Forget the tanning session on the beach or the family hike, take out the smartphones to program the alerts!
If the route of the Tour de France and its 21 days will not lack spice, some stages will deserve a parenthesis on the sofa during the holidays or a break at work to take a look at the race broadcast on France Télévisions and live on lefigaro.fr.
The editorial staff has identified five unmissable events for the 2022 edition, as much for their sporting interest as for their majestic setting.
To discover
The general classification of the Tour de France
Tour de France 2022: discover the map and the route of the next edition
In Denmark, an 18 km bridge to swallow
When ?
Saturday, July 2, 2nd stage
Where ?
Between Rosskilde and Nyborg (202.2 km)
Why you shouldn't miss this day
: the day after the time trial in Copenhagen, the final of the second stage could hold surprises in the last twenty kilometers.
The runners will cross an endless suspension bridge, the Great Belt, connecting the islands of Sealand and Funen.
Imagine the unusual setting on the 3rd longest suspension bridge in the world: 18 km on a road above the sea with a strong risk of crosswinds to spice up the crossing.
Beware of edge risks!
If the peloton breaks into several pieces, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to reassemble because once the bridge has been swallowed, back in the shelter on solid ground, there will only be two kilometers left before the finish line.
"
I don't know how the wind will blow but this scenery has never existed on the Tour.
It will be completely new
”, warns Christian Prudhomme, the boss of the event.
Christian Prudhomme, the boss of the Tour de France, at the top of the Great Belt Panoramic
High voltage on the cobblestones of the North
When ?
July 6, 5th stage
Where
: between Lille and Arenberg (157 km)
Why you shouldn't miss this day:
some legs in the peloton tremble at the mere idea of this stage, and not just because of the jolts caused by the cobblestones of the North returning after three years of absence on the Grande Boucle.
The route between Lille and Arenberg is a nest of traps: 11 cobbled passages are on the menu over 19.4 km.
Four of these sections are well known on the Paris-Roubaix route.
The future winner will not win the Tour de France that day but he could well lose it on a fall.
Because there will inevitably be falls with the extreme tension reigning in the ranks of the peloton still fresh after only five days of racing.
In 2010 and 2014, the cobblestones had already made it possible to widen the gaps in the standings.
It will shake dry before a smoother arrival the next day in Belgium.
The cobblestones of Paris-Roubaix taken in the 5th stage.
Panoramic
The Planche des Belles Filles, first explanation at the top
When ?
July 8, 7th stage
Where
: between Tomblaine and the Super Planches des Belles Filles (176.3 km)
Why you shouldn't miss this day
: in just ten years, the Planche des Belles Filles has made a name for itself among the classics of the Tour de France.
In 2020, Tadej Pogacar had signed a grandiose time trial the day before the arrival in Paris and exploded the clock to take the yellow jersey from Primoz Roglic, who arrived more than two minutes late after his Slovenian compatriot.
The vast majority of the route does not present any insurmountable difficulty but the end is explosive: 7 kilometers at 8.7% with a completely crazy portion at 24% which takes a half-earth, half-tarmac surface.
“
If there is a stage to win, it would be this one.
“, has already warned Thibaut Pinot, the regional of the stage who knows the route like the back of his hand.
Will the big favorites attack so soon before the Alps?
Not sure because it will probably be difficult to create big gaps that day.
But this first mountainous meeting will already give a small glimpse of the form of each of the favorites.
The terrible finale on a half-paved, half-earth road on the Super Planche des Belles Filles.
Panoramic
The Col du Granon, myth where Bernard Hinault collapsed in 1986
When:
July 13, 13th stage
Where
: between Albertville and Col du Granon-Serre Chevalier (151.7 km)
Why you shouldn't miss this day
: without a doubt, one of the most anticipated moments of the 2022 route. After the fearsome Telegraph and Galibier passes, the peloton will complete the second alpine stage with the indigestible Granon pass: 11.3 km to 9.2% average!
A torture all the more selective as only two short passages of a few tens of meters allow you to catch your breath.
In other words, nothing at all.
The climbers will be under pressure during almost the entire climb, until the finish judged at the summit, at an altitude of 2413 m.
The Tour de France had not passed through the Granon since 1986. That year, Bernard Hinault, with a sore knee and at the end of his career, could not do anything against Greg LeMond who arrived at the top three minutes before the quintuple winner of the Grande Boucle,
letting the yellow jersey escape him.
Thirty-six years later, this high place of the Grande Boucle could still be synonymous with disillusionment for one of the favorites.
Tadej Pogacar is warned.
The mythical climbs of the Tour de France
Go to slideshow (10)
Fireworks in Alpe d'Huez on National Day
When
: July 14, 12th stage
Where
: between Briançon and Alpe d'Huez (165.1 km)
Why you shouldn't miss this day
: the Col du Galibier as an aperitif, the Col de la Croix-de-Fer as a main course and Alpe d'Huez for dessert, all on July 14 when the French dream of shine a little more than all the others in front of a large audience and in an incandescent atmosphere.
4750 m of elevation gain over the day and almost 65 km of climbing!
All the ingredients are there to make this stage a moment of anthology of the Tour de France after an 11th stage, the day before, already Dantesque (see above) where the favorites will undoubtedly have already crossed swords.
One thing is certain, the man who will emerge in yellow from this day in hell will have taken a good option on the final victory.
Romain Bardet in the ascent of Alpe d'Huez in 2018. Panoramic
Rocamadour, the last duel in the medieval arena
When
: July 23, 20th stage
Where
: between Lacapelle-Marival and Rocamadour (40.7 km)
Why shouldn't you miss this day
: what if the final victory was decided the day before arriving in Paris, as in 2020, under the watchful eye of the Black Madonna in Rocamadour?
The time trial which awaits a peloton with very heavy legs leaving the Pyrenees is bound to have some surprises in store.
Because if the first part is rolling and technical, the steep final with two kilometers at 8% average until the medieval city looks like a trap offering the possibility of dealing a last devastating blow to the competition.
Rocamadour, steep medieval town, host of the penultimate stage.
Boris Stroujko / stock.adobe.com
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