Cycling in Yorkshire
Cycling in Yorkshire
Stage 8 of the Tour de France 2023 is a 200.7km hilly stage from Libourne to Limoges.
The route follows the river Dronne upstream for much of the stage, passing through small villages and towns. The hills come in the second half of the stage, in the Parc Naturel Régional Périgord-Limousin.
Christian Prudhomme says Stage 8 will probably end in a sprint contested by the sprinters-who-can-climb. That could be because of the two Cat. 4 climbs in the last 16km, or it could be due to the uphill finish in Limoges.
In 2016, pure sprinter Marcel Kittel won on an uphill drag in Limoges. The 2023 finish on Avenue des Bénédictins is significantly steeper.
These are video highlights of Stage 8 Tour de France 2023.
This is the Stage 8 TDF 2023 Blog.
Race Details | Poll | Map & Profile | Timings | Videos | Food & Drink | Route Notes | Favourites
| Date | Saturday 8th July 2023 |
|---|---|
| Stage classification | Hilly |
| Distance | 200.7km |
| Intermediate sprint | Tocane-Saint-Apre |
| Climbs | Côte de Champs-Romain (Cat. 3) Côte de Masmont (Cat. 4) Côte de Condat-sur-Vienne (Cat. 4) |
This is a map of the route of Stage 8, Tour de France 2023.
This is a zoom-able map of the route of Stage 8 of the 2023 Tour de France.
This is the profile of Stage 8 Tour de France 2023.
| Caravan | Fast Schedule | Slow Schedule | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start Time (départ fictif) | 1030 |
1230 |
1230 |
| Start Time (départ réel) | 1045 |
1245 |
1245 |
| Intermediate Sprint Tocane-Saint-Apre | 1238 |
1428 |
1438 |
| Côte de Champs-Romain Climb | 1351 |
1535 |
1551 |
| Finish Line (200.7km) | 1532 |
1707 |
1732 |
This is a video overview of Stage 8 Tour de France 2023.
Stage 4 of the Tour de France 2016 was from Saumur to Limoges. The finish then was an uphill drag away from the river. There was a bunch sprint, with Marcel Kittel just beating Bryan Coquard. (In 2023, the uphill finish away from the river is steeper).
This France 3 film shows their Tour de France commentator and director doing a reconnaissance of Stage 8 in advance of the race.
They identify a château that will be shown on TV and choose the locations of fixed cameras near the finish line.
Stage 8 starts in Libourne, a stone's throw from Lussac and Saint-Emilion, which are big names in wine-making circles.
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Limoges is well-known for Limousin steak.
Clafoutis is a Limousin speciality dessert. It's a type of flan with black cherries.
Stage 8 starts in Libourne (départ fictif).
Libourne is a town of 25,000 people at the confluence of the Isle and Dordogne rivers.
It was founded as a ville bastide called Leybournia by Roger de Leybourne, who was an English Seneschal of Gascony under the authority of King Edward I of England. Roger de Leybourne was from Leybourne in Kent.
It is near Saint-Emilion and Pomerol, and is the wine-making capital of the northern Gironde.
Libourne is looking forward to welcoming the Tour de France in 2023 and organising a free festival for people of all ages.
The Tour was last in Libourne on Stage 20 of the 2021 edition. It was an individual time trial from Libourne to Saint-Emilion won by Wout van Aert.
The neutralised section sets off along Rue Thiers, around Place Abel Surchamp, along Rue Victor Hugo, and along the Esplanade du 8 Mai 1945 by the river Isle.
It continues on Avenue du Maréchal Foch (the most popular street name in France, almost certainly), then on the D910 Impasse de Bonalgue.
The riders then head north east out of Libourne on the Avenue de l'Europe Jean Monnet.
Who were the people these streets are named after? Adolphe Thiers was President of France after the Franco-Prussian War, from 1871. Abel Surchamp was Mayor of Libourne in the late 1800s. Maréchal Ferdinand Foch was a French military commander in World War I. Jean Monnet was a French civil servant and one of the founding fathers of the European Union.
The départ réel, or km 0 where the racing starts, is on the D1089 near the wine-making area of Pomerol. Merlot is the dominant grape, and Wine Searcher describes Pomerol as 'unclassified but highly prized'.
The race passes the Aérodrome de Libourne-Les Artigues de Lussac. It continues in the Dronne valley, the riders pedalling via Abzac, Coutras and Les Eglisottes-et-Chalaures to La Roche-Chalais.
Next on the route is Saint-Aulaye-Puymangou, followed by Ribérac.
