Tour de France 2023 Stage 1: How to watch, TV and live stream details, route profile, on-air time

The wait is over! The 2023 Tour de France kicks off on Saturday and the roads of Bilbao look set to serve up a treat on Stage 1. There’s no prologue or rudimentary bunch sprint for the first day of this Tour. Instead, a hilly opener to and from Bilbao features 3,300m of vertical gain and includes the spiky Pike Bidea climb 10km from the finish, with an average gradient of 10% over 2km.

Along with the preceding Vivero climb, these two tests often spice up the finale of the Circuito de Getxo race which, last year, was won by Juan Ayuso and, the year before, by Giacomo Nizzolo. Ad If Nizzolo’s win shows that not all sprinters will be ejected by the difficulty of the climbs, Ayuso’s suggests that we won’t see a normal fast finish to decide the race’s first yellow jersey. Indeed, with Stage 2 also a hilly affair to San Sebastian, we are not likely to see a bunch sprint until the race enters France and finishes at Bayonne on day three.

Tour de FranceStage 1 profile and route map — Bilbao to Bilbao2 HOURS AGO Is this a day for Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal-QuickStep), perhaps? If you're in the market for some pre-race reading, our very own Felix Lowe has got you covered. Head here for his bumper team guide, over this way for his yellow jersey guide and ratings (i.e. Jonas Vingegaard v Tadej Pogacar), or in this direction for his guide to the key stages.

Excited? Here's how you can follow the opening stage in Spain. How can I watch the 2023 Tour de France on TV and live stream? Every stage of the 2023 Tour de France will be broadcast in full on Eurosport 1, while you can watch ad-free on discovery+ and eurosport.com. Orla Chennaoui will again front our pre- and post-race show The Breakaway, with Robbie McEwen, Adam Blythe and Dan