Stage 1
Copenhagen > Copenhagen
Friday 1 July 2022
Individual time trial, 13 km
Stage 1: Time trial
Tour de France 2022 starts off with a 13 km individual time trial. The world’s best riders take on the streets of Copenhagen in a fight for the yellow jersey.
Tour de France 2022 starts off with a 13-kilometre individual time trial. The world’s best riders take on the streets of Copenhagen in a race for the yellow jersey. The flat route through the Danish capital and world’s best cycling city has no sharp turns, letting the riders gain full speed. For TT specialists dreaming of a stage win and a yellow jersey, aerodynamics is key through the entire stage. The GC favourites will work hard to reduce the time loss.
Behind the stage
In Copenhagen, the world’s best cycling city, the Tour de France starts further north than it has ever done before. Every year, many Danes travel to France to experience the race first-hand from the roadsides of France. When the Tour de France is suddenly hurtling through the streets of their own capital in 2022, it is easy to imagine the huge turnouts and red-and-white celebrations.
Along the route, the riders pass iconic landmarks such as The Little Mermaid and Amalienborg, home of the royal family, which cycling fans will remember from the 2011 UCI Road World Championships. In addition, the riders will pass the busiest cycling-lane in the world, Dronning Louises Bro, which 40,000 cyclists cross every day.
The Copenhagen individual time trial will be breath-taking action. The route is short and fast. 13 kilometres through broad streets and only a few sharp turns.
The world’s greatest cycling race starts off in the world’s best cycling city. Copenhageners love cycling, and Danes love the Tour de France. It will be a warm welcome on a route full of landmarks that celebrates Danish everyday biking, architecture, history and culture.
That means high pace and minimal time differences. A few well-performed turns can determine whether the Yellow Jersey is within a rider’s reach or whether he will be far from the podium. Suddenly, many riders see an opportunity to start the race wearing yellow. Riders who normally wouldn’t be anywhere near the top of the rankings when the peloton reaches the Alps and the Pyrenees.
Specialists and General Classification favourites can easily be beaten by outsiders among the sprinters and other power houses – riders who on their best days can put out higher wattage numbers than anyone.
You do not win the Tour de France on the first stage, but this year, some riders will lose time and confidence right from the get-go.
You can experience the stage here
Stage 1 takes place in the middle of Copenhagen. You can see highlights and a walkthrough of the route, and you read more on transport and accommodation in Copenhagen.
Along the route
Historic Copenhagen
Colourful houses along cobblestone streets and canals, Renaissance castles and stylish modern architecture. It all interweaves in Copenhagen's historic inner city, where you can experience such Copenhagen gems as Amalienborg Palace, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek and the Round Tower.
Diverse city neighbourhoods
Copenhagen is a city composed of several different neighbourhoods, each with its own identity and individual character. Vesterbro offers hip restaurants and nightlife. Nørrebro is the city's vibrant playground, with focus on the offbeat and creative. Nordhavn has a harbour environment with modern architecture, while the industrial buildings on Refshaleøen form the backdrop for a real gastronomic adventure.
Green and sustainable
Copenhagen is a green and sustainable city. We serve organic meals in city institutions. In the summer, we dive into the cool, clean water in the harbour, we cycle along the harbour front, and we use the city's green electric buses, electric floating buses and the metro. We invest in new, sustainable solutions, better bicycle tracks, bicycle superhighways, and more green and blue oases. Moreover, we’ll be the world's first carbon-neutral city by 2025.
Bicycle design in the urban space
Copenhagen is designed for bicycles: footrests at traffic lights, “green waves” with intelligent traffic-control systems, wide bicycle tracks with room for cargo bikes, racing bikes, and the small children on bikes. We have everything from urban exercise areas and playgrounds on top of a multi-story carpark in Nordhavn, to a bicycle playground in Østerbro for the city’s children.
