As usual, you've been able to discover it little by little since over one month already, through the rumours - which were at 98% correct this time - but on Thursday morning, in the Palais des Congrès in Paris (which rediscovered this anual event after having been cancelled and replaced by a TV broadcast last year), the Tour de France 2022 race route was officially announced.


And what it turns out to be is what could be guessed already when the race route was still at a rumour level, even though they've been quiet for quite some time on the Pyrenean programme this year.


Indeed, this Tour will be one with some original stuff, a very international Tour with no less than 4 countries being visited and a rather mountaineous Tour with no less than 5 mountain top finishes.

Let's have a look a little bit more in detail.

The small details of the Tour de France 2022 race route: from Copenhagen to Paris for the 109th edition

The Tour de France 2022 in numbers

First of all, as usual, let's have a look at the statistics to present this new edition of the Tour de France.

The Tour de France 2022 will be made up of 21 stages which are split up as follows:
- 6 flat stages
- 7 hilly stages
- 6 mountain stages with 5 mountain top finishes (La super Planche des Belles Filles for the 7th stage, the Col du Granon for the 11th stage, Alpe d'Huez for the 12th stage, Peyragudes for the 17th stage and Hautacam for the 18th stage)
- 2 individual time trial stages, Copenhagen > Copenhagen (13 km) for stage 1 and Lacapelle-Marival > Rocamadour (40 km) for the 20th stage (total time trial distance of 53 kilometers)

Added to this we'll see 3 rest days (in Lille, Morzine and Carcassonne), 1 more than usual (officially called a "transfer day"), because of the most northern start in the history of the Tour de France, in Denmark.

3328, that's the number of kilometers which make up this race route, which will visit 4 countries, Denmark, Belgium, France and Switzerland.

These stages visit 8 French regions and 29 departments. The longest stage will be the one between Binche and Longwy (6th stage), with its 220 km.

Concerning the 39 differents sites or stage cities, 9 of them will be new in the history of the Tour de France: Copenhagen (start and finish 1st stage), Roskilde (start 2nd stage), Nyborg (finish 2nd stage), Vejle (start 3rd stage), Sønderborg (finish 3rd stage), Aigle (start 9th stage), Castelnau-Magnoac (start 19th stage), Lacapelle-Marival (start 20th stage) and Rocamadour (finish 20th stage).

4 French mountain areas will be on the programme (Vosges, Alps, Massif Central and Pyrenees) and there will be 23 mountains of the 2nd, 1st or outside category on the roads of the Tour de France 2022 (compared to 27 in 2021, 29 in 2020 and 27 in 2019; in 2022 we'll find 1 in the Vosges, 12 in the Alps, 1 in the Massif Central and 9 in the Pyrenees).

Finally, we'll find one stage contain cobble stones sections, after 4 years without, the one between Lille and Arenberg. 11 cobble stones sections with lengths varying between 1.3 and 2.8 km will give a total of no less than 19.4 km cobble stones in this stage! Some of these sections have never been visited before, neither in the Tour de France nor in Paris-Roubaix!

The bonifications and bonus points

No changes for the bonifications system at the finish of each stage in line (10, 6 and 4 seconds for the first three riders in the stage classification). Exit however for the bonus points which have been introduced more recently and which awarded time bonuses to the first 3 riders on the summit of a strategic climb in the race.

The Tour de France 2022 race route stage by stage

The tablea of the Tour de France 2022 stages

Here's the list of stages which make up the Tour de France 2022 race route which has been announced this Thursday. You can click on a stage to get direct access to its presentation.

