A New Tour de France Event Is Coming to Las Vegas in 2023
Tour de France’s fondo-style L’Étape ride is adding a second U.S. destination to the calendar.
L’Étape Las Vegas by Tour de France will be held May 13-14, 2023.
Las Vegas has its own mini-Eiffel Tower, so it sort of makes sense that the city would be interested in hosting its version of the Tour de France. And in 2023, they’re doing just that: a two-day mini-Tour is coming to Sin City. Named L’Étape Las Vegas by Tour de France, the mass participation event is slated to take place next May.
There will be three route options for the two-day event: 75, 50, and 25-mile options, with additional kid and family rides happening throughout the weekend.
It’s the second event in the U.S. run by L’Étape by Tour de France: The other fondo-style event takes place in San Antonio in May. The events are designed to provide everyone with a “Tour de France-level experience.” Worldwide, there are about two dozen L’Étape events in Europe, South America, Asia, Africa, and Oceania.
“As an avid cyclist, this is so exciting to bring an internationally recognized brand, Tour de France, to our community,” Clark County Commissioner Justin Jones told Fox News.
It’s not a shock that Las Vegas would be ideal for hosting such an event. The city is no stranger to major cycling events: For years, it was the host city for Interbike, one of the biggest cycling industry trade shows in the world, and it was also home to the legendary CrossVegas cyclocross race. CrossVegas was the setting of the first cyclocross World Cup in the U.S., hosted in 2015, and has hosted legendary racers like Sven Nys and Sanne Cant. CrossVegas also hosted the more dubious cycling legend Lance Armstrong, who raced in 2008 and finished mid-pack.
Las Vegas is, in parts, incredibly bike-friendly with paved, protected bike paths, or wildly dangerous for riders, depending on where you are in the city. While the city itself is surprisingly psyched on cycling and has built up a great collection of bike paths and MTB trails just outside of the city, it’s also seen its share of tragedy. In December of 2020, five cyclists were killed by a drunk driver when his box truck slammed into a 20-person group ride. Since then, a memorial ride in December remembers the riders who were lost.
The L’Étape route will reportedly run from the Las Vegas Ballpark toward Red Rock Canyon. It’s being run in partnership with Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, Las Vegas Ballpark, Clark County and Southern Nevada Bicycling Coalition.
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