Tour de Kyushu 2023

The first Tour de Kyushu 2023 is due to be held over four days from 6th to 9th October and will visit Fukuoka, Kumamoto and Oita Prefectures. The event is sanctioned by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and been created not just as a top-class sporting but also to build on the sporting legacy of the Rugby World Cup 2019, promote tourism, and symbolise Kyushu’s recovery from a series of natural disasters that have hit it in recent years.

An ideal way to showcase Kyushu’s lush natural beauty, the race will welcome 18 international teams. A 45km criterium in Kokura kicks off the tour and is followed by a 145km stage through Fukuoka and then a 120km stage in Kumamoto’s Aso region, which is on the border with Oita. On the fourth and final stage, the athletes compete in Oita Prefecture starting at Autopolis, the centre of motor sports in west Japan, and finishing in Hita, an atmospheric period town which was once the shogunate’s stronghold in the region. By the end of the race, all competitors will undoubtedly relish a long reviving soak in Hita’s onsen hot springs.