#	date	start	finish	comments
1	Fr. 1st July 2022	Copenhagen	Copenhagen	13 km individual time trial
2	Sa. 2 July 2022	Roskilde	Nyborg	199 km
3	Su. 3 July 2022	Vejle	Sønderborg	182 km
T	Mo. 4 July 2022	transfer / rest day in Lille
4	Tu. 5 July 2022	Dunkerque	Calais	172 km
5	We. 6 July 2022	Lille	Arenberg Porte du Hainaut	155 km
6	Th. 7 July 2022	Binche	Longwy	220 km
7	Fr. 8 July 2022	Tomblaine	La super Planche des Belles Filles	176 km
8	Sa. 9 July 2022	Dole	Lausanne	184 km
9	Su. 10 July 2022	Aigle	Châtel Les Portes du Soleil	183 km
R1	Mo. 11 July 2022	rest day in Morzine
10	Tu. 12 July 2022	Morzine Les Portes du Soleil	Megève	148 km
11	We. 13 July 2022	Albertville	Col du Granon	149 km
12	Th. 14 July 2022	Briançon	Alpe d'Huez	166 km
13	Fr. 15 July 2022	Bourg d'Oisans	Saint-Etienne	193 km
14	Sa. 16 July 2022	Saint-Etienne	Mende	195 km
15	Su. 17 July 2022	Rodez	Carcassonne	200 km
R2	Mo. 18 July 2022	rest day in Carcassonne
16	Tu. 19 July 2022	Carcassonne	Foix	179 km
17	We. 20 July 2022	Saint-Gaudens	Peyragudes	130 km
18	Th. 21 July 2022	Lourdes	Hautacam	143 km
19	Fr. 22 July 2022	Castelnau-Magnoac	Cahors	189 km
20	Sa. 23 July 2022	Lacapelle-Marival	Rocamadour	40 km individual time trial
21	Su. 24 July 2022	Paris La Défense Arena	Paris Champs Elysées	112 km
TOTAL				3,328 km
(avant homologation)

Let's now have a look at the different stages of this Tour de France 2022, 109th edition, in detail.

Before the start, the Grand Départ of the Tour in Copenhagen starts right from the Tuesday (all operations of the Grand Départ are moved forward one day compared to a normal Tour, because of the start of the race on Friday instead of Saturday):

• Tuesday 28 June 2022: the permanence and press center open in the Bella Center in Copenhagen
• Wednesday 29 June 2022: Tour de France 2022 teams presentation in Copenhagen, in the Jardins Tivoli

1/ Friday 1st of July 2022 - Copenhagen > Copenhagen - individual time trial - 13 km

For the first time in history, the Tour de France starts in 2022 from Denmark and more precisely from Copenhagen. This will be the most northern start of the Tour de France ever!

The first stage will be an individual time trial, in the streets of Copenhague. The stage's route will be entirely flat, in the roads of the Danish capital. During their solo effort, the riders will pass in front of The Little Mermaid, the famous bronze statue, but also in front of the Palace of Amalienborg, the winter residence of the royal family of Denmark. Before they get there, early in this time trial, the riders will go over the bridge Dronning Louises Bro, which shows the record of cycling traffic with no less than 40,000 cyclists coming by per day! The finish line will be drawn close to the Tivoli Gardens, at the level of the town hall of Copenhagen.

2/ Saturday 2 July 2022 - Roskilde > Nyborg - 199 km

The second stage of the Tour de France 2022 will start in Roskilde, at the west of Copenhagen, which is the former capital of Denmark and the rest place of the kings and queens of the country.

The riders will go off north-west via the fjords of Inderbredning, Holbæk Fjord and Lammefjord before doing a loop on the north-western coast line of the city, to go find the climbs of Veddinge Bakker, one of the rare places in Denmark with a little more height difference.

They'll thus climb at Asnæs Indelukke (1.1 km at 5.8%) at kilometer 62, at Høve Stræde (1.6 km at 4.7%) at kilometer 72 and at Kårup Strandbakke (1.3 km at 5.6%) of which the summit will be reached after 84 kilometers. This is followed by a vist south-west following the coast line down to the sprint in Kalundborg and the riders will then go plain south following the west coast of the country where the peloton could break up due to the wind.

Once arrived in Korsør they are not done with the wind yet because when they turn right there, they'll get on the Storebælt bridge (Grand Belt) which is no less than 18 kilometers long and which brings them directly to the finish city Nyborg "riding on the sea", like in 2015 with the finish in the province of Zealand in The Netherlands.

