogačar and Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) are set to be on the final podium. Fourth on the stage, Simon Yates (Jayco-AlUla) moved up to fourth overall.

Stage 19: Tour de France: Mohoric outsprints Asgreen in drag race to stage 19 finish / As it happened

There was no rest and little recovery on a wickedly fast stage 19 of the Tour, where the winning breakaway took 100 kilometres to go clear. Three riders attacked from the 36-rider move, with Matej Mohorič giving Bahrain Victorious their third stage win after Pello Bilbao on stage 10 and Wout Poels on stage 15. The GC contenders all came in together almost 14 minutes behind.

Stage 18: Tour de France: Kasper Asgreen seizes stage 18 victory from all-day breakaway / As it happened

Kasper Asgreen (Soudal-QuickStep) won the closing sprint on stage 18 of the Tour de France to hold off his breakaway companions and a surging peloton. After 185 kilometres at the front of the race with Victor Campenaerts (Lotto Dstny) and Kasper Asgreen (Soudal-QuickStep) and Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X), it came down to the final 200 metres to secure the win for Asgreen, leaving Pascal Eenkhoorn (Lotto Dstny), who had bridged across 58km earlier, in second and Abrahamsen third. 

There were no changes in the general classification on the largely-flat stage between Moûtiers to Bourg-en-Bresse, Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) remaining in yellow.

Stage 17:   Tour de France: Vingegaard dashes Pogacar's GC hopes on stage 17 across Col de la Loze / As it happened

Felix Gall (AG2R Citroën) attacked from a reduced front group with under 13km to go and held on for a solo victory across the Col de la Loze on stage 17 of the Tour de France. Race leader Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) stamped his authority on the queen stage by dropping his main rival Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) on the final climb. Pogačar finished the stage 7:37 down – 5:45 behind Vingegaard – leaving him still in second place overall but a massive 7:35 back of the Dane.

Stage 16: Tour de France: Vingegaard removes all doubt, crushes Pogacar in stage 16 time trial / As it happened

After two weeks of racing for seconds, Jonas Vingegaard finally carved out a significant gap over second-placed Tadej Pogačar in the stage 16 time trial in Combloux. Vingegaard won the stage by 1 minute 38 seconds over his rival to extend his lead in the GC to 1:48.

Stage 15: Tour de France: Wout Poels blasts to blockbuster stage 15 solo victory / As it happened

The stalemate between Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) and Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) continued on the third mountainous day in a row at the Tour de France. The duo marked each other’s attacks on the final climb to Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc and ultimately crossed the finish line together. Attacking from the break, Wout Poels (Bahrain Victorious) won stage 15 after an 11km solo ride to to claim his first Tour de France stage win.

Stage 14: Tour de France: Carlos Rodríguez strikes for win on stage 14 as Vingegaard gains valuable second on Joux Plane / As it happened

Rivals Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) and Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) continued their intense battle on the final climb on stage 14 of the Tour de France with the yellow jersey Vingegaard gaining one second in an evenly matched duel. Both riders used their respective teams to dispatch all the other riders before fighting it out on the Col de la Joux Plane. Carlos Rodríguez (Ineos Grenadiers) took advantage of the situation to fly down the descent to take the win in Morzine, and move up to third overall.

Stage 13: Tour de France: Kwiatkowski wins stage 13 on Grand Colombier as Pogacar closes in on yellow / As it happened

The Tour de France overall standings remained neck-and-neck between leader Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogačar on stage 13, the second hors-categorie summit finish of the race. Michał Kwiatkowski (Ineos) won the stage from the breakaway, while UAE Team Emirates burned up the team to set up Pogačar. Vingegaard was on guard and fended his rival off until the final metres, losing eight seconds total but keeping the maillot jaune.

