| 2022 UCI World Tour, race 23 of 32 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Route of the 2022 Tour de France | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Race details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dates | 1–24 July 2022 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stages | 21 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distance | 3,349.8[1] km (2,081 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Winning time | 79h 33' 20" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The2022 Tour de France was the 109th edition of theTour de France. It started inCopenhagen, Denmark on 1 July 2022 and ended with the final stage on theChamps-Élysées,Paris on 24 July 2022. Denmark'sJonas Vingegaard (Team Jumbo–Visma) won thegeneral classification for the first time. Two-time defending championTadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) finished in second place, and former winnerGeraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) finished third. This was the first Tour since1997 in which each of the three podium finishers had made the podium on a previous occasion.
The race began in Copenhagen before returning to France.Wout van Aert ofTeam Jumbo–Visma controlled the lead for much of the first week until Pogačar seized control of the race and won two consecutive stages. In theAlps, Team Jumbo–Visma attacked Pogačar, and Vingegaard became the first rider to take serious time from Pogačar. Vingegaard defended and increased his lead through thePyrenees and the finalindividual time trial to secure the victory. He thereby became the first Dane to win the Tour sinceBjarne Riis in1996.
The race was affected byclimate-change protests as well as a 40 °C (104 °F)heat wave. The race had the fewest number of finishers since2000, with 17 riders forced to leave the race because ofCOVID-19, including stage winnersMagnus Cort andSimon Clarke, as well as former Tour winnerChris Froome ofIsrael–Premier Tech.[2]
Thepoints classification was won by Wout van Aert with 480 points, breakingPeter Sagan's modern-day record. Vingegaard also won themountains classification, marking the first time since1969 that riders from the same team won theyellow andgreen jerseys as well as the mountains classification. Theyoung rider classification was won by GC runner-up Pogačar, and the team of Ineos Grenadiers won theteam classification. Van Aert was chosen as themost combative rider.
The race was followed by the first edition of theTour de France Femmes, which had its first stage on the final day of the men's Tour.
22 teams participated in the race. All 18UCI WorldTeams were automatically invited. They were joined by 4 UCI ProTeams – the two highest placed UCI ProTeams in 2021 (Alpecin–Deceuninck andArkéa–Samsic), along withTeam TotalEnergies andB&B Hotels–KTM who were selected by Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), the organisers of the Tour.[3] The teams were announced on 11 February 2022.[3] 176 riders started the race, from 27 nationalities[a] – with the largest percentage being French (11% of the peloton).
UCI WorldTeams
UCI ProTeams
In February 2019, it was announced that Denmark would host theGrand Départ of the Tour in 2021.[4] However, due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, this was delayed to 2022.[5] In October 2021, the route was announced byChristian Prudhomme.[6][7] Three stages took place in Denmark, with an opening time trial inCopenhagen.[7] Other features of the Tour include 11cobbled sectors on stage 5 (cobbles last featured in2018), a gravel summit finish atLa Super Planche des Belles Filles on stage 7, and a summit finish onCol du Granon on stage 11 (the Col du Granon was last used in1986).[7] Thequeen stage took place onBastille Day, with a replica ofStage 18 of the 1986 Tour toAlpe d'Huez.[7]
| Stage | Date | Course | Distance | Type | Winner | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 July | Copenhagen (Denmark) | 13.2 km (8.2 mi) |  | Individual time trial |  Yves Lampaert (BEL) |
| 2 | 2 July | Roskilde toNyborg (Denmark) | 202.5 km (125.8 mi) |  | Flat stage |  Fabio Jakobsen (NED) |
| 3 | 3 July | Vejle toSønderborg (Denmark) | 182 km (113 mi) | | Flat stage | Dylan Groenewegen (NED) |