3/ Sunday 3 July 2022 - Vejle > Sønderborg - 182 km

The 3rd stage of the Tour de France 2022 will be the last one of the Grand Départ and thus the last one in Denmark, with a start in Vejle on the continental part, the most western part, of Denmark. Around this start city, the organisors went to find a terrain with some minimal hills, but there's only one climb which comes above 55 meters of altitude, the côte de Koldingvej (1.4 km at 4.4%), which is just south of the start but which lays on the race route only after a bit over 27 kilometers thanks to a loop north-west of the start before the riders get there.

The race then goes off south via Kolding, the côte Hejlsminde Strand (850 m at 4.7%) and the intermediate sprint in Christiansfeld. Continuing south, the riders will get to climb the côte de Genner Strand (1.6 km at 3.3%) and continue down to Aabenraa where the race turns south-east towards the finish in Sønderborg, where the sprinters teams will have done everything they are able to to see this stage finish in a bunch sprint.

T/ Monday 4 July 2022 - transfer / rest day in Lille

After this Grand Départ in Denmark, there will be a first rest day, which will officially be called a tranfer day but which is actually really a rest day after the transfer which will take place the night before after the stage, and the riders will stay in Lille.

4/ Tuesday 5 July 2022 - Dunkerque > Calais - 172 km

The 4th stage, the first one of this Tour de France 2022 to take place in France, will have its start in Dunkirk where the Tour will return for the first time since 2007, for its 20th visit in history. This stage will connect one location close to the sea to another, Calais (two cities which are almost neighbours), but that doesn't necessarily mean that the race route will be completely flat. Indeed, this stage will go find both the mounts of Flanders and the mounts of Boulonnais. This elevation, together with a risk of wind in the final part when the riders will come by the caps Griz-Nez and Blanc-Nez, could well lead to a stage which doesn't end with a bunch sprint but see a small group resist till the finish!

5/ Wednesday 6 July 2022 - Lille Métropole > Arenberg Porte du Hainaut - 155 km

Lille is also a usual stage city on the race route of the Tour de France, in 2022 the race will return there for the 18th time already. This time, it'll be for a cobble stones stage, 4 years after the previous one for the Grande Boucle. In 2022, there will be 11 cobble stones sections of which 5 have never been ridden before, neither in the Tour de France nor in Paris-Roubaix, for a total distance of 19.4 km, before a finish in Wallers Arenberg Porte du Hainaut.

6/ Thursday 7 July 2022 - Binche > Longwy - 220 km

This 6th stage will offer a brief excursion in Belgium, and more precisely in Binche, as in 2019 when a stage started there, towards Epernay. In 2022 it'll be for a stage towards Longwy, the longest stage of this Tour de France 2022. At 6 kilometers from the finish they'll however find quite a climb, with the "wall" which is formed by the Côte de Pulventeux (800 m at 12.3%), immediately afterwards followed by the Côte des Religieuses (1.6 km at 5.8%) where the finish line will be drawn.

7/ Friday 8 July 2022 - Tomblaine > La super Planche des Bellles Filles - 176 km

For the 3rd time in history, Tomblaine will see, after 2012 and 2014, a stage start of the Tour de France. Destination the Vosges and La super Planche des Belles Filles, which means the finish at la Planche des Belles Filles continued on a half-paved trail, as it was built up in 2019. This will be the first uphill finish but this cannot really be called a mountain stage because even though the race route is quite hilly (and most probably there'll even be another climb before la Planche), it won't be big climbs that the riders will pass before the direct climb of la Planche des Belles Filles.

8/ Saturday 9 July 2022 - Dole > Lausanne - 184 km

On Saturday 9 July the 8th stage of the Tour de France will start in Dole in the Jura department, the city where Louis Pasteur was born, 200 years before. Indeed, the inventor of the rabies vaccine was born there in 1822 and in 2022 we'll thus celebrate the 200 years of his birth and maybe at the same time the end of the Covid-19 pandemic ... thanks to a vaccine! (this however seems to be a hasard of the calendar and the events, because the candidature of Dole is from before the discovery of this illness and thus way before the creation of the associated vaccines).

