Bilbao to host 2023 Tour de France Grand Depart

Spain's Basque country will host the start of the Tour de France for the second time after organisers confirmed on Wednesday the city of Bilbao would stage the 2023 Grand Depart.

It will be only the second time the race starts in Spain, the other occasion being in San Sebastian in 1992 at the beginning of Miguel Indurain's reign in yellow.

The first three stages of the 2023 edition will be contested in the region with the first stage, a tough 185km route, starting and finishing in Bilbao.

The second stage runs from Vitoria-Gasteiz to San Sebastian along the roads of the San Sebastian Classic while the third stage will start in Amorebieta-Etxano.