| 4 July | Sønderborg (Denmark) toDunkirk | Transfer | ||||
| 4 | 5 July | Dunkirk toCalais | 171.5 km (106.6 mi) |  | Hilly stage | Wout van Aert (BEL) |
| 5 | 6 July | Lille toArenberg | 157 km (98 mi) | | Hilly stage |  Simon Clarke (AUS) |
| 6 | 7 July | Binche (Belgium) toLongwy | 220 km (140 mi) | | Hilly stage |  Tadej Pogačar (SLO) |
| 7 | 8 July | Tomblaine toLa Super Planche des Belles Filles | 176.5 km (109.7 mi) |  | Medium-mountain stage | Tadej Pogačar (SLO) |
| 8 | 9 July | Dole toLausanne (Switzerland) | 186.5 km (115.9 mi) | | Hilly stage | Wout van Aert (BEL) |
| 9 | 10 July | Aigle (Switzerland) toChâtel | 193 km (120 mi) |  | Mountain stage |  Bob Jungels (LUX) |
| 11 July | Morzine | Rest day | ||||
| 10 | 12 July | Morzine toMegève | 148.5 km (92.3 mi) | | Medium-mountain stage |  Magnus Cort (DEN) |
| 11 | 13 July | Albertville toCol du Granon | 152 km (94 mi) | | Mountain stage | Jonas Vingegaard (DEN) |
| 12 | 14 July | Briançon toAlpe d'Huez | 165.5 km (102.8 mi) | | Mountain stage |  Tom Pidcock (GBR) |
| 13 | 15 July | Le Bourg-d'Oisans toSaint-Étienne | 193 km (120 mi) | | Flat stage | Mads Pedersen (DEN) |
| 14 | 16 July | Saint-Étienne toMende | 192.5 km (119.6 mi) | | Medium-mountain stage | Michael Matthews (AUS) |
| 15 | 17 July | Rodez toCarcassonne | 202.5 km (125.8 mi) | | Flat stage | Jasper Philipsen (BEL) |
| 18 July | Carcassonne | Rest day | ||||
| 16 | 19 July | Carcassonne toFoix | 178.5 km (110.9 mi) | | Mountain stage |  Hugo Houle (CAN) |
| 17 | 20 July | Saint-Gaudens toPeyragudes | 130 km (81 mi) | | Mountain stage | Tadej Pogačar (SLO) |
| 18 | 21 July | Lourdes toHautacam | 143.5 km (89.2 mi) | | Mountain stage | Jonas Vingegaard (DEN) |
| 19 | 22 July | Castelnau-Magnoac toCahors | 188.5 km (117.1 mi) | | Flat stage |  Christophe Laporte (FRA) |
| 20 | 23 July | Lacapelle-Marival toRocamadour | 40.7 km (25.3 mi) | | Individual time trial | Wout van Aert (BEL) |
| 21 | 24 July | Paris La Défense Arena toParis (Champs-Élysées) | 116 km (72 mi) | | Flat stage | Jasper Philipsen (BEL) |
| Total | 3,349.8 km (2,081.5 mi) | |||||
In the lead up to the event, the top pre-race favourites wereTadej Pogačar ofUAE Team Emirates, andJonas Vingegaard andPrimož Roglič ofTeam Jumbo–Visma. The 2nd tier general classification (GC) favourites were thought to beAleksandr Vlasov ofBora–Hansgrohe, andGeraint Thomas andDani Martínez ofIneos Grenadiers, with longshot favourites includingBen O'Connor,Adam Yates,Enric Mas andRomain Bardet.[9]
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The race began inCopenhagen, Denmark for the first time, with three stages in Denmark. After finishing second in the opening time trial, behindYves Lampaert ofQuick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team,[10]Wout van Aert of Jumbo–Visma took theyellow jersey in stage 2 by virtue of bonus seconds.[11] Danish riderMagnus Cort ofEF Education–EasyPost took allKing of the Mountains (KoM) points available in Denmark, collecting enough for him to wear thepolka dot jersey until stage 9. During this run he claimed the record of most consecutive summits won, from former Tour champion and multi-time mountains classification winnerFederico Bahamontes.[12] SprinterDylan Groenewegen ofTeam Jayco–AlUla won the final stage in Denmark, before a transfer day and return to France.[13]
On stage 4, van Aert extended his lead with a solo attack intoCalais.[14] Stage 5 involvedcobbles for the first time since 2018, with Pogačar gaining time in the general classification over everyGC contender including Vingegaard, who had mechanical issues, and Roglič who crashed and dislocated his shoulder.[15] Stage 6 was the longest of the race, with van Aert taking part in thebreakaway to extend his lead in the points classification, before eventually being caught and falling off the back losing the overall lead. In the final uphill sprint, Pogačar out sprinted everyone to win the stage and take themaillot jaune by virtue of the bonus seconds.[16]