Ribérac 'lacks significant individual attractions but is a pleasant town in an attractive setting in the rolling countryside of the northern Dordogne region'. It has a big market on Fridays.
From Ribérac the route is east, still following the Dronne river upstream, to Saint-Méard-de-Drône.
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The next significant town on the river is Tocane-Saint-Apre. The intermediate sprint takes place at Tocane-Saint-Apre.
The riders continue on the Route des Rochers to Lisle and the Route Pierre de Bourdeille to Bourdeilles.
Pierre de Bourdeille was a soldier from Bourdeille. He accompanied Mary Queen of Scots back to Scotland after her first husband François II King of France had died.
He wrote Memoirs which were the basis for a 1990 film called Dames Galantes.
Next the riders reach Brantôme-en-Périgord, known as the Venice of the Périgord. It's main landmark is the Abbaye de Brantôme, pictured below.
Originally twelve caves formed part of the abbey, and they can be visited today. The abbey's bell tower is said to be the oldest in France.
The peloton continues to Champagnac-de-Belair and Saint-Pardoux-la-Rivière.
The race leaves the Dordogne département and crosses into the Haute Vienne. Soon after Saint-Pardoux-la-Rivière the road tilts upwards. This is the climb of the Côte de Champs-Romain.
The statistics for this climb are:
Still shadowing the course of the Dronne, Stage 8 passes through Dournazac and Buissière-Galant, then continues north to Les Cars.
After that, it's east towards Nexon.
Nexon is at the 175.6km mark. The next climb is at 184.7km, the Côte de Masmont.
The Côte de Masmont is:
The race continues towards the Vienne river. The final climb is the Côte de Condat-sur-Vienne.
The Côte de Condat-sur-Vienne is:
I assume it's these two late climbs that the organisers believe may dislodge the pure sprinters, and enable a selection to be made.
From the top of the Condat-sur-Vienne climb there are 9.3km left, following the Vienne river into Limoges.
Destination Limoges has a map of the finish.
The riders are on the wide N21/N520 Route de Périgeux next to the river. They continue on the same road in Limoges, where it is called Avenue Baudin then Quai Salvador Allende then Quai Saint-Martial.
They pass the Pont Neuf and the Jardin Botanique de l'Evêché on Quai Louis Goujaud, and go further along the river on Rue du Port du Naveix.
Then it's left, uphill on Avenue Jean Gagnant/Avenue des Bénédictins, with the finish at Place Jourdan.
Limoges is about half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and Clermont-Ferrand, in the foothills of the Massif Central. It stands on the river Vienne.
It was founded in 10BC as Augustoritum, meaning 'the ford of Augustus', and became an important Gallo-Roman city. There was an amphitheatre, a theatre, a forum, and baths.
The name Limoges is derived from the Gaulish tribe which lived here, the Lemovices.
Limoges was evangelised around 250AD by Saint Martial. The Abbey Saint-Martial was founded in the 800s.
During the Middle Ages, the Abbey Saint-Martial had an important cultural influence in Limoges, and the Dukes of Aquitaine were crowned there. The Abbey was destroyed during the French Revolution.
From the 1100s, Limoges made and exported enamels, including enamel on copper.
In the 1760s a deposit of kaolin was discovered nearby. Kaolin is needed to make porcelain, and this enabled the development of a porcelain industry.
Limoges Boxes, hinged trinket boxes made out of porcelain, were a speciality; they are collected worldwide.
Another industry in Limoges is the production of oak barrels used to store cognac and Bordeaux.
Limoges is sometimes called 'the Rome of socialism' because it elects left-wing politicians and because it has a history of industrial activism.
For example, there were strikes in local shoe and porcelain factories in 1905, and they led to the formation of the first union in France, the CGT.
Limoges is twinned with Charlotte, North Carolina, USA.
Stage 8 of the Tour de France 2023 finishes with an uphill sprint away from the river Vienne on Avenue des Bénédictins. It may be that the late Category 4 climbs will already have dislodged some pure sprinters, but anyway the uphill sprint may not suit them.
The top tier of favourites includes Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert, Julian Alaphilippe and Biniam Girmay.
Perhaps slightly lesser favourites are Tom Pidcock, Kasper Asgreen and Fred Wright.
Finally, are there some sprinters-who-can-climb who could in contention? A few years ago, you would have said that Stage 8 had Peter Sagan written all over it.
Now it could be one for Christophe Laporte, Bryan Coquard, Magnus Cort, Caleb Ewan, Mads Pedersen, Simon Clarke or Alexander Kristoff.
Who do you think will win Stage 8?
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