Stage 12:   Tour de France: Ion Izagirre secures solo victory on frantic stage 12 / As it happened

Ion Izagirre (Cofidis) won stage 12 of the Tour de France with a solo attack 30km from the line in Belleville-en-Beaujolais. His long-range breakaway rewarded the Basque rider with his second career Tour win, the last one coming in 2016. Mathieu Burgaudeau (TotalEnergies) outsprinted Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar) 58 seconds back to complete the podium. 

The hectic first half of the hilly 168.8km stage saw lots of attack, including Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) who was rewarded as the most combative rider. There were no changes between the top GC leaders, with Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) still in yellow and Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) in second and in the best young rider jersey.

Stage 11: Tour de France: Jasper Philipsen flies to fourth sprint victory on stage 11 / As it happened

Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) showed more blistering speed, proving himself the best sprinter of the Tour de France on stage 11 to Moulins even without any lead-out from Mathieu van der Poel.

It was a squeaky clean sprint from the Belgian who has endured a flood of hate-mail about his previous sprints.

Daniel Oss (TotalEnergies) was the day's sole breakaway rider and caught with 13km to go. The GC standings remained the same as all of the contenders finished in the peloton.

Stage 10: Tour de France: Pello Bilbao scorches sprint from breakaway to win stage 10 / As it happened

Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) out-sprinted Georg Zimmerman (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty) and Ben O'Connor (AG2R Citroën) to win stage 10 of the Tour de France on a sizzlingly-hot day. The Spaniard was part of the day's breakaway that brought six riders into Issoire, where he claimed the first stage victory of his career.

The breakaway gained 2:53 on the group containing race leader Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma), rival Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) third-placed Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadiers) to keep the top four in the GC standings the same.

Stage 9: Tour de France: Michael Woods triumphs with stage 9 victory atop Puy de Dôme / As it happened

The Tour de France reached the mythical ascent of the Puy de Dôme at the finish of stage 9 where Michael Woods (Israel Premier Tech) triumphed with the day's victory after being part of a large breakaway that gained upwards of 15 minutes on the main GC contenders during the stage.

On the upper slopes of the ascent, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) then surged with 1.5km to go, to put valuable seconds into Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma). Vingegaard now leads Pogačar by 17 seconds in the battle for the yellow.

Stage 8: Tour de France: Mads Pedersen beats Jasper Philipsen to win crash-marred stage 8 / As it happened

Stage 8 was a highly anticipated day for the puncheurs, even so, Mark Cavendish had his sights set on a 35th career stage win at the Tour de France, but it wasn't meant to be as the Manxman crashed with 60km to go and forced to abandon the event.

In a chaotic finish to the hilly run-in to Limoges, which saw a late-race crash take down Simon Yates (Jayco AlUla), Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) stormed to the victory in a close sprint ahead of Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma). Jonas Vingegaard finished safely in the field and carries the yellow jersey into stage 9 with a finish at Puy de Dôme.

Stage 7: Tour de France: Philipsen denies Cavendish, completes hat-trick in Bordeaux / As it happened

Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) blasted across the line in Bordeaux to win stage 7 of the Tour de France, winning by one bike length over Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan). Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty) finished third in the sprint.

For Philipsen, it was his third victory of the three sprint stages in the first week of the 2023 race. He bolted down the main avenue and passed Cavendish in the closing 50 metres, holding the Manxman's attempt at a record 35th Tour stage win  at bay.

Stage 6: Tour de France: Tadej Pogacar claws back time with victory at Cauterets / As it happened

Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) won stage 6 with a massive attack across the final 2.7km and stormed back into the general classification mix. He distanced Jonas Vingegaard at the line at Cauterets by 24 seconds, while the Jumbo-Visma rider took the overall lead and yellow jersey away from Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe), who was 2:39 back in sixth place. 

Vingegaard now has a 25-second advantage over rival Pogačar, while Hindley held the third spot in the overall, 1:34 back, after the massive 144.9km climbing day in the Pyrenees. 

