2022 Tour de France stage 1 time trial - start times

On Friday, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) begins his quest for a third consecutive Tour de France title on the streets of Copenhagen, Denmark in the opening 13.2km individual time trial. 

Before a champion is crowned in the 109th Tour de France on July 24 in Paris, 176 riders will roll down the start ramp for the race against the clock in the centre of the Denmark's capital, where huge, enthusiastic crowds that were present for the teams presentation are anticipated for the first of three days in Scandinavian nation.  

Time trial World Champion Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) is the favourite to win on Friday and so pull on the first yellow jersey. His start time, 64th overall, is at 17:03 local time, and is among the first half of the field. Top challenger Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) the 65th rider taking his turn just one minute later and Pogačar next off. Wind and rain are forecast to hit the area in the afternoon, so many of the favourites are scheduled to take the course in the early waves.

Other challengers who will take the course early, and giving them a better chance to take risks in the corners, include Stefan Bissegger (EF Education-EasyPost), Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ), Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora-Hansgrohe), Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck). 

Danish riders like Jakob Fuglsang (Israel-Premier Tech), Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma), Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) and Mikkel Bjerg (UAE Team Emirates) will want to impress the home crowd. The overall contenders will also be fighting for every second, with Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) hoping to gain a psychological advantage on Pogačar.

The opening kilometres offer long straights that favour the pure time triallists, with the intermediate time is taken at Sankt Jakob’s church after 6.6 kilometres. Riders set off next to Ørstedsparken, one of a number of parks that evolved from the old city fortifications. The course then becomes more technical, and includes a total of 18 corners. 

The course includes 18 corners and passes The Little Mermaid, the world-famous statue from a Hans Christian Andersen fairytale. Near the end they will pass the royal palace of Amalienborg and The Black Diamond which houses the Royal Library, Denmark’s main public library. On the final kilometre, three 90-degree turns bring riders onto H.C. Andersens Boulevard where the finish line is located at Rådhuspladsen next to the Copenhagen City Hall.