This stage will go towards Switzerland, and more precisely towards Lausanne and after having passed in front of the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at 10 kilometers from the finish, the finish line will be found in front of the Olympic Stadium after a final climb of 4.8 km at 4.6% including a part at 12%!

9/ Sunday 10 July 2022 - Aigle > Châtel Les Portes du Soleil - 183 km

The next day we'll leave Switzerland, but not immediately because after the start in Aigle, the city of the International Cycling Union (UCI) headquarters since 2002, and after having followed the Lac Léman in the middle of the wineyards, a 145 kilometers long loop will be on the programme in the cantons of Vaud, of the Valais and of Fribourg, including just after midway of the stage the climb of the Col des Mosses (1,445 m) and a bit further the harder Col de la Croix (1,778 m) before a downwards way back to Aigle from where the riders will continue to France via the climb of the Pas de Morgins (1,377 m, 15.4 km at 6.1%). After its descent will go a bit up again, towards the finish in Châtel, station of the Portes du Soleil, of which the mayor Nicolas Rubin was waiting the return of the Tour since his first election in 2008 while the station will see the Tour come back for the 2nd time, after a time trial between Morzine and Châtel in 1975! In total, this first real Alps stage will offer a positive height difference of 3,600 meters.

R1/ Monday 11 July 2022 - Morzine

After a first week and a half which have been quite heavy already, the riders and followers of the Tour will be able to get some rest in the Morzine ski station.

10/ Tuesday 12 July 2022 - Morzine Les Portes du Soleil > Megève - 148 km

Still in the Portes du Soleil ski area, the 10th stage will return to Morzine which has seen the Tour de France already 20 times before. The destination will be another ski station, Megève, but even though this stage takes place in a mountain area, it won't be a mountain because the race route, which will entirely be in the Haute-Savoie department, shows - except for the final climb to the altiport of Megève (1,382 m / 19.2 km at 4.1%) and the finish line at an altitude of 1,460 m - a profile which is pretty reasonable!

11/ Wednesday 13 July 2022 - Albertville > Col du Granon - 149 km

Albertville is probably one of the cities which is getting most visits of the Tour de France these past few years. In a few years Albertville saw a relatively high number of Tour de France visit because where it's only the 7th time in the full history of the Tour, Albertville saw no less than 4 stage starts these past 6 years (2016, 2018, 2019 and 2021) and we'll thus add a 5th out of 7 this year!! This time, it'll be a real Alps stage which awaits the riders in the Olympic city. A relatively short stage with its 149 kilometers but during which the riders will find the Lacets de Montvernier (782 m / 3.4 km at 8.2%) right from the end of the first third of the stage and after a visit of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne and Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne they'll start the consecutive climbs of the Col du Télégraphe (1,566 m / 11.9 km at 7.1%) and the Col du Galibier (2,642 m / 17.7 km at 6.9%), the last one makes its return since 2017 and will thus have the honours to award the Souvenir Henri Desgrange to the first rider arriving at its summit. We'll only be at 42 kilometers from the finish and after a long descent, what remains for the riders is the final climb towards the finish on top of the Col du Granon (2,413 m / 11.3 km at 9.2%) where the Tour returns only for the 2nd time for a finish after the one in 1986. This stage presents a positive height difference of 4000 meters.

12/ Thursday 14 July 2022 - Briançon > Alpe d'Huez - 166 km

On this national bank holiday, the riders will start in Briançon and follow the roads from the previous stage in the opposite direction to start with, via the Col du Galibier (2,642 m / 23 km at 5.1%), its descente towards Valloire and the Col du Télégraphe and down to Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne and Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne before they go off to the long climb of the Col de la Croix de Fer (2,067 m / 29 km at 5.2%). Via the barrage of Grand'Maison the stage descends down to Allemond and goes on to Le Bourg d'Oisans, at the foot of the final climb, the famous 21 numbered bends of the Alpe d'Huez (1,850 m / 13.8 km at 8.1%). This stage is the one which has the highest positive height difference in this Tour de France 2022, 4750 meters, and it'll be an exact copy of the stage between Briançon and the Alpe d'Huez in 1986 when Bernard Hinault and Greg Lemond passed the finish line together. This stage will also be the Etape du Tour, which allows amateur riders to do this stage of the Tour de France 2022 under the same conditions as the real race, but on 10 July, which is 4 days before the professional riders.

