2023 Tour de France: Five pivotal stages

The 2023 Tour de France sets off Saturday from the Basque city of Bilbao, opening a 21-day itinerary laced with dramatic scenery and daily challenges designed to provoke sporting drama.

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AFP Sport takes a look at five of the most eye-catching stages along the 3 404km route where the main narrative will be Tadej Pogacar's quest to take the champion's yellow jersey back from Jonas Vingegaard.

Stage 1:  The Spanish Basque country

Opening the three-day excursion is a cracking circuit around Bilbao. Running through narrow, wooded hills it will deliver the first yellow jersey of a mountainous 110th edition of the world's greatest bike race. The hilly stage 1 route passes tourist hotspots such as Frank Gehry's Guggenheim museum and offers an invitation to attack-minded mavericks such as Dutch phenomenon Mathieu van der Poel. The passionate Basque fans will play their role in the opening act, with stage 2 also loaded with televisual landscapes encouraging possible thrills and spills and ending with a downhill dash to San Sebastian's scenic horseshoe bay.

Stage 9:  The volcano

Exposed, stark and brutally steep, the 13km ascent of the world heritage site volcano Puy de Dome, where Fausto Coppi and Luis Ocana once secured epic victories, provides the peloton a backdrop fit for heroes. Eye candy for the casual observers across the globe on stage 9 will also be cheered on by massive holiday weekend crowds for a first ascent of this volcano since 1988. The riders will race its final super-steep 4km in splendid isolation with even team cars banned. Champion Vingegaard and his key rival Pogacar may lay down a marker here. Some of the leading candidates will