Stage 7 was the first summit finish of the race atSuper Planche des Belles Filles. A group ofGC contenders made their way up the majority of the climb together, before Vingegaard attacked and only Pogačar could follow.[17] In a sprint on the final slope, Pogačar overtook Vingegaard to get the stage win and extend his lead to over 30 seconds. OtherGC contenders lost between 20 seconds and over a minute to the leading two.[17] After stage 8, a hilly stage that finished inLausanne, Switzerland where van Aert extended his points classification lead further,[18] and stage 9 in theSwiss Alps whereBob Jungels won the day andSimon Geschke gained enoughKoM points to take the polka dot jersey, the first rest day took place inMorzine.[19]
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During the second week, stages 10 and 18 were disrupted byClimate Change protesters, which forced stages to be halted for a short period.[20][21][22] Media discussed the legitimacy of the protest[23] and the effect that climate change was having on the Tour,[24][25] while other coverage expressed annoyance at the disruption to the race.[26][27] The second week of the race was affected by an intenseheat wave, with several stages having temperatures of around 40 °C (104 °F).[25][28] Some riders suffered heat stroke includingAlexis Vuillermoz on stage 9.[29]
No major attacks byGC contenders occurred on stage 10, the first in theFrench Alps, howeverLennard Kämna who was in the breakaway that finished close to ten minutes ahead of the peloton, came within eleven seconds of taking the yellow jersey from Pogačar.[30] The stage was won byMagnus Cort, in a photo finish ahead ofNick Schultz.[31] Stage 11 was a summit finish at theCol du Granon – which was included in the Tour for the first time since1986.[7] After constant attacks by Roglič and Vingegaard on the flat before theCol du Galibier, a gap opened up between Pogačar and Vingegaard on the final ascent to Col du Granon.[32] Vingegaard gained nearly three minutes on Pogačar, winning the stage and taking the yellow jersey.[33] At the end of the day only six riders were within five minutes of Vingegaard in the overall situation:Bardet, Pogačar,Thomas,Quintana,Yates andGaudu.[34]
Stage 12 toAlpe d'Huez was thequeen stage of the Tour, taking place onBastille Day.[7]Neilson Powless of TeamEF Education–EasyPost attacked at kilometre zero and stayed at the front of the race until near the very end.Tom Pidcock of Ineos Grenadiers and former Tour winnerChris Froome, attacked about halfway through the stage and bridged up to the leading breakaway riders. On the final ascent of Alpe d'Huez, Pidcock attacked from the group including Powless, Froome,Ciccone andMeintjes and rode on to a convincing solo victory.[35] In theGC race, Pogačar attacked Vingegaard twice, with both riders dropping the other contenders on the climb, however the Slovenian rider was unable to shake off the Dane.[35]
The transitional stage 13 out of the Alps was won by the sprinterMads Pedersen ofLidl–Trek,[36] and stage 14 was won byMichael Matthews ofTeam Jayco–AlUla from the breakaway, who was just able to dropAlberto Bettiol prior to reaching the summit of the final intermediate climb. Behind Matthews, Pogačar and Vingegaard attacked the peloton on this same climb and extended their lead over the otherGC contenders.[37] Stage 15, before the second rest day, took the Tour toCarcassonne where the final breakaway rider inBenjamin Thomas was caught in the final few hundred meters to set up a sprint finish, which was won byJasper Philipsen.[38] Jumbo–Visma lost two riders on stage 15: team leader Roglič abandoned the race following his injuries on stage 5, anddomestiqueSteven Kruijswijk left the race in an ambulance after dislocating his shoulder in a crash.[39]
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After a rest day in Carcassonne, the race entered thePyrenees.[7] Stage 16 was won byHugo Houle ofIsrael–Premier Tech, after a solo attack from the breakaway with around 40 kilometres (25 mi) to go.[40]Rafał Majka, a "key lieutenant" of Pogačar did not start stage 17, due to an injury suffered after he threw his chain near the end of stage 16.[41]Brandon McNulty of UAE Team Emirates pulled his teammate Pogačar and Vingegaard up to the final steep slopes ofPeyragudes, increasing the gap to the rest of the peloton.[42][43] Inside the final 500m of steep climbing Pogačar attacked, but Vingegaard responded and followed with a counterattack of his own. Just before the line, Pogačar was able to come around him to win his third stage of the Tour and reduce Vingegaard's lead in theGC by four seconds thanks to bonus seconds, to 2 minutes 18 seconds.[43]
