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A Great Departure to the North

The Danish candidacy, supported by the highest political authorities, won over the organizers of the Tour despite the most northern start in its history and a day dedicated to recovery due to transfer.

"In Denmark, everyone is on a bicycle", insists the director of the Tour Christian Prudhomme who has postponed the departure from Copenhagen for one year to avoid duplication with matches of the last Euro football.

Sportingly, Friday's time trial (favorable to the world champion in the discipline, Filippo Ganna) and the finish of the second stage, with a final very exposed to the wind on the bridge which connects the two largest islands of countries, announce two highlights.

Before returning to France and following a spectacular and dreaded first week, drawn for the punchers.

"The teams will do the accounts in Arenberg (5th stage), it is possible that a certain number of favorites will be eliminated or trapped", admits Christian Prudhomme about the race which will then tackle two monumental alpine stages (Granon, Alpe d'Huez) then to the consistent Pyrenees with summit finishes each time (Peyragudes, Hautacam).

Map of the route of the 1st stage of the Tour de France 2022, an individual time trial in Copenhagen, July 1 Vincent LEFAI AFP

A long 40 kilometer time trial in the Lot, resort of the Danish royal family, precedes the final parade on the Champs-Elysées on July 24 by 24 hours, after 3,350 kilometers.

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An ever-present threat

The cascade of abandonments recently recorded at the Tour de Suisse has reminded us of the threat posed by the resumption of the Covid-19 epidemic in Western Europe.

Consequence or coincidence, absences and withdrawals have multiplied for the various national championships of the weekend (Pogacar, Roglic, van Aert, van der Poel, Bardet, Pinot, Gaudu).

In all the teams, the concern for protection is essential after the general relaxation at the start of the season, even if a number of positive runners did not show symptoms.

Julian Alaphilippe in yellow and Fabien Grellier in a best climber's weight jersey, wear masks on the 107th edition of the Tour de France in the midst of Covid in Nice, August 31, 2020 Anne-Christine POUJOULAT AFP / Archives

“For the teams, the Tour de France is so important that they themselves redouble their attention for the riders and their staff before the start”, estimates the director of the Tour who intends to strictly respect the health rules in force and provides for the distribution of some 40,000 masks for the public near the start and finish areas.

But concern surfaces in the reactions of the riders although the peloton has been spared by the Covid-19 in the last two editions in a context of greater tension, especially in 2020.

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Only one favorite for the yellow jersey

Two participations and two victories.

At 23, Pogacar has a 100% success rate and presents equally solid guarantees.

The young Slovenian from the UAE team, who has ten victories in 2022, impressed in the classics at the start of the season and recently flew over his National Tour.

Who can beat him except poor performance or a twist of fate?

UAE-Emirates rider Tadej Pogacar, yellow jersey of the Tour de France, triumphs with his teammates on the Champs-Elysées in Paris, July 18, 2021 Anne-Christine POUJOULAT AFP / Archives

The opposition is led by the Jumbo team which aligns the dolphins of the last two years, the Slovenian Primoz Roglic (2020) and the Dane Jonas Vingegaard (2021).

But, in the Tour, the centers of interest are multiple, both for the other distinctive jerseys (classifications by points, for the mountains, etc.) and for stage successes.

The match between Belgian Wout van Aert and Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel, the elite punchers, alone serves as a common thread in the first week.

Especially if the world champion, Julian Alaphilippe, whose presence remains to be confirmed, interferes in the duel.

© 2022 AFP