Corsica hosted the first three stages of the 2013 Tour de France.
The 100th Tour began on 29 June 2013 in Porto-Vecchio, on Corsica’s southeastern coast. Stage 1 crossed the island to Bastia, stage 2 ran from Bastia to Ajaccio, and stage 3 connected Ajaccio with Calvi. After those three stages, the race moved to mainland France with a team time trial around Nice.
This was a landmark for the race: the Tour visited Corsica for the first time in its history. Organisers used the island’s debut to give the centenary edition a distinctive Grand Départ, combining coastal roads, rolling terrain, and short climbs rather than beginning with a traditional mainland prologue.
The opening stages also produced several memorable moments. Marcel Kittel won the first stage and took the yellow jersey, Jan Bakelants won stage 2 and became the overall leader, and Simon Gerrans won stage 3 in Calvi. The island is sometimes confused with Sardinia or Sicily, but both are separate Mediterranean islands and neither hosted those opening stages.