On stage 18 – the final day in the Pyrenees – Pogačar attacked Vingegaard multiple times on the Col de Spandelles, with Vingegaard able to keep up every time.[44] On the descent, both riders pushed hard: Vingegaard almost crashed, while Pogačar did crash after slipping on gravel. Pogačar was able to continue with minor cuts to his leg; in a moment of sportsmanship, Vingegaard slowed down and waited for Pogačar.[45][44]
Before the ascent of theHautacam, both riders were caught by a larger group including Thomas and two of Vingegaard's teammates (Sepp Kuss andTiesj Benoot). On the final climb, a furious pace was set by Kuss, leaving all other contenders behind. Meeting up with van Aert ahead (who had been in a breakaway), the high tempo continued, until van Aert and Vingegaard attacked Pogačar with around 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) to go to the top.[44] Pogačar was unable to keep up, so Vingegaard extended hisGC lead to almost three and a half minutes.[44] By taking maximumKoM points at the top of Hautacam, Vingegaard gained an unassailable lead of that classification, taking the jersey fromSimon Geschke of TeamCofidis, who had set a record for most days by a German rider leading the mountains classification.[46]
After the transitional stage 19 was won byChristophe Laporte of Jumbo-Visma,[47] the final time trial toRocamadour was won by van Aert, followed by Vingegaard, Pogačar and Thomas.[48] The traditional final stage on theChamps-Élysées in Paris completed the Tour, with sprinterJasper Philipsen winning his second stage of the Tour.[49]
In thegeneral classification, Vingegaard became the first Dane to win the Tour since1996, with Pogačar in second 2 minutes 43 seconds behind. Thomas was third, over seven minutes behind. Thepoints classification was won by Wout van Aert with 480 points, breakingPeter Sagan's modern record.[50] Vingegaard also won the mountains classification, marking the first time since theFaema team ofEddy Merckx in1969, that riders from the same team won the yellow and green jerseys as well as the mountains classification. Theyoung rider classification was won by runner-up Pogačar, who led the classification from start to finish and tiedJan Ullrich andAndy Schleck with his third win of this classification. The team of third place Thomas, Ineos Grenadiers, won theteam classification. Van Aert was chosen as themost combative rider.[49]Caleb Ewan was theLanterne rouge – normally competitive with the elite sprinters, his top 10 result on stage 21 was his highest stage finish of the Tour.[51][52]
The race had the fewest finishers since2000, with just 135 of the 176 starters reaching the finish line in Paris.[53] The teams of the first two podium finishers were severely depleted by the end of the race, with Team UAE Emirates losing half its start list due to injury and illness,[41] and Team Jumbo-Visma losing several key members along the route.[39][18] Several riders were forced to leave the race due to contractingCOVID, including stage winnersMagnus Cort andSimon Clarke,[54] and former Tour winnerChris Froome ofIsrael–Premier Tech.[55]
In August 2022, Colombian riderNairo Quintana ofArkéa–Samsic was disqualified from 6th place overall, after blood samples tested positive fortramadol, a painkiller.[56]
| Legend | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | Denotes the leader of thegeneral classification |  | Denotes the leader of themountains classification |
 | Denotes the leader of thepoints classification |  | Denotes the leader of theyoung rider classification |
 | Denotes the leader of theteam classification |  | Denotes the winner of thecombativity award |
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jonas Vingegaard (DEN) | Team Jumbo–Visma | 79h 33' 20" |
| 2 | Tadej Pogačar (SLO) | UAE Team Emirates | + 2' 43" |
| 3 | Geraint Thomas (GBR) | Ineos Grenadiers | + 7' 22" |
| 4 | David Gaudu (FRA) | Groupama–FDJ | + 13' 39" |
| 5 |  Aleksandr Vlasov[a] | Bora–Hansgrohe | + 15' 46" |
| DSQ |  Nairo Quintana (COL) | ||
