Male Team 15 - 18 Jun
Route d'Occitanie
719 Kilometers 4 Stages
Live coverage from all four stages will be available via Eurosport and GCN, at 2pm CEST.
There will be 10-6-4″ at every finish and 3-2-1″ at the intermediate sprints.
The Movistar Team has -considering only its Telefónica-sponsored era- six GC victories in the event, with Kiryienka, Quintana (2x), Valverde (2x) and Antonio Pedrero’s 2021 success.
True to the route pattern they’ve respected since they changed their name to include the whole region they take place in, the Route d’Occitanie offer in its 2023 edition two clear sprint chances plus two spectacular mountain stages, with some well-known climbs while others -this has been a main feature of the race for many years- are completely new to pro racing.
Stage one will be one along the coast, with a resemblance of Bessèges or Provence, with a final circuit in Gruissan (Thursday 15th). The other bunch sprint, should the day’s three rated ascents allow so -watch out for Fontfroide (Cat-1) almost from the very start-, will be held in Graulhet (Friday 16th).
The decisive stages will happen in the weekend. On Saturday 17th, the bunch will take on Larrieu (Cat-2), Menté (Cat-1) and a finish up Nistos Cap Nestès (Cat-1), over 13km at almost 7% and quite demanding maximum slopes. Finally, on Sunday 18th, we will face the Col de la Core (Cat-1) and Latrape (Cat-2), the latter crested with 36km from the finish in Saint-Girons.