Stage 1 is a flat individual time trial in Copenhagen. Although featuring some sharp turns, the course suits specialist who can push a big gear.
At 199 kilometres, the 2nd stage is going to be a coastal ride between Roskilde and Nyborg. The first half of the race takes in three short climbs in quick succession – Côte d’Asnæs Indelukke, Côte d’Høve Stræde and Côte de Karup Strandbakke -, while the exposed and 18 kilometres Great Belt Bridge in the finale could have an impact when it’s windy. Yet, a sprint is the most likely outcome.
Same goes for stage 3. The 182 kilometres route travels from Vejle to Sønderborg. Slightly more undulating, but the highest point of the day says it all. Côte de Genner Strand peaks out at 57 metres – so yes, this one should be for fast finishers also.
The 4th stage starts in Dunkirk to finish in Calais before the 5th stage will be the Tour de France’s take on Paris-Roubaix.
Stage 6 sets off from Wallonia, Belgium, to finish in Longwy, possibly with a punchy finish climb up to the local Citadel.
A hard stage takes place on stage 7, when the riders travel from Tomblaine to La Planche des Belles Filles. It’s the sixth inclusion of the Vosges climb in the last ten editions – after finishes in 2012, 2014, 2017, 2019 and 2020. It will be the same finish as in 2019 (Dylan Teuns victory), so with an unpaved sector of 1 kilometre after the original climb. This way the ascent totals 7 kilometres at 8.7%.
Stage 8 goes from Dole to Lausanne before stage 9 on the second Sunday entails a race from Aigle to Châtel.
Week 2
The Alps will be on the menu in the second week. The first test is set to be a race from Morzine to Megève, while stage 11 take things up a notch with a finish at the Col du Granon, which is a 12 kilometres climb at 10% on a narrow road.
Stage 12 is this year’s Bastille Day race, which is a perfect opportunity for the French riders to whip their compatriots up into a frenzy of excitement. The stage traverses the Alps to finish in L’Alpe d’Huez. It has been four years since the resort town saw Geraint Thomas sprint to victory ahead of Tom Dumoulin. The famed finish climb with 21 hair pins is 13.8 kilometres long and rises at 8.1%.
A race from Bourg d’Oisans to Saint-Étienne is on the cards as stage 13, while stage 14 travels to the airport of Mende. The line will be located 1.5 kilometres after a 3 kilometres climb at 10.2%. Stephen Cummings outsmarted Thibaut Pinot and Romain Bardet at this finish in 2015, while Omar Fraile won from the breakaway in 2018.
The 15th stage is a transition stage from Rodez to Carcassonne in the foothills of the Pyrenees.
Week 3
Stage 16 leads to Foix before the pure bred mountain goats will have it their way for two consecutive days. Stage 17 takes in the Col d’Aspin, Hourquette d’Anzican and Col de Val-Louron-Azet before a summit finish in Peyragudes.
Stage 18 sets off from from Lourdes to finish in Hautacam after intermediate climbs up the Col d’Aubisque and Col de Spandelles. The climb to the Hautacam resort is 13.6 kilometres long and averages 7.8%, while the second half is much harder than the first.
Just like in the two recent editions, Le Tour serves an individual time trial on the penultimate day of action. The medieval village of Rocamadour in the Dordogne hosts the finish of the rolling test with a punchy finish.
Obviously, the 2022 Tour de France finishes at the Champs-Élysées in Paris. The 21st stage kicks off in Nanterre, a western suburb of Paris.
Tour de France 2022: route, profiles, more
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