Two-time Tour de France winner Tadei Pogachar praised the route of the 2023 Tour de France.

Announced in Paris on October 26, the 2023 Tour will visit all five mountain regions of France and include 30 cols (climbs above grade 2), seven more than in 2022.

Pogachar, known for his ultra-aggressive racing style, noted that the two days in the Basque Country will be very hilly and challenging from the start. But he added that the finale, through the Alps and the Vosges, will also present significant challenges.

"The first week is already hard, and the third week is really, really hard; I can't wait for July," Pogachar said.

Pogachar, the winner in 2020 and 2021, suffered a painful loss to Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo Visma) in 2022. Even before the route was announced, Pogachar admitted that his main challenge would be to regain the Tour de France crown in 2023.

"I like the route very much. The first week will be tough in the Basque Country and it will be a hard race from the beginning," Pogachar said backstage after the presentation. [Especially the first and third week, there are a lot of climbs that I like. It's going to be fun. It's a long way off, but I'm sure it will be another great Tour and I'm looking forward to next July."

The Tour has made the first week especially tough, which Pogachar appreciates: "It's more interesting."

He declined to say whether he would relax his usual all-out attack style a bit, given that he paid a high price for his very ambitious attitude in the 2022 Alps. For now, it is too early to make any predictions about the 2023 strategy.

"Let's see how the other teams race," he suggested.

"Let's see where we are at. We want to keep racing like this and we always want to attack. But sometimes in the Tour de France you have to wait until the final. We'll see sooner or later."

One of the climbs that seems to have been prepared for Pogachar is the Puy de Dome climb that closes out the first week. Despite appearing relatively early on the Tour course, Pogachar said, "It will be a tough GC battle. It looks like a very nice climb, but it's my first time there."

Pogachar, who won the 2020 Tour de France in a three-week uphill time trial, was not disappointed that the 2023 race route would feature a similar test at a similar location.

"It looks very interesting; there will be a GC battle," he said.

As for whether he feels a little bit of revenge after the 2022 Tour loss, Pogachar admitted that he does, though he hesitated a bit, saying, "Yes."

"I'm very eager to win again and I'm going to do everything I can in the race to succeed. The course is a little different from previous years, but it will still be a tough Tour."