The presentation of the teams, Wednesday evening in the Tivoli Gardens, set the tone for the Grand Départ in the city which prides itself on being the most cycle-friendly in the world: fervor and enthusiasm accompanied the runners and, preferably, the ten Danes present in the peloton of 176 riders.

The only shadows on the festive board of this kick-off, the background of doping, reactivated by a search Thursday morning in the hotel of the Bahrain team, and the Covid-19, reappeared in recent days.

But none of the favorites have been affected, especially not the contenders who have increased their vigilance in recent days and have most often skipped the national championships on Sunday to further reduce the risks.

For the third time, Slovenia takes the lion's share at the start.

A small country in size but a great sporting nation, it presents the favourite, Pogacar, and his first rival, Primoz Roglic, who have taken center stage since the summer of 2020 and the surprise outcome of the time trial of the Board of Beautiful Girls.

Route of the 109th edition of the Tour de France AFP / Archives

- An "exceptional" first week -

Coincidentally, the Tour returns this year to the Haute-Saône ski resort, where the arrival of the first Tour de France Women will also be judged on July 31.

The meeting is set for July 8 to make a little more difficult a first week expected by some and feared by many, described as "out of the ordinary" by Marc Madiot, the boss of the Groupama-FDJ team who counts in his ranks the only declared French candidate for the podium, David Gaudu.

Out of the ordinary?

The start of the Tour combines the difficulties, from the inaugural time trial on Friday in the wide arteries of the Danish capital (13.2 km) to the announced windy passage on the bridge overlooking the sea the next day, of the cobblestone stage from Arenberg (Wednesday) to the steep finish of Longwy and then Lausanne, all conducive to breaks.

Project manager of the course, race director Thierry Gouvenou explains: "It's cycling that the spectators like. We really favored the punchers. In the first week, there were not many opportunities for the sprinters to shine".

Slovenian Tadej Pogacar (center) during the presentation of his team in Copenhagen on June 29, 2022 two days before the Grand Départ of the 109th edition of the Tour de France Marco BERTORELLO AFP / Archives

Faced with this rare set of difficulties, the teams playing in the general classification had to mix and match, choosing team members capable of leading their leaders in the best conditions on these difficult terrains, even if it meant reducing their strike force in the mountains.

"The balance of power can change", welcomes the race director.

To overturn the table

The fact remains that Pogacar, with the full panoply if we trust the agility of the young Slovenian (23 years old) during the spring classics, remains the best equipped to thwart the traps and become the first runner, since Eddy Merckx here half a century, to win his first three Tours.

"As long as we work together, we think we can beat him," said Roglic, however, associated with Dane Jonas Vingegaard who caused a sensation last year (2nd).

The Russian Aleksandr Vlasov launched towards his victory in the Tour de Romandie in Villars-sur-Ollon, May 1, 2022 Fabrice COFFRINI AFP / Archives

The trio of Ineos training (Martinez, Thomas, A. Yates) aligns itself with this position, as does the Russian Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora): "if I play intelligently, I think I have a small chance. The race is long."

The Alps, with two crucial arrivals at the Col du Granon and Alpe d'Huez, then the Pyrenees are as many opportunities to overturn the table before the final parade, on July 24, on the Champs-Elysées after a few 3,350 kilometers.

For the time being, it is in another capital that the yellow jersey will be awarded, early Friday evening (around 5:10 p.m. GMT).

The time trial world champion, the Italian Filippo Ganna, is applying to receive it for his debut in the Tour.

But the unstoppable Wout van Aert, winner of the last two stages of the 2021 Tour, is ready to resume his series.

© 2022 AFP