2023 Grand Depart Cycling

Welcome to Spain! We will be meeting in the lobby of our group hotel in the late afternoon. Our hotel is ideally located on the river and a ten minute walk to the famous Guggenheim museum. We will spend two nights in Bilboa….close to the busy energy of le Tour.

Your guides will help fit your bike and the group will take a short ride to check the fit of your bike and to help shake off the dust from traveling.

Tonight we’ll enjoy our welcome dinner in the hotel restaurant. In addition to meeting our fellow travel guests at dinner, we’ll go over the itinerary for our Grand Depart trip. Each guest will receive a jersey, water bottle, and a gift from Custom Getaways and from Tour de France. You will also receive a discount card for 30% off official le Tour merchandise.

After breakfast we will embark on a leisurely stroll to the Start Village of today’s stage. You will love the energy of the start of this year’s Tour de France. Bilboa makes its first appearance on the race map for le Tour and has also hosted the Tour of Spain (Vuelta a Espana) on 37 occasions. You will have VIP access to the Start Village with coffee, snacks, tour officials and merchandise tents. You will also be able to see the riders interviewed at the sign-in stage before they begin their three week journey through Spain and France.

Once the racers depart, we will grab a light lunch and walk back to the hotel. After a quick change, we will take a ride though the Bilbao area. The longer ride will be about 60 kilometers and the shorter ride about 45 kilometers. Only a few hundred meters of elevation gain today.

Dinner is not included tonight, so it is a perfect opportunity to explore Bilbao and find a cool place for local cuisine.

This morning we start with a ride headed north toward San Sebastian. This charming town, also known as the “Pearl of the Cantabrian coast”, is a favorite of tourists from all over the world. The longer ride will be about 50 kilometers.  We will ride on the official race course and ride across the finish line of today’s stage!

Once across the finish line, we’ll tour the official podium and have pictures taken individually and as a group.  Today’s stage viewing will be in the Izoard VIP venue. TV’s are located within the Izoard venue where we will watch the racers make the 8 kilometer ascent of the Jaizkibel before the race passes us on the way to the finish line. This venue has snacks, drinks, beer, champagne, TVs and private restrooms…a great way to see the race!

Our hotel is within walking distance from the finish area. After check-in and freshening up, we’ll enjoy another group dinner tonight.

This morning we will do another ride in Basque Country. The rides will be a little longer today at roughly 70 kms for the longer ride and 50 kms for the shorter ride.  Elevation gain will be a little more today at close to 1,000 meters.

Today’s stage begins in Amorebieta-Extano, Spain and finishes in Bayonne, France. Lucky for us, the race will pass through San Sebastian. We will find a place in town to view the race. Although most days we have VIP access, it is also fun to experience the race with the locals and feel their passion and energy.

You’ll be on your own tonight for dinner in San Sebastian. We recommend the fresh seafood!

After a hearty breakfast, we’ll say hasta luego to San Sebastian and set our sights on France as we transfer to the town of Lourdes in the French Pyrenees mountains. Lourdes is located in a valley with a beautiful river running through it.

After our transfer, we will eat a light lunch, then begin our ascent of the world famous Col du Tourmalet! This will be a shorter ride at about 40 kilometers and 1,500 meters of elevation gain. This climb has gorgeous views and will grant you bragging rights for the rest of your life.

The town of Lourdes has many restaurant choices and you’ll be on your own for dinner tonight.  We recommend the cassoulet, a local favorite.

Today’s ride and race viewing are unique. We’ll head towards the town of Laruns with a ride to the Relais Etape VIP venue. This ride will be about 55 kms with several hundred meters of elevation gain. We will ride on part of the official course, once again, on our way to the Relais Etape venue.

This venue is located along the course and serves an excellent 4-course meal with water, soft drinks, beer, wine and champagne. Another nice feature of this venue is that the caravan passes right in front and throws gifts to the crowds. After the caravan passes, you will be have a great view of the racers as they pass. Le Tour also provides gifts to all guests in the Relais Etape.

After returning to Lourdes, we will have our farewell dinner in Lourdes.

Your guides will drop you at the Lourdes train station in the morning or you have the option to book an extension with us to witness the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, Spain.

We hope to see you again soon!