13/ Friday 15 July 2022 - Bourg d'Oisans > Saint-Etienne - 193 km

This 13th stage starting in Le Bourg d'Oisans will be some sort of a transition stage, made for sprinters, with - after the visit of Grenoble - its main difficulty being the Col de Parménie (571 m) almost mid-stage. In Saint-Etienne, the finish line will be drawn at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard (also known as Le Chaudron).

14/ Saturday 16 July 2022 - Saint-Etienne > Mende - 195 km

Saint-Etienne will also be a start city, of this 14th stage, and this time that'll be for a hilly stage, which will be crowned off by the Côte de la Croix Neuve (3 km at 10.1%) which is usually nicknamed Montée Jalabert (because he was the first one to win a stage there in 1995) for a finish at the aérodrome of Mende-Brénoux.

15/ Sunday 17 July 2022 - Rodez > Carcassonne - 200 km

The start of the 15th stage will be in Rodez in the Aveyron department, the city of the painter Pierre Soulages.

Just like two days before, this will most probably be a stage which ends in a bunch sprint while usually the stages which finish in Carcassonne are mostly made for a breakaway to finish off the stage. Carcassonne is a Tour stage city for the 12th time in 2022 and goes way up these past few years with visits in 2014 (start), 2016 (start), 2018 (finish, rest day and start), 2021 (finish and start).

R2/ Monday 18 July 2022 - rest day in Carcassonne

In 2022 again, like in 2018, the medieval city of Carcassonne receives the riders and the followers of the Tour not only for a stage finish, but also for a rest day and for the start the next day.

16/ Tuesday 18 July 2022 - Carcassonne > Foix - 179 km

The start of this 16th stage will thus also be in Carcassonne and it'll be the start of the 3rd and last week of racing in the Tour de France 2022.

And this will allow the riders to get into the Pyrenean mountain area, with two difficulties in the last part of the stage, starting with the Port de Lers (1.517 m / 11.4 km at 7%) which will have its summit at kilometer 126 and after its descente the riders will attack the Mur de Péguère (1,375 m / 9.3 km at 7.9%) after which they'll still have 27 kilometers going down till the finish in Foix. In order to win this stage a rider must thus be both a good climber and more importantly a very good descender!

17/ Wednesday 20 July 2022 - Saint-Gaudens > Peyragudes - 130 km

A real Pyrenean stage, short but full of difficulties, will be on the programme on Wednesday 20 July 2022, with a start in Saint-Gaudens which will see the Tour de France visit for the 16th time already, the last time for a stage finish in 2021!

While the first half of the stage is relatively calm, the Col d'Aspin (1,490 m / 12 km at 6.5%) is the one the riders will find first on their road and things will rapidly follow up on each other, with the Hourquette d'Ancizan (1,564 m / 8.2 km at 5.1%) and after the descent towards Saint-Lary-Soulan the Col de Val Louron-Azet (1,580 m / 10.7 km at 6.8%). After the descent towards Loudenvielle and its lake, the riders will still have some climbing to do because they'll get on the final climb towards Peyragudes (1,580), which has an average steepness of 7.8% over a lenght of 8 km, and a final part at 16%. The finish will be at the altiport, where the James Bond movie "Tomorrow never dies" was recorded in 1997. This stage represents a positive height difference of 3,300 meters.

18/ Thursday 21 July 2022 - Lourdes > Hautacam - 143 km

For the 18th stage of the Tour de France 2022 we could have been taken back to Pau as the inevitable stage city of the Tour de France, for the 73th time in 2021, but this time it'll be the city of Lourdes which has been chosen and, like in 2018, the start will be at the Sanctuary, for this last Pyrenean stage.

