The race against the clock will kick off the 109th edition of the Tour de France, taking its grand départ for the first time in its history in the Denmark capital of Copenhagen. Known as the world capital of cycling, the sport is a way of life for the 5.8 million people that call Denmark home. 

As in 2021, the 2022 Tour will feature two time trials, this year book ending the dance around France with the second taking place on the penultimate stage. Defending champion, Tadej Pogačar of UAE Team Emirates won the first time trial on stage 5 last year, taking over the yellow jersey from Mathieu van der Poel. He would retain the jersey, and win two more stages and two other jerseys before being crowned champion for the second year in a row. Wout van Aert was the victor of the TT for stage 20. 

Grand Départ: Copenhague 13.2km

The pancake flat, 13.2km opening time trial should benefit the power riders among the 176 riders taking the start. After leaving the start house, the course will take the riders on a scenic route crossing the Queen Louise Bridge, through a circuit within the city, passing the Tivoli Gardens, and flying by the Little Mermaid statue before heading to the finish to award the first yellow jersey. 

Many of the time trial specialists were fortunate to have chosen the Critérium du Dauphiné as their lead up, escaping the Covid outbreak at the Tour de Suisse. Look to current ITT World Champion, Filippo Ganna of INEOS Grenadiers to be the heavy favorite. He beat out Wout van Aert, and Primoz Roglič of Jumbo Visma for the stage win at the Dauphiné. His teammate, Geraint Thomas surprised many racing fans, taking the Tour de Suisse title after the final TT stage. It has yet to be determined who will be leading INEOS, but after his win last week, we expect Thomas to be in the running. Both Thomas and Roglič will likely prefer their teammates to win the stage, rather than having to defend the jersey from day 1. 

Stage 20: Lacapelle – Marival to Rocamadour, 40.7 km

After making their way through the Pyrenees, and the battle on the last mountain day on stage 18 up Hautacam, the penultimate TT will be the final test before the parade to Paris. Both the start and finishing towns of stage 20 count themselves among the towns to host a stage of the Tour for the very first time. The 40.7 km course will feature two climbs before the finishing town of Rocamadour. Performing well will depend on which riders have best recovered after three weeks of battling their way through France. Motivation may be difficult if a rider is recovering from a crash or where their placing is on the overall GC. They will need to dig deep to fight for their last chance to take yellow.