Danish start for ‘complete’ 2022 Tour de France | More sports News – Times of India

Cycling fans can look forward to a pulsating penultimate day with a time trial over a 40km course.
Other highlights will be a stage on the cobbled roads of Roubaix on the border of France and Belgium, and massed ranks of spectators will be allowed on the classic climb of the Alpe d’Huez on the French national holiday of July 14, providing new coronavirus precautions are not introduced.
The 2022 route slightly favours time-trial specialists with over 50km of time trials, although riders will also face five massive mountain stages.
The race also takes in the pilgrimage town of Lourdes and the picturesque medieval city of Carcassonne in southwest France.
The race begins with a short 13km time trial around Copenhagen, passing by the bronze statue of the Little Mermaid.
But the key challenges in Denmark will be runs along the fjords and the crossing of a 17km bridge over the sea between two islands.
“It’s a race with a bit of everything,” course designer Thierry Gouvenou told AFP. “The word that best captures how to describe the 2022 route is that it’s complete.
“You’ll need to be at ease with wind too, because of this bridge over the sea in Denmark and also on the stage to Dunkirk,” he said of the final Danish run and the first French one on stage four.
“The cobblestones might also have their say on how things go in the race for the (winner’s) yellow jersey. There are 19 kilometres of them, that’s complicated for a lot of people,” he added.
“But anyone who wins will need to be a complete rider because there are five finishes at high altitude and one of them is at 2400 metres,” he said.
“You have the entire palate of what it’s possible to provide on a Tour de France.”
The winner will pull on the yellow jersey on the Champs Elysees after eight laps of the capital on the final day.