This year, L'Etape Championship athletes proved that they represent strong challengers for L'Etape du Tour de France. On July, 9th, Martina SLABIKOVA, after making her mark on L'Etape Czech Republic by Tour de France, struck again on L'Etape du Tour de France. She finished the race in 05:19:39 at the top of Joux-Plane, more than 12 minutes ahead of the second woman. Martina is, as we say in France, a Swiss Army knife. She is a three-time Olympic champion and has won the world title on many occasions in her discipline of ice skating.
It was an incredible experience for me and I'm looking forward to experiencing the race again. I thought L'Etape would be like any other race. But I was wrong. The atmosphere was completely different.
Martina SABLIKOVA, L'Etape Championship 2023 winner
For the men Alex DESTRIBOIS-COUDROY finished L'Etape du Tour de France in 04:38:19, reaching the 6th overall position. He qualified for L'Etape Championship through his 2022 performances in Thailand, with a victory on L'Etape Thailand and a 2nd position on L'Etape Phitsanulok. These results clearly highlight the level that cyclists can have in the 24 countries represented on the world map of L'Etape by Tour de France.
Our next common goal is to see both the Women's and Men's winners of L'Etape du Tour de France.
As a reminder, L'Etape Championship rewards the Top 3 Men and Women from each L’Etape by Tour de France events. Last year, we had around twenty riders on the start line of L'Etape du Tour de France 2023. This year, there were around fifty. They enjoyed an exceptional programme, with a warm-up ride of around forty kilometres on the Col de Salève, as well as the presentation of a special jersey produced in collaboration with Santini on the Saturday, with the discovery of the well-known blueberry tart at the top after just over 900 metres of ascent. Following this outing, they had the opportunity to collect their gold race numbers, which set them apart from all the other participants. The ceremony and presentation took place on the main stage of the Village de L'Etape du Tour de France.