Stage 5: Tour de France: Jai Hindley wins stage 5 as Vingegaard drops Pogacar in Pyrenees / As it happened

The first of the Pyrenean stages at the Tour de France had the potential to shake up the general classification, and it did just that as Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe) went on a day-long attack, won stage 5 into Laruns and took the yellow leader's jersey in the process.

Hindley moved into the overall race lead by 47 seconds ahead of Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) and 1:03 on Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek), as Tadej Pogaçar (UAE Emirates) slipped to 6th now at 1:40 back.

Stage 4: Tour de France: Jasper Philipsen wins two in a row in crash-marred stage 4 / As it happened

There was no doubt who won stage 4 at the Tour de France, with Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) securing his second-consecutive sprint stage win in Nogaro. A day for the sprinters ended in carnage, however, as several riders crashed along the motor speedway circuit that hosted the finish.

There were no changes to the overall classification as Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) finished in the field at the end of the 181.8km stage and will wear the yellow leader's jersey into stage 5.

Stage 3 - Tour de France: Jasper Philipsen wins stage 3 after impressive lead-out from Mathieu van der Poel / As it happened

Jasper Philipsen  (Alpecin-Deceuninck) rocketed across the line in a bunch sprint in Bayonne to win stage 3 of the 2023 Tour de France. A half a wheel behind, Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious) claimed second and Caleb Ewan (Lotto-Dstny) third.

All the general classification contenders, including Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) in the yellow jersey, finished safely in the field with no time changes after 193.5km from the hills of Spanish Basque territory to the roads of France.

Stage 2 - Tour de France: Victor Lafay gives Cofidis their first win since 2008 on stage 2 / As it happened

Victor Lafay (Cofidis) put in a stunning attack to claim stage 2 in San Sébastian. The Frenchman clipped off the front of a select group that formed after the Jaizkibel and stole the show from Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma), who won the sprint for second.

Tadej Pogačar added to his tally with a time bonus for third and also won the five bonus seconds atop the Jaizkibel ahead of Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma). His teammate Adam Yates held the lead by six seconds.

Stage 1 - Tour de France stage 1: Adam Yates wins ahead of twin brother Simon in Bilbao / As it happened

Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) won stage 1 of the Tour de France in Bilbao, outsprinting his brother Simon Yates (Jayco-Alula)  after the duo escaped together after the final climb of the Pike. Adam Yates leads the general classification by 8 seconds over his brother, and 18 seconds over his teammate Tadej Pogačar who finished third on the stage.

Enric Mas (Movistar) abandoned the stage after crashing with Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) with 23km to go. Carapaz ultimately crossed the line, over 15 minutes from Adam Yates. Defending champion Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) along with other contenders Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe), David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) and Mikel Landa (Bahrain Victorious) are 22 seconds down overall.

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Tour de France 2023 route

The full 2023 Tour de France route was revealed at the official Tour de France presentation on 27th October .

The race starts across the border in the Basque Country, the first time the race has started there since 1992. A handful of hilly stages open the action before the race crosses the Pyrenees into France.

The route features only 22km of time trialling, all coming on the hilly stage 16. Four summit finishes also feature, including the Puy de Dôme for the first time in 35 years and the Grand Colombier in the Pyrenees.

The mountainous course brings a tough final week, concluding with a final showdown in the Vosges to Le Markstein on stage 20.

Tour de France 2023 contenders

2022 champion Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) will return to defend his title after dispatching two-time winner Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) last July. The Slovenian is racing after recovering from a fractured wrist in April, while Vingegaard starts off the back of the Critérium du Dauphiné.

Other big-name GC men lining up at the start in Bilbao include David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ), Enric Mas (Movistar), Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe), Ben O'Connor (AG2R Citroën), Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), and Mikel Landa (Bahrain Victorious).

See: Tour de France 2023 – Analysing the contenders

Tour de France 2023 teams

The 2023 Tour de France will be made up of 22 teams, 18 WorldTour teams, the two top-ranked second-division teams, and two discretionary wild-card teams.