| 6 | Romain Bardet (FRA) | Team DSM | + 18' 11" |
| 7 |  Louis Meintjes (RSA) | Intermarché–Wanty–Gobert Matériaux | + 18' 44" |
| 8 |  Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ) | Astana Qazaqstan Team | + 22' 56" |
| 9 | Adam Yates (GBR) | Ineos Grenadiers | + 24' 52" |
| 10 | Valentin Madouas (FRA) | Groupama–FDJ | + 35' 59" |
| Rank | Rider | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wout van Aert (BEL) | Team Jumbo–Visma | 480 |
| 2 | Jasper Philipsen (BEL) | Alpecin–Deceuninck | 286 |
| 3 | Tadej Pogačar (SLO) | UAE Team Emirates | 250 |
| 4 | Christophe Laporte (FRA) | Team Jumbo–Visma | 171 |
| 5 | Fabio Jakobsen (NED) | Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team | 159 |
| 6 | Mads Pedersen (DEN) | Trek–Segafredo | 158 |
| 7 | Jonas Vingegaard (DEN) | Team Jumbo–Visma | 157 |
| 8 | Michael Matthews (AUS) | Team BikeExchange–Jayco | 133 |
| 9 |  Peter Sagan (SVK) | Team TotalEnergies | 120 |
| 10 | Dylan Groenewegen (NED) | Team BikeExchange–Jayco | 116 |
| Rank | Rider | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jonas Vingegaard (DEN) | Team Jumbo–Visma | 72 |
| 2 |  Simon Geschke (GER) | Cofidis | 65 |
| 3 |  Giulio Ciccone (ITA) | Trek–Segafredo | 61 |
| 4 | Tadej Pogačar (SLO) | UAE Team Emirates | 61 |
| 5 | Wout van Aert (BEL) | Team Jumbo–Visma | 59 |
| 6 | Thibaut Pinot (FRA) | Groupama–FDJ | 52 |
| 7 | Louis Meintjes (RSA) | Intermarché–Wanty–Gobert Matériaux | 39 |
| 8 |  Neilson Powless (USA) | EF Education–EasyPost | 37 |
| 9 | Pierre Latour (FRA) | Team TotalEnergies | 35 |
| 10 | Geraint Thomas (GBR) | Ineos Grenadiers | 32 |
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tadej Pogačar (SLO) | UAE Team Emirates | 79h 36' 03" |
| 2 | Tom Pidcock (GBR) | Ineos Grenadiers | + 58' 32" |
| 3 | Brandon McNulty (USA) | UAE Team Emirates | + 1h 28' 36" |
| 4 | Matteo Jorgenson (USA) | Movistar Team | + 1h 31' 14" |
| 5 |  Andreas Leknessund (NOR) | Team DSM | + 1h 54' 48" |
| 6 | Michael Storer (AUS) | Groupama–FDJ | + 2h 20' 32" |
| 7 | Georg Zimmermann (GER) | Intermarché–Wanty–Gobert Matériaux | + 2h 36' 57" |
| 8 | Kevin Geniets (LUX) | Groupama–FDJ | + 2h 45' 25" |
| 9 | Fred Wright (GBR) | Team Bahrain Victorious | + 3h 01' 25" |
| 10 | Stan Dewulf (BEL) | AG2R Citroën Team | + 3h 26' 35" |
| Rank | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ineos Grenadiers | 239h 03' 03" |
| 2 | Groupama–FDJ | + 37' 33" |
| 3 | Team Jumbo–Visma | + 44' 54" |
| 4 | Bora–Hansgrohe | + 1h 48' 45" |
| 5 |  Movistar Team | + 2h 11' 22" |
| 6 |  UAE Team Emirates | + 2h 19' 54" |
| 7 |  Team Bahrain Victorious | + 2h 58' 32" |
| 8 | Team DSM | + 3h 26' 08" |
| 9 | Arkéa–Samsic | + 3h 56' 51" |
| 10 | Astana Qazaqstan Team | + 3h 59' 00" |
a As of 1 March 2022, theUCI announced that cyclists from Russia and Belarus would no longer compete under the name or flag of those respective countries due to theRussian invasion of Ukraine.[61]
The stage breakaway and peloton were both halted until the road was cleared.
Boulting then .. [described the 2019] landslide on the Col d'Iseran as "a symptom of the growing abnormal weather patterns in Europe and a result of the climate emergency. So the point [the protesters] were making is reasonably valid." His co-commentator and former pro David Millar replied: "I don't think anybody argues that – it's extremely valid."
But if climate trends continue apace, it's only a matter of time before larger structural changes will be needed to safely host this event.
2012 Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins, reporting on the race for Eurosport and GCN, divided opinion online after describing the protest as "probably over nothing" and the demonstrators as "imbeciles".
[Bettiol] "These are things that happen, but they shouldn't happen, because in the end, we're working and they could do it differently"
Steadily rising temperatures are set to kick up to 40 degrees C (104 degrees F) for stage 14 to Mende on Saturday and again for stage 15 on Sunday.
French cyclist Alexis Vuillermoz collapsed from heatstroke as he crossed the finish line of the ninth stage of the Tour de France on Sunday evening as temperatures reached 26 C (78F).
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