The Tour de France is the biggest, most famous cycling race on the planet with the world's best cyclists and strongest teams battling it out and Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar is again the man to beat.
Of the three Grand Tours on the cycling calendar, the Tour de France is the most famous. Even non-cycling enthusiasts tend to tune in over the three weeks in July to check out the racing and beautiful scenery of the French countryside and mountains.
18 UCI teams and four UCI pro teams will begin on the start line on 1st July. UAE Team Emirates and Team Jumbo-Visma, who boast the leading General Classification contenders, will be looking to boss the race.
The Tour de France will begin on 1st July. But as is the norm these days the ‘Grand Depart’ as it is known will begin outside of France.
This year the race begins with Stage 1 taking place in Copenhagen, Denmark. Indeed the first three stages are all in Denmark before the Tour heads into France in Stage 4. As always the Tour de France concludes in Paris on 21st July.
Covering a total of 3,328km, the Tour de France will of course have something for everyone. The first week is mainly made up of stages that are suited for the sprinters.
But when it comes to sorting out who will win the Tour de France, the battle for the General Classification is sorted out in the high mountains. And this year the organisers have laid on a brutal course.
There are six mountain stages with five altitude finishes. There are 29 second, first and hors category climbs.
In week two the riders head into the French Alps and Stage 11 catches the eye straight away. The race heads over the Col du Telegraphe before the riders take on the legendary Col du Galibier. Just to wrap up a brutal stage they finish with a climb up the Col du Granon.
There is no let-up as on Stage 12 the riders tackle Col du Galibier from another side. The stage also includes the Col de la Croix de Fer and finishes with the 21 hairpin bends of Alpe d'Huez.
The peloton will hit the Pyrenees on Stage 17 with the overall winner of the Tour de France sure to be decided over the next few days. On this stage they must first tackle the Col d'Aspin, the Hourquette d'Ancizan and the Col de Val Louron-Azet before finishing on Peyragudes.
Stage 18 is the final mountain stage of the 2022 Tour de France and sees what is left of the peloton take on the Hautacam climb for the first time since 2014.
Arguably the most famous jersey in world sport is the yellow jersey which belongs to the rider who is leading the General Classification throughout the race. The idea of course, like with all the jerseys, is to be holding it at the end of the Tour de France.
The green jersey is awarded to the leader of the Points Classification which is usually for the top sprinter. The polka dot jersey is for the Mountains Classification and the white jersey goes to the leader of the Young rider classification.
If watching from Australia, SBS will provide full coverage of the Tour de France. It should also be streamed live via the Global Cycling Network (GCN+) and Discovery+ apps.
The General Classification is obviously the big one and last year’s winner Tadej Pogacar is again the man everyone else will try to stop. It will take some doing.
The Slovenian, who is priced at 8/13, has shown he is an absolute beast and as soon as the race hits the Alps and the Pyrenees, the 23-year-old is sure to come into his own. Barring any crashes or mechanical issues, Pogacar is likely to be wearing yellow come the end of the race.
However Jumbo-Visma may have something to say about it with fellow Slovenian Primoz Roglic priced at 10/3 also a big contender. Not only that he will have the support of a very strong team that includes Jonas Vingegaard, who is a GC contender in his own right and can be backed at 15/4.
Jumbo-Visma also have Wout van Aert, who along with Mathieu van der Poel could provide plenty of entertainment as they go stage hunting.
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