Until Laruns, all riders will be able to keep up, but after about sixty kilometers things will start to get harder when they get on the climb of the Col d'Aubisque (1,709 m / 16.4 km at 7.1%). After the Col du Soulor, they'll start descending towards Ferrières and will immediately go on with the Col de Spandelles (1,378 m / 10.3 km at 8.3%), which will be on the Tour de France race route for the very first time! A descent and a visit of Argelès-Gazost further, they'll start the final climb towards Hautacam.

19/ Friday 22 July 2022 - Castelnau-Magnoac > Cahors - 189 km

In the small village Castelnau-Magnoac (800 inhabitants), at the north of the Hautes-Pyrénées department, the riders will come back together for the start of the antepenultimate stage of this Tour de France 2022.

It'll be a flat stage with quite a hilly final part though, which will come in front of the the château de Cayx, propriety of the royal familly of Denmark, which thus closes the circle with the start of this quite international Tour. It's thus a bit difficult to say whether this stage will be won by a sprinter or a strong breakaway rider, so we'll have to wait Friday 22 July 2022 and of the afternoon to know that at the finish in Cahors!

20/ Saturday 23 July 2022 - Lacapelle-Marival > Rocamadour - individual time trial - 40 km

The usual individual time trial the day before the finish in Paris will this year take place starting from another small village, Lacapelle-Marival.

This solo effort will entirely take place in the Lot department, over quite an important distance of 40 kilometers. After the intermediate timing points of Aynac, Gramat and Couzou, two short climbs will come spice up the last pedal strokes of the riders, the Côte de Magès (1.6 km at 4.7%) at 3.5 km from the finish and the Côte de l'Hospitalet (1.5 km at 7.8%) at 500 meters from the finish. These climbs will allow the riders to get up to the promontory of Rocamadour

21/ Sunday 24 July 2022 - Paris La Défense Arena > Paris - Champs-Elysées - 112 km

Strangely, the contract with the Yvelines department which said that a stage start for the last stage of the Tour would be in the department till 2023 is not fulfilled in 2022 because it'll be at the Paris La Défense Arena and thus in the Hauts-de-Seine (92) department that the last stage of this Tour de France 2022 will start, direction Paris and its famous Champs-Elysées. The start of this stage will be from the La Défense Arena, inside the stadium. Even though the start won't be there, the stage will however visit the Yvelines department for quite some time before it gets into Paris via the Jardin du Luxembourg, followed by the Île de la Cité via the Pont Neuf and the visit of the inside of the Cour carrée of the Louvre to finally get onto the Champs-Elysées, turn around the Arc de Triomphe as it has been the case every year since 2013 and of course the usual 8 laps on the circuit via the Rue de Rivoli and the final sprint on the Champs.

The Tour de France 2022 race route in video

Of course, you can have a look at the full Tour de France 2022 race route as shown in the 3D animation video hereunder:

The map with the Tour de France 2022 race route

To see the full Tour de France 2022 race route, you can have a look at the map hereunder. In order to zoom in on it, you can click on it and then click on the 4 arrows which show at the bottom right of the image.

The Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift

The Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift race route has also been announced the same day and there will be 8 stages which will take place from Sunday 24 July (the day of the finish of the Tour de France 2022 for men) till Sunday 31 July 2022.

Here are these 8 stages:

• 1/ Sunday 24 July 2022 - Paris - Tour Eiffel > Paris - Champs-Elysées - 82 km (including 12 laps of the final circuit)
• 2/ Monday 25 July 2022 - Meaux > Provins - 135 km
• 3/ Tuesday 26 July 2022 - Reims > Epernay - 133 km
• 4/ Wednesday 27 July 2022 - Troyes > Bar-sur-Aube - 126 km
• 5/ Thursday 28 July 2022 - Bar-le-Duc > Saint-Dié-des-Vosges - 175 km
• 6/ Friday 29 July 2022 - Saint-Dié-des-Vosges > Rosheim - 128 km
• 7/ Saturday 30 July 2022 - Sélestat > Le Markstein - 127 km
• 8/ Sunday 31 July 2022 - Lure > La super Planche des Belles-Filles - 123 km

door Thomas Vergouwen
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