How to Watch the 2023 Tour de France—and Who Might Win
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The 2023 Tour de France begins on Saturday, July 1, 2023 in the Spanish Basque region, with a hilly 182K road race through the steep hills around Bilbao. So it’s time to start planning how you’re going to watch it.
Whether that means streaming from your phone, starting your morning with the previous day’s highlights, or inviting your friends over for a viewing party, the options for watching the Tour de France are plentiful.
For the Fanatics
In general, NBC offers the most accessible and affordable (and legal) options for American viewers to watch the Tour de France through its Peacock Premium streaming service for $4.99 a month. For ad-free coverage you’ll need a subscription to Peacock Premium Plus, which runs $9.99 a month. (Eligible Comcast Xfinity X1 and Flex customers and Cox Contour customers may already access Peacock Premium for free.)
You could cancel your subscription at the end of the Tour, but consider this: by subscribing to Peacock Premium or Peacock Premium Plus you’ll also have access to the full men’s and women’s Tours as well as other races covered by NBC and its partners, including the 2023 Vuelta a España and next year’s editions of Paris-Nice and Paris-Roubaix.
The Peacock app is available on Roku, Apple devices, Android and AndroidTV devices, Google platforms, Chromecast, Xbox devices, Playstation 4 and 4 Pro, VIZIO SmartCast TVs, and LG Smart TVs. You can also watch online via the Peacock website.
On TV
If you have a good cable package and prefer conventional viewing on your television, you’re in luck: NBC will offer the race to cable subscribers via the USA Network and CNBC. Live coverage often starts around 7 a.m. ET, so 9-to-5ers will likely need to record each stage and watch later. (Check the full schedule for details.)
No Cable? No Problem.
If you don’t have cable and want more than what’s offered on the NBC app, a subscription to FuboTV costs $70 per month. Add the $12 per month cycling package you’ll have full access to NBC’s coverage of the race. Fubo’s also great for those who love cycling year round, as FuboTV has a full-time cycling channel covering the major Tours, the Classics, some world championship events, and even BMX racing. (It’s also available in Canada.) If you’ve been looking for a streaming service that offers most if not all of the channels you enjoy watching, it’s a solid option.
Riders to Watch
Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma), the defending champion, should enter this year’s race as the top favorite. He’s spent much of the season at training camps with his teammates, but when he has raced, he’s done well, winning two of three stage races he entered and finishing third in the one that he didn’t. His squad is the strongest in the Tour and the course suits him. Assuming he makes it to the starting line in Bilbao without any unexpected mishaps (like crashes or illnesses), he’s the #1 contender.
Slovenia’s Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) who won back-to-back Tours in 2020 and 2021 and absolutely CRUSHED the first part of the season (he won the Ruta del Sol, Paris-Nice, the Tour of Flanders, the Amstel Gold Race, and Flèche Wallonne) would have been the top favorite had he not crashed and broken his wrist at Liège-Bastogne-Liège. The injury forced him off the bike for a while, interrupting his training for the Tour. But that might be a good thing: first because it means he’ll be peaking a bit later in the race; and second because he’ll be a bit more of a dark horse, which could play right into his hands. He has the added advantage of having beaten Vingegaard the only time they raced against one another so far this season: at Paris-Nice in March.
The INEOS Grenadiers will again come to the Tour led by Colombia’s Daniel Martinez, who’s so far failed to live up to the expectations the team had for him when they signed him away from EF Education a few years ago. He’ll be joined by his compatriot, Egan Bernal, the winner of the 2019 Tour de France (and 2021 Giro d’Italia) who’s slowly been working his way back from a crash that nearly took his life in February 2022.
Other contenders include Spain’s Enric Mas (Movistar), a three-time runner-up in the Tour of Spain who has fifth- and sixth-place Tour de France finishes on his resume; France’s David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ), who narrowly missed a spot on the final podium last year; and Ecuador’s Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), who has podium finishes in all three grand tours including a win at the 2019 Giro d’Italia.
Tour de France Stage Schedule
The 2023 Tour is 21 stages long and includes two rest days. Here’s a look at the day-to-day stage schedule:
Stage 1: July 1 - Hilly - Bilbao to Bilbao - 182K
Stage 2: July 2 - Hilly - Vitoria-Gasteiz to Saint-Sébastien - 209K
Stage 3: July 3 - Flat - Amborebieta-Etxano to Bayonne - 185K
Stage 4: July 4 - Flat - Dax to Nogaro - 182K
Stage 5: July 5 - Mountain - Pau to Laruns - 165K
Stage 6: July 6 - Mountain - Tarbes to Cauterets-Cambasque - 145K
Stage 7: July 7 - Flat - Mont-De-Marsan to Bordeaux - 170K
Stage 8: July 8 - Hilly - Libourne to Limoges - 201K
Stage 9: July 9 - Mountain - Saint-Léonard-De-Noblat to Puy de Dôme - 184K
July 10 - Rest Day
Stage 10: July 11 - Hilly - Vulcania to Issoire - 167K
Stage 11: July 12 - Flat - Clermont-Ferrand to Moulins - 180K
Stage 12: July 13 - Hilly - Roanne to Belleville-en-Beaujolais - 169K
Stage 13: July 14 - Mountain - Châtillon-Sur-Chalaronne to Grand Colombie - 138K
Stage 14: July 15 - Mountain - Annemasse to Morzine Les Portes Du Soleil - 152K
Stage 15: July 16 - Mountain - Les Gets Les Portes Du Soleil to Saint-Gervais Mont Blanc - 180K
July 17 - Rest Day
Stage 16: July 18 - Individual Time Trial - Passy to Combloux - 22K
Stage 17: July 19 - Mountain - Saint-Gervais Mont Blanc to Courchevel - 166K
Stage 18: July 20 - Hilly - Moûtiers to Bourg-En-Bresse - 186K
Stage 19: July 21 - Flat - Moirans-en-Montagne to Poligny - 173K
Stage 20: July 22 - Mountain - Belfort to Le Markstein Fellering - 133K
Stage 21: July 23 - Flat - Saint-Quentin-En-Yvelines to Paris Champs-Élysées - 115K
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