Lotto Soudal and TotalEnergies made the cut as the best ProTeams of 2022, while Israel-Premier Tech and Uno-X were chosen as the two wildcard teams for the 2023 Tour de France .

Tour de France 2023 schedule

Tour de france history.

Jonas Vingegaard is the reigning champion, having won his first Tour de France in 2022. The Danish rider denied Tadej Pogačar a trio of consecutive victories, the Slovenian having snatched the 2020 title before dominating the 2021 race. 

Pogačar himself broke a Ineos/Sky stranglehold on the race, with the British team having won seven of the previous eight Tours de France with Egan Bernal, Geraint Thomas, Bradley Wiggins and four-time winner Chris Froome . Vincenzo Nibali, then riding for Astana, was the other man to break the British squad's dominance with a win in 2014.

The Tour wins record is currently held by four men, with Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Jacques Anquetil and Miguel Indurain all on five titles.

Peter Sagan getting once dominated the green jersey for the points classification but has been usurped in the past three years, with Wout van Aert establishing himself as the dominant man of all terrains in 2022. Sagan still holds the all-time green jersey record with seven wins in nine participations. Erik Zabel's six jerseys lie second, ahead of Sean Kelly's four.

In addition to his yellow jersey, Vingegaard won the polka-dot jersey for the mountains classification in 2022, as Pogačar did the previous two years.  Richard Virenque holds the record for polka dot jersey wins at seven, and it won't be beaten anytime soon as Pogačar and Rafał Majka are the only current riders to have won more than one king of the mountains title, with two.

Pogačar has won the white jersey for best young rider three years in a row and, at 24, is still eligible for a fourth crack in 2023.

Read on for a list of the riders with the most wins of the Tour de France, the most stage wins, as well as the major jerseys.

Most Tour de France overall wins

• 5 – Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Miguel Indurain
• 4 –  Chris Froome
• 3 – Phiilippe Thys, Louison Bobet, Greg LeMond
• 2 – Lucien Petit-Breton, Firmin Lambot, Ottavio Bottecchia, Nicolas Frantz, André Leducq, Antonin Magne, Sylvère Maes, Gino Bartali, Fausto Coppi, Bernard Thévenet, Laurent Fignon, Alberto Contador, Tadej Pogačar
• 1 – Geraint Thomas , Egan Bernal , Jonas Vingegaard

Most Tour de France stage wins

• 34 – Eddy Merckx, Mark Cavendish
• 28 – Bernard Hinault
• 25 – André Leducq
• 22 – André Darrigade
• 20 – Nicolas Frantz
• 19 – François Faber
• 17 – Jean Alavoine
• 16 – Jacques Anquetiil, René Le Grevès, Charles Pélissiier ...
• 12 – Peter Sagan
• 11 – André Greipel
• 9 – Tadej Pogačar , Wout van Aert
• 7 – Chris Froome

Most Tour de France points classification/green jersey wins

• 7 –  Peter Sagan
• 6 – Erik Zabel
• 4 – Sean Kelly
• 3 – Jan Janssen, Eddy Merckx, Freddy Maertens, Djamolidine Abdoujaparov, Robbie McEwen
• 2 – Stan Ockers, Jean Graczyk, André Darrigade, Laurent Jalabert, Thor Hushovd, Mark Cavendish
• 1 – Michael Matthews , Sam Bennett , Wout van Aert

Most Tour de France polka dot jersey/mountains classification wins

• 7 – Richard Virenque
• 6 – Federico Bahamontes, Lucien Van Impe 
• 3 – Julio Jiménez
• 2 – Felicien Vervaecke, Gino Bartali, Fausto Coppi, Charly Gaul, Imerio Massignan, Eddy Merckx, Luis Herrera, Claudio Chiappucci, Laurent Jalabert, Michael Rasmussen, Rafał Majka , Tadej Pogačar
• 1 – Nairo Quintana , Chris Froome , Warren Barguil , Julian Alaphilippe , Romain Bardet , Jonas Vingegaard

