The organizers of the Tour de France await the decision of the authorities on the holding (April 11) or the postponement of Paris-Roubaix.
And project themselves.
With the announcement of the great start of the 2023 Tour de France in Bilbao.
The press conference to announce the event took place this Friday in the presence of the authorities at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao "one of the most prestigious in the world which is up to the expectations and envy of the Basque country to host the Tour de France ”, appreciates Christian Prudhomme who goes behind the scenes of this great start of the Tour 2023.
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Bilbao, land of the Tour de France 2023
Why Bilbao?
It really is the Basque Country, the province of Biscay.
The Basque Country is a land of cycling with the possibility of finding very interesting terrain for competition with very steep slopes, with the assurance of having absolutely magnificent landscapes with the coast and inland and with a will reiterated to welcome the Tour since the big departure from San Sebastián in 1992. Since then, they have never stopped knocking on the door.
With Jean-Marie Leblanc, then with me.
I came across letters applying for the big start in 2000. In 2006, they were dreaming of a big start in 2013. Whether by mail or when I came to Bilbao a few years ago with the Vuelta and Javier Guillen (director of the Tour of Spain), our links with the Tour of Spain are important and have played a role.
La Vuelta returned to the Basque country in 2011 after a 33-year absence.
We saw each other, they came, a delegation from the Basque country came to Paris with representatives of the Basque government, the mayor of Bilbao, the president of the province of Biscay, each time with the same message: "We want it. Tour, we want the Tour, we want the Tour ”.
What does Bilbao offer?
The course will be exceptional.
We're going to want to show the best of the Basque Country.
We have the ground to do exactly what we want in terms of competition.
With an audience that is one of the best in the world with the Belgian audience and that of Yorkshire.
I also see a lot of points in common with Yorkshire (the scene of the great start of the 2014 Tour) with very steep slopes, the sea and incredible spectators on the ground.
The public of the Pyrenees on the Tour a few years ago, this orange tide, I remember the victory of Roberto Laiseka in 2001 (in Luz-Ardiden), at the time I was commenting.
This love of cycling is so phenomenal.
This is what we are looking for.
Will Bilbao be a first on the Tour map?
Yes, like Copenhagen (part of the great departure of the Tour 2022).
The idea is to make the Tour de France shine as much as possible.
The three determining elements are the political will, to go where there is a strong will to welcome us.
The routes that can be made, with a terrain suitable for tracing exciting routes, the beauty of the landscapes, the sea and the coast as during the great departure from Brittany (next June) and Brest, we will very often see the sea And finally, popular enthusiasm.
What will this great departure look like?
It will be July 1, 2023, 120 years to the day after the creation of the Tour.
Which is also a symbol, even if it is chance.
The 1st stage will be Bilbao-Bilbao, the 2nd stage not yet determined in the Basque country, before a 3rd stage bound for France.
It will be a ground for punchers.
Whether we will do two stages completely for punchers or one for punchers and one for sprinters, we don't know yet.
We will study the field.
The Tour is an opportunity to show the best of its region, its country, its department, its city.
We're really going to use this.
How many major departures applications did you have?
We had a lot of them.
We have applications that go until 2026. We have applications from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France of course, Italy.
It comes from all sides, there is no need to worry about it.
What are the countries or cities that make you dream of a big departure?
There is one country in which we have never organized a big departure, it is Italy.
With its campionissimi, the myth of cycling, it is a little incongruous.
In cycling countries, we have left the Netherlands, Belgium and the United Kingdom several times.
Popular success, we will have it in the Basque country, it is very clear.
When the Tour de France leaves France for a big start, it's anything but anti-France.
It's the contrary.
It is to allow the Tour de France and France to shine even more.
If people are interested in the Tour de France, because they have a champion or because there is a big start, they will follow the big start, they will perhaps be more interested in the country.
Images of the Tour are broadcast in 190 countries around the world.
The major departures from France are important, the major departures from abroad are also important, they allow us to shine more.
Anyway, 4 / 5th of the Tour de France still takes place in France.
Is it easy to plan for a pandemic period?
Pandemic or not, that doesn't change much.
We don't have one less candidacy.
The difficulty is on the ground, on a daily basis.
How we organize the races.
For the rest, it changes absolutely nothing.
On the other hand, beyond three or four years, you cannot really project yourself, for a very simple reason, which is that there are elections.
And that depends on the outcome of the elections.
A few years ago, we reached an agreement with Jordi Hereu, the mayor of Barcelona, except that he was not re-elected.
There was no big departure from Barcelona.
Beyond four or five years, there is no real visibility.
We register the candidacies but we cannot decide.
Political life makes things change.
Less than 100 days before the big departure from Brest, are you, as for the 2020 Tour, on the same scenarios in terms of reception, gauges?
Progress in vaccination gives us hope for a more peaceful world.
We organized the Tour last year under very special conditions.
We are stuck on June 26 in Brest, that's for sure.
But under what conditions ?
This will depend on the evolution of the pandemic ...
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Bilbao, land of the 2023 Tour de France