It will be just the second time Spain has hosted the start of the event, the first coming in 1992 in San Sebastián where Miguel Indurain took the yellow jersey, and that same city will be the finale of the second stage in 2023.
Race director Christian Prudhomme was delighted with the return to the region, revealing the community has long wished to host the race since the last time over 20 years ago.
"A Grand Départ became a grand wish," Prudhomme said in a statement on the Tour's website."Ever since the Tour de France hit the road in San Sebastián in summer 1992, the authorities and elected representatives of the Basque Country have longed to host the Grande Boucle again.
"This burning desire, combined with what the region brings to the table, could not be ignored, and this fervent courtship deserved to get a new taste of the three days of the Grand Départ after such a long wait.
"We are therefore thrilled to return to these hospitable lands, which have continued to dispatch passionate orange armies to the Pyrenees and far beyond, flying the ikurrina on the roadsides to boost the morale of their riders.
"Halfway between the sky and the sea, Biscay, Álava and Gipuzkoa, the three provinces that make up the autonomous community, are fertile ground for spectacular cycling. I have no doubt that the leaders and punchers, clashing on every single climb, buoyed by the enthusiasm of the crowds, will put on quite a show. A Grand Départ for a grand wish."
Stage 1 kicks off from Bilbao, the Basque region's largest city with a rich cycling history having featured in 35 editions of La Vuelta a Espana. A 185 kilometre loop around the city will require significant energy output from the eventual winner who pulls on the leaders jersey on a finish featuring a 5 per cent gradient climb.
The peloton will then set off from the capital of the province of Álava, Vitoria-Gasteiz for the 210 kilometre Stage 2 where regional native José Nazabal became the only Basque rider to win a stage of the Tour on his home roads in 1977. The stage is set to culminate on the Pyrenees in a battle on the Monte Jaizquíbel, a climb with an average gradient of 5.6% and maximum of 8.5% before the finish in the city of Gipuzkoa.
The race's stay in Spain will conclude on Stage 3 as the pack set off from the inland town of Amorebieta-Etxano before travelling along the coastline with four climbs featured on the route before entering France. Stage 3's total distance and finish is so far unconfirmed.
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Profile of Stage 1 of the 2023 Tour de France in Bilbao, Spain. Source: ASO
Profile of Stage 2 of the 2023 Tour de France from Vitoria-Gastiez, Spain. Source: ASO
Profile of Stage 3 of the 2023 Tour de France from Amorebieta-Etxano, Spain. Source: ASO