• 2023 Tour de France route
• Tour de France past winners
• Pogacar, Vingegaard and a duel far too close to call - Tour de France 2023 Preview

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Tour de France 2023: our selection of the most beautiful mountain stages

Inspiration

Cycling Tourism Nature and Outdoor Activities Sporting Activities Mountains

Reading time: 0 min Published on 4 December 2023, updated on 15 April 2024

The most famous cycle race in the world, the Tour de France will be taking to the skies once again this year, as the 3,404km and 21 stages will take in all 5 of France's mountain ranges! The Pyrenees, the Auvergne volcanoes, the Jura mountains, the Alps and the Vosges massif... The peloton has plenty of pedalling to do and plenty of climbing to do. The grandiose landscapes, the high altitude finishes and the dizzying descents promise to be emotional highs. To experience the highs (and lows) of the Grand Loop, saddle up with our selection of the most beautiful mountain stages.

From Tarbes to Cauterets-Cambasque, the Pyrenees take centre stage

After 3 stages on the Spanish side, welcome to the French Pyrenees! First there's Bayonne and the Basque country, Dax and its thermal baths, Pau and its beautiful castle where King Henry IV was born. And then there's Tarbes, with its breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains, its palm-lined streets (yes, yes!) and its gourmet markets. The riders of the 2023 Tour de France will need a lot of courage to tear themselves away from this gentle way of life and tackle the climbs of the Aspin and terrible Tourmalet cols . The reward for all this climbing is a finish on the Cambasque plateau, overlooking the charming resort of Cauterets, in the heart of the Pyrenees National Park, where the Pic du Midi is enthroned. Want to cool off? Try the hike to the peaceful Lac d'Ilhéou . In a green setting with magnificent views and waterfalls, picnics and swimming...

The Puy de Dôme, a feast for the eyes in Auvergne

The ascent of Puy de Dôme, the undisputed star of the Auvergne, will be one of the highlights of the 2023 Tour de France! The youngest and highest volcano in the Puys chain has not featured on the itinerary for 35 years. Taking on this fearsome and majestic peak and finishing with a 360° view over the gentle rolling hills of the Parc naturel régional des Volcans d'Auvergne is sure to motivate many a rider! But did you know that you can also climb this peaceful giant by mule track or on board the Panoramique des Dômes, a picturesque little cogwheel train? In just 15 minutes, you'll be transported to an altitude of 1,465 m, with the 80 volcanoes of the Puy range and the Limagne fault (listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site at your feet. To complete a stage that's full of fireworks, the Vulcania Park is not far away! Who can beat that?

Breathtaking escapes in the Jura

Expect to fall under the spell of Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne! Just 1 hour from Lyon and the Monts du Beaujolais, this small town in the Ain département, from which the Tour de France 2023 peloton will set off on 14 July, is a delightful medieval town. With its pink stone houses, flower-bedecked bridges and old market hall housing one of France's most popular traditional markets, it is also the gateway to the Dombes region, a paradise for fish farmers and birdwatchers with its landscapes of water and ponds. Take advantage of this area on foot, by boat or, ideally, by bike (it's flat!), before taking to the heights of the Montagnes du Jura , just a stone's throw away. The Pyramide du Bugey, from the top of which you can see Mont Blanc and Lake Geneva, is a must-see. The Tour de France riders attack it via the Col du Grand Colombier. At top speed. Take your time, the panorama is well worth it!

In the Alps, between lakes and legendary passes

It's doubtful that the riders will enjoy the view of Lake Geneva as they take their first pedal to the metal in the Alps at Annemasse on stage 14 of the Tour de France 2023. We recommend this one, though, as well as the view of Lake Annecy and its turquoise waters. Then it's time for a series of twists and turns and climbs to the legendary passes of the Alps, including the famous Col du Feu, an unprecedented climb for the peloton. At an altitude of 1,000 metres, in the heart of the Portes du Soleil ski area, the stage finish in Morzine won't dampen the spirits of those who love nature. In summer, the little village resort in the Alps is an ideal playground for lovers of outdoor activities : a stroll along the Dérêches river, swimming in Lake Montriond, canyoning or via ferrata... the hardest thing will be to choose.

