Published by Lyn on 18 April 2023
The official Tour de France program and race guide ALWAYS SELLS OUT. It has all the info you need to plan your Tour de France trip, including stage times and maps. It's also great for viewing at home. You can order the UK edition here.
The Official Tour de France race guide is published in the months leading up to the race. ASO, the Tour de France organiser, licenses the publication of the guide in each country each year. This is why the quality varies across countries.
The UK edition of the TDF race guide
In my view, the UK edition is consistently the best English-language edition. If you live in the UK, US, Canada, Australia or anywhere else and you are following the Tour de France in person, then this is the edition you want to get your hands on. It is more comprehensive than the English editions released in the US and Australia.
You need to have the UK edition sent to a UK address. It cannot be delivered outside the UK due to ASO's licensing agreements.
There are usually two UK editions.
1) The Standard Edition of the Official Tour de France 2023 Race Guide (UK/English). You can order it here for £10.99.
2) The Premium Edition of the Official Tour de France 2023 Race Guide (UK/English). You can order it here for £17.99.
Readers outside the UK
As mentioned above, some of the versions below (published by local publishers on contract) are not as comprehensive as the UK English-language version. The UK edition is consistently more comprehensive than other editions and carries more maps, more route info, full stage times and more general race information. If you are outside the UK and it's possible to have a friend in the UK send you a copy, then that would be my recommendation if you are travelling to the TDF.
* The Australian and New Zealand edition can be ordered here for $18.95.
* For the US – I have no information on their being a US Edition this year.
* The original French-language version is released in France and is sold at newsagents and tabacs (corner stores). It is not as comprehensive as the UK edition.
The UK edition from the official publisher can only be sent to a UK address. There are two ways around this that readers have reported:
1) Some readers outside the UK set up temporary UK postboxes through this website. They have the guide shipped there and forwarded to their US (or other overseas) address.
2) Some readers have reported success with this website. It is not the official publisher and I cannot offer any reassurance regarding their reliability.
All other links on this page are to the official accredited UK publisher.
What's usually included in the UK English-language edition?
I cannot speak for the 2023 US and Australian versions – this info relates to the UK English edition.
We find the UK version of the guide invaluable when planning our trips to watch the Tour de France. It's got maps of every stage, plus full team and stage profiles, as well as stage start and end times (they are particularly useful to have in one place both when planning and on the day).
There is a 'premium' edition as well as a 'standard' edition that includes stuff like:
Standard UK English-language edition
The 2023 standard edition has:
- 204-page program/magazine with individual Tour de France stage maps + stage start/end times
- Tour de France Femmes info
- A2 double-sided Tour de France and Tour de Femmes wallchart
- Special Basque Legends magazine (the Tour this year starts in the Basque Country)
- Exclusive beer mats showcasing mountain passes on this year's route + historic moments from previous years
Premium UK English-language edition
- 204-page program/magazine with individual Tour de France stage maps + stage start/end times
- Tour de France Femmes info
- A2 double-sided Tour de France and Tour de Femmes wallchart
- Special Basque Legends magazine (the Tour this year starts in the Basque Country)
- Exclusive beer mats showcasing mountain passes on this year's route + historic moments from previous years
- Souvenir TDF socks
(Image from a previous year).
Why get it?
We wouldn't go to watch more than one Tour de France stage without it. All the basic info is eventually replicated on the official TDF website, but having it in hard copy is handy (and easier/cheaper) if you're using phone data to access the web, if you're in a dodgy wifi zone or if your phone battery dies (yes, that was me in 2021).
We get dozens of emails every day asking for information about following the Tour de France – I always tell them to get a copy of the official race guide to make planning easier.
This guide has lots of info that can help you plan your trip. While it is published too early to include all road closure information (see this page for that), having all the stage information in one place is really handy. It basically replicates the official TDF website but in a much more easily digestible format and in much more detail.
Each stage is profiled with a map that helps you put key cols and stage towns into perspective, and to see clearly where access roads may be. The pullout map then gives a full overview of how the stages interact.
Those UK links again ...
1) The Standard Edition of the Official Tour de France 2023 Race Guide (UK/English). Order it here for £10.99.
2) The Premium Edition of the Official Tour de France 2023 Race Guide (UK/English). Order it here for £17.99.
This guide SELLS OUT EVERY YEAR, often weeks before the Tour. If you are thinking of watching the Tour de France in person, you should order a copy as soon as it's released.
- Accommodation on the Tour de France route here
- Road closure info here
- Full 2023 Tour de France route here
