Tour de France 2023 stage 2 preview: Route map and profile of 209km from Vitoria-Gasteiz to San Sebastian
The 2023 Tour de France continues with another hilly day in the Basque Country as the peloton travels from Vitoria-Gasteiz to the picturesque city of San Sebastian, finishing on the beachfront.
This will be a taxing day for two reasons: firstly, it is the longest stage of this year’s Tour at 209km; and because the final hill – the Jaizkibel – is a draining 8.1km at an average gradient of 5.3%.
The Jaizkibel is a famous climb in these parts and often the decisive point of the Clasica de San Sebastian race. Riders in this year’s Tour to have won the Clasica include double world champion Julian Alaphilippe, America’s Neilson Powless, Ineos’s Michal Kwiatkowski and the man in the yellow jersey, Adam Yates.
Yates pulled off an impressive win on stage one with the help of – and eventually in battle with – his twin brother Simon. His victory was celebrated heartily by his UAE Emirates teammate Tadej Pogacar, who crossed the line third, and it means they have grabbed the early initiative in their fight with Jumbo-Visma’s reigning champion Jonas Vingegaard.
It is worth noting that there are bonus seconds to be won for the first riders over the top of the Jaizkibel, which will encourage Pogacar and Vingegaard to fight should they be at the front of the race. This would be another great spectacle and we would find out a little more about their respective conditions should their be a showdown here.
But perhaps more likely is that a breakaway gets ahead and stays ahead this time, throwing the stage win open to more of an outsider in the peloton.
Stage 2 route map and profile
Start time
The stage is set to begin at around 11.30am BST.
Prediction
If a breakaway is allowed to get clear then there are a whole raft of riders who could win this stage – someone like Mads Pedersen has a fast finish but still has the legs to get over the steep final climb. New British champion Fred Wright will have a crack at some stage, and this might be as good a day as any. But if the break is reeled in then Wout van Aert is a tempting pick; the Belgian has proved before that he can scale just about any mountain despite being better known for his sprint finishes.