From Gets to Saint-Gervais, Mont Blanc in your sights

For the first time since its creation, the Tour de France will start from Les Gets. Well-known to mountain bikers (the World Championships were held there in 2022), the pretty Alpine resort will kick off a 15th stage during which you'll need to have plenty of breath. The Col de la Forclaz-Montmin is on the programme. So allow yourself a break at its belvedere for a bird's-eye view of Lake Annecy before setting off again for Saint-Gervais, at the foot of Mont-Blanc. If you want to reach the highest peak in the Alps, this village resort, with its well-preserved heritage and traditions, is the ideal place to stop. And its thermal baths, renowned for the many benefits of their waters, set the well-being at the summit in a magnificent green setting.

Courchevel, star of the Alps

The regulars call it Courch' and they come and go summer and winter as connoisseurs, just like the Tour de France caravan which is visiting the Savoyard resort for the 4th time. Welcome to the pinnacle of top-of-the-range skiing in the Alps, at the heart of the Three Valleys ski area. Courchevel tops the list not only for the size of its ski area (Méribel and Val Thorens are its famous neighbours) but also for its range of hotels (no fewer than 5 mountain palaces , from the Apogée to the Cheval Blanc, not forgetting the K2 Palace, Airelles and the Hôtel Barrière Les Neiges) and restaurants. So, with its 6 hamlets and the surrounding area, the resort has a lot to offer. Take a selfie at the top of La Saulire, take a stroll down to Lac de la Rosière, cycle down the Bike Park, spend the night in the Lacs Merlet refuge or hike through the heart of the Vallée des Avals... You're going to love it!

Full steam ahead in the Vosges

Between the Lorraine plateau and the Alsace plain, the Vosges massif lives up to its reputation: a perfect blend of nature, wide open spaces, traditions and local produce, crafts and fine cheeses. Between the Grand Ballon d'Alsace and the Petit Ballon, via the famous Col de la Schlucht, the Tour de France 2023 will be taking a break from the normality of the mountains, with a new finish on the slopes of the Markstein, in the welcoming family resort of Marlstein Fellering. In the heart of the Ballons des Vosges Regional Nature Park , you can enjoy bucolic hikes, tobogganing in the mountain pastures, paragliding with a view, and mountain biking (or mountain bikes) in a landscape of absolute serenity. And for those with a sweet tooth, July is the peak of blueberry season (and the season for tarts in the farm inns).

And (finally) Paris.... and the Olympics!

Will the riders be in Olympic form for the triumphant finish on the Champs-Elysées on 23 July 2023? Just one year ahead of the 2024 Olympics in Paris , the route will certainly provide a magnificent prologue to the sporting event. Starting in Saint-Quentin en Yvelines, all the future Olympic venues in the Yvelines département will be on the peloton's final route. A gigantic loop will join the Colline d'Elancourt (where the mountain bike events will take place), the Golf National in Guyancourt and the Château de Versailles , which will host the equestrian events and part of the modern pentathlon competitions. A prestigious line-up of finishers for a Tour de France 2023 that's sure to be at the top of its game!

Find out more:

More information on the route of the Tour de France 2023 and nearby tourist attractions

5 minutes to find out all about the Tour de France 9 mountain skills to discover

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The magazine of the destination unravels an unexpected France that revisits tradition and cultivates creativity. A France far beyond what you can imagine…

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Tour de France 2023: Jai Hindley remains third overall as Jasper Philipsen sprints to fourth stage victory

Sport Tour de France 2023: Jai Hindley remains third overall as Jasper Philipsen sprints to fourth stage victory

Jasper Philipsen is in a class of his own when it comes to sprinting at the Tour de France.

