It’s the 109th edition of the biggest cycling race the world has to offer and we are happy to bring you all you need to know from the Key stages of the race to which riders are worth betting on for each Jersey.
The Tour De France originated when trying to promote a local French newspaper back in 1903 but has since blossomed into one of the biggest sporting events in the world.
Tour De France 2022 Route and Five Key Stages
Stages 1-6
We start in an unlikely place this time around as we are heading to Denmark, Copenhagen for the opening round of the race and it will be a GC (General Classification) battle from the get-go as stage one is an individual time trial.
The next two stages take place across Denmark before we head to France for stage 4 where the rest of the race will take place. Stage 5 is essentially the Tour De Frances mini version of the Paris-Roubaix, a one-day classic race.
The Paris-Roubaix features a lot of cobblestone racing and this stage five from Lille to Arenberg will have 12.7 miles of Cobblestones for the riders to overcome.
Key Stage 1: Tomblaine – La Planche Des Belles Fillies (Stage 7)
Our first key stage of the race takes place on day 7 with a mountain top finish on La Planche des Belles Filles.
The riders will have to get through 103 miles before they make the dash up the 4.3-mile mountain, with the final ½ mile being unpaved.
Tour De France fans will remember this mountain from back in 2012 when Chris Froome finished 2 seconds ahead of Bradley Wiggins.
Stages 8-10
The next stage is a hilly stage that will suit punchers with its small but sharp incline towards the end of the race, with the stage starting in France it ends in Switzerland.
The next stage before a day’s break takes us to Aigle which is where the headquarters for the sport’s governing body is based, yet they have never passed through here on the Tour until now.
The riders will have a rest day before tacking the Alps on day 10, although this stage is only 91 miles long (the shortest during this year’s race) it won’t be easy as the riders have three big mountains to climb, all slow and steady inclines with the final one just over 13 miles long with a mountaintop finish.
Key Stage 2: Albertville – Col Du Granon (Stage 11)
Stage 11 has two HC summits, which are maximum points for the king of the mountain (Polka Dot Jersey). This stage is 93 miles long with the first 46 miles being relatively flat before the riders traverse up three big mountains, the biggest being 10 miles long.
Key Stage 3: Briancon – Alpe D’Huez (Stage 12)
It’s back mountain stages for the teams and riders with a mountaintop finish on the famous Alpe D’Huez.
The final mountain top finish is 8.7 miles long and all three mountains have an HC summit, again meaning it’s very difficult and maximum points for the king of the mountain.
It’s at this stage we expect to see many riders lose touch with the main GC group, especially the sprinters.
Stages 13-16
We have no mountain stages during these next four races with stages 13 and 15 being flat which will be a kind of rest day for the GC contenders and the sprinters will look to score some points.
Stages 14 and 16 are Hilly stages, again the GC battle will quieten down and rest on these stages before the big finale in the Pyrenees. There is a rest day between stages 15 and 16.
Key Stage 4: Saint-Gaudens – Peyragudes (Stage 17)
We finally get high up into the Pyrenees on day 17, an 80-mile-long race with the final mountain climb being 5 miles long with an average gradient of 7.8% steep, the steepest part coming within a few meters of the summit at a whopping 17% of the gradient.
This is where some of the contenders should look to make their move. The race is set to finish at the airport of Peyragudes.
Key Stage 5: Lourdes – Houtcam (Stage 18)
The final climbing stage of the tour starts at the Pilgrimage of Lourdes and takes us up into the Pyrenees, the stage is 88 miles long and features three notable mounting climbs as well as two HC finishes. The final summit is almost 9 miles long with an average gradient of 7.9%.
Stages 19-21
We have a flat stage for race number 19 which will be all about the sprinters, but race 20 could be pivotal in the overall standings as it’s another individual time trial, this time 25 miles long.
Finally, we reach Paris on the final stage and for those unaware, this stage usually isn’t contested by the GC riders and will be an all-out sprint for green Jersey.
Riders to Watch
Tadej Pogacar
The Slovenian rider is the favorite for this year’s jersey having won it in the previous two seasons. 2020 was Pogacar’s debut, but that mattered little when he won the Tour quite easily and he decimated the field in 2021 winning all three classifications (Mountain, Youth, and Yellow jersey).
Pogacar also went on to win bronze at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, the first rider ever to win the Tour and an Olympic medal in the same year. Podcgar is also the world ranked number 1 and at the time of writing is -140 at BMR’s top-rated sportsbooks to win his third Tour De France in a row.
Podcgar and Covid
The one issue right now is many of his teammates are down with Covid, we are currently unsure how this will affect him or the team but this is not good news for favorite betters and -140 might not be the best bet to take at least until we see how the race is unfolding, although two or three early strong rounds will send Pogacar’s betting odds plummeting.
Primoz Roglic
There must be something in the water in Slovenia as the second favorite for this year’s Tour De France is former Ski jumper Primoz Roglic. Write this man off at your peril, he made the transition from being a skier to a cyclist and managed to become one of the best cyclists on the Tour.
It’s been noted that Pogacar isn’t that much better thank Roglic, he has just won more major races but Roglic isn’t one to give up easily and at +400 as second favorite we feel this is the best bet to be on for the outright winners market.
Roglic almost won the Tour on one occasion and who knows what might have happened last year if he hadn’t suffered so many crashes and withdrew from the race.
Calculators
