The 2023 Tour de France will kick off with a series of tough, hilly stages, unveiled by race director Christian Prudhomme in Vitoria, Spain, on Wednesday.

The Tour will start in the Basque Country for the second time in its history, 31 years after the 1992 race began with a prologue in San Sebastian.

The start in Bilbao had already been announced, but on Wednesday Prudhomme detailed a 185-kilometre opening-day circuit beginning and ending in the city.

The stage, described as "very demanding" by designers, will include several short, steep climbs, including the 2km Pike Bidea, 10 kilometres from the finish.

The next day, the peloton will start in Vitoria, the regional capital, and ride 210km across the mountainous Basque Country to San Sebastian.

It will cross the Jaizkibel Pass which is part of the route of the San Sebastian one-day classic.

On July 3, the Tour will head to France from Amorebieta to an undisclosed destination. The organisers did say that the race would cross into France at Irun.

Prudhomme also wished Egan Bernal a speedy recovery after the Colombian 2019 Tour winner underwent emergency surgery following a collision with a bus while training outside Bogota on Monday.