Stage 1 - Saturday, July 1 - Bilbao to Bilbao - 182K
The Tour’s opening weekend is always an exciting event, and this year’s packs an even bigger punch than it usually does. Starting in Spain’s Basque region, both Stages 1 and 2 are packed with the short, steep climbs for which the area is famous–and the reason why April’s Tour of the Basque Country is considered one of the hardest short stage races on the calendar. Of the two, Stage 1 might be the most intense for the simple reason that the stage winner is guaranteed to pull-on the first maillot jaune of the Tour.
The stage starts and finishes in Bilbao, with the riders covering 182km of the region’s tight, technical roads. And we expect the fireworks to begin right away: the Category 3 Côte de Laukiz (2.2km at 6.9%), the first of the day’s five categorized climbs, arrives just 11.6km into the stage–so the racing will be fast right from the start as riders fight to join the first breakaway of the Tour in the hopes of scoring points in the King of the Mountains competition.
Once established, the break should stay away over the second climb of the day, the Category 2 Côte de San Juan de Gaztelugatxe (3.5km at 7.6%) and through the intermediate sprint in Gernika-Lumo.
But it shouldn’t get a huge lead, as teams with riders hoping to win the stage will want to reel any escapees back in before the finale, where the riders will face the Category 4 Col de Morga (3.9km at 4.1%), the Category 2 Côte de Vivero (4.2km at 7.3%), and the Category 3 Côte de Pike (2km at 10%) in quick succession.
The stage will be decided on the Côte de Pike, which is short but steep: the final kilometer averages almost 14%. And with 8, 5, and 2 bonus seconds available to the first three riders to the top, we’ll see an all-out uphill sprint to the summit.
It’s just 9.6km from the top of the climb to the finish line in Bilbao, with a fast, technical descent taking the riders down into the city. From the bottom of the climb there’s about 3km to the finish line, with a tight left-hander followed by two chicanes at about 1km-to-go. The road drifts uphill in the final kilometer to the line, where another 10-, 6-, and 4-second time bonuses await.
Don’t be surprised to see someone win alone, but at most a small group of the Tour’s best riders will emerge to settle the stage and determine who’s first to pull-on the yellow jersey.
We’ll be keeping an eye on the weather: it’s currently expected to be mostly cloudy with highs in the 70s, which is perfect weather for racing. But we’re keeping our fingers crossed that the rain expected on Thursday and Friday clears out by the start of the stage. These roads are tough enough when they’re dry; they’re nasty when wet.
Riders to Watch
The fight to win the stage will be fierce, with punchy, aggressive riders who excel in one-day classics expected to shine. France’s Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal-Quick Step), the Netherland’s Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Great Britain’s Simon Yates (Team Jayco AlUla) and Tom Pidcock (INEOS Grenadiers), and Denmark’s Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) are the top contenders. American Neilsen Powless (EF Education-EasyPost) is also one to watch: he won the Clásica San Sebastián in 2021, so he knows these roads well.
And of course, we could see the GC battle erupt right away, with Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) and Slovenia’s Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) both capable of winning the stage.
Vingegaard could be looking to take advantage of the fact that Pogačar heads to the Tour a bit behind in his preparation thanks to a broken wrist he sustained in a crash in late-April. And Pogačar will be eager to show Vingegaard that he’s right where he needs to be.
When to Watch
This is a stage that’s worth watching from start to finish. To do it, you’ll need to be up for the official start at 6:55 a.m. EDT. If that’s too early for you, tune-in around 10:15 a.m. EDT to watch the final three climbs and the finish in Bilbao. (The race should end by 11:30 a.m. EDT.) We can’t remember that last time an opening stage was so challenging, and you won't want to miss it.
Since getting hooked on pro cycling while watching Lance Armstrong win the 1993 U.S. Pro Championship in Philadelphia, longtime Bicycling contributor Whit Yost has raced on Belgian cobbles, helped build a European pro team, and piloted that team from Malaysia to Mont Ventoux as an assistant director sportif. These days, he lives with his wife and son in Pennsylvania, spending his days serving as an assistant middle school principal and his nights playing Dungeons & Dragons.
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Tour de France Stage 1 Preview: The Race Is On in Spain for the First Yellow Jersey - Bicycling
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