Key points:

• Jasper Philipsen joined Mark Cavendish as the only active riders to have won four stages in one Tour de France
• Australia's Jai Hindley remains in third overall, with Jonas Vingegaard 2:40 ahead in the yellow jersey
• Friday night (AEST) is expected to see the battle for the yellow jersey resume, with a mammoth climb at the end

He is so strong that even when the teammate in charge of setting him up is not there, he still wins in the end.

The Belgian sprinter posted his fourth stage win at this year's Tour de France overnight, taking his career tally to six.

"It's been an incredible Tour so far," Philipsen said after outclassing the field.

"I can't realise how good it is all going, so I'm super proud and really happy with my shape. And also, to get through the final without problems is also a big challenge, and we managed to do it four times, so I'm super happy."

There were no major changes in the general classification: Jonas Vingegaard kept his 17-second lead over two-time champion Tadej Pogacar.

Jai Hindley remained in third place, 2 minutes and 40 seconds off the pace.

Philipsen, who rides for Alpecin–Deceuninck, had been perfectly guided by his leadout man Mathieu van der Poel in his three previous stage wins. Left on his own this time, he perfectly timed his move and once again proved strongest in the frenetic last kilometre of the 180km stage 11 from Clermont-Ferrand to Moulins in central France.

Philipsen has lost just one of the five mass sprints that took place at this year's Tour when Mads Pedersen won Stage 8.

With van der Poel not taking part in last night's sprint, Philipsen navigated his way through traffic at an average speed of 65.6kph in the last kilometre to join Mark Cavendish as the only active rider with at least four stage wins in a single Tour edition. Cavendish crashed out of the race last week.

"I can also win without (van der Poel), but of course, he makes it more easy," Philipsen said.

After Alexander Kristoff launched the sprint, Dylan Groenewegen countered with Philipsen on his wheel. The Belgian's power was too much to handle for Groenewegen, who had to be content with a runner-up finish. Phil Bauhaus completed the stage podium.

"I had to find my wheel a little bit, and it's also finding the space, and it's hectic and dangerous for crashing, but I'm happy I could find a good wheel — Groenewegen — in the end, he opened up early, and I could go over," Philipsen said.

Following a day of furious racing in hot weather that took a toll on the peloton, Andrey Amador moved to the front immediately after the start of the stage but quickly noticed there were not a lot of riders interested in jumping into a break.

Amador for a while rode only a few meters ahead of the bunch before Matis Louvel and Daniel Oss joined his effort as they broke away without facing resistance from the peloton.

With only three riders in the lead group, the breakaway was doomed to failure and the sprinters' team did not react, well aware that they would catch the trio further down the road.

The main bunch was happy to sit back for a while, riding at an easy pace on long stretches of flat roads bordered by sunflowers and fields.

But amid crosswinds that made the teams of contenders nervous about possible splits, the chase started quite early, with the three-man lead dropping to just 30 seconds with some 75km left.

Louvel was the first to sit up, before Amador gave up too. Oss kept fighting alone at the front a bit longer and managed to regain some time.

A heavy downpour with 30km left didn't slow the peloton, which swallowed up Amador some 14km from the finish.

Tonight's 169km Stage 12 from Roanne to Belleville-en-Beaujolais will take riders on a hilly route that could favour a breakaway. The battle for the yellow jersey is expected to resume on the next stage, with the ascent of the Grand Colombier, a mammoth climb concluding the stage.

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Meeus wins thrilling Champs-Élysées finish as Vingegaard wins Tour de France

It was a surprise winner of the 2023 tour de france final stage in jordi meeus, but a very expected result as jonas vingegaard wrapped up the overall victory of the race..

Jordi Meeus wins Stage 21 of the 2023 Tour de France.

WATCH via SBS On Demand

Stage 21 - Full Replay - Tour de France 2023

Stage 21 - Daily Highlights - Tour de France 2023

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