They’re all out to catch Tadej Pogacar, winner of the last two events: the Tour de France 2022 is nearly here!
The race known as the “Grande Boucle” (“the Big Loop”), because the route often takes this shape, will also host other leading names in world cycling: Roglic, Quintana, Alaphilippe, Carapaz, to name just a few.
The 109th edition, scheduled from 1 to 24 July 2022, will have a number of innovations and many curiosities: here we’ve selected three.
- Four Nations
The Tour de France 2022 will pass through four different European nations. The first three stages will be run outside France: in Denmark to be precise, starting in the capital Copenhagen and finishing at the Baltic Sea. It isn’t the first time this has happened: in previous years the Tour has started in Germany, Spain, Belgium, Ireland and England.
Following this the Tour will transfer to north-eastern France and then on to the southern part of the country. The race will move outside France once more for the seventh stage, which will take place in Belgium, and again for stages eight and nine in Switzerland, before returning to France for good.
- A few numbers
Twenty-one stages, three rest days and a total of 3,332 kilometres to complete: these are the numbers competitors will need to bear in mind. The longest stage will be between Binche and Longwy, for a total of 220 kilometres, while the shortest – the last one from the “Paris La Défense Arena” – will be “only” 112 kilometres long.
The race will also pass through the Alps, and here lies a curiosity: the Col du Granon returns, a stage for real climbers that has not featured in the Tour itinerary since 1986.
Before the finish line the competitors will also have to face the Pyrenees: according to those in the know it’s here that we’ll really find out who has the right credentials to dream of the yellow jersey.
- The first women’s event
From 24 to 31 July the first edition of the Tour de France Femmes will take place, starting in Paris and finishing at the Planche des Belles Filles. The race will involve eight stages around the whole of France: the first in the iconic setting of Paris, starting from the Eiffel Tower and finishing at the Champs Elysees; the last in Burgundy, in the Vosges mountain range, with a climb described by race director Marion Rousse as brutal, with very steep gradients”. Between these stages the cyclists will cross the vineyards of the Champagne and Alsace region.
The scene is set: all that remains is to discover who will take the much-coveted yellow jersey!
Sources:
www.eurosport.it
www.canyon.com
www.netbet.it
www.italciclismo.it
