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MAP: What you need to know about the 2022 Tour de France (and Denmark)

The 2022 Tour de France starts on Friday and is once more an international event - setting off from Copenhagen - after the previous two years' events were curtailed by the pandemic.

The 2022 Tour de France will start in Denmark
The 2022 Tour de France will start in Denmark. Photo: Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP

The race will begin in Copenhagen and spend several days in Denmark crossing islands before riders will be transferred back to France for the race to continue from the north east of the country.

The French portion of the route begins in Dunkirk and then travels down the eastern side of the country, taking in the Alps before looping across southern France to the Pyrenees for more mountain racing.

It will finish as usual in Paris, with riders cycling up the Champs-Elysées on Sunday, July 24th.

The Tour usually includes at least one stage outside France, but Covid travel restrictions meant the 2021 race was held entirely in France, apart from a brief trip into the neighbouring micro-state of Andorra.

Copenhagen was originally scheduled to host the 2021 Grand Départ.

The race usually starts on a Saturday, but next year will begin on Friday, July 1st, in order to allow time for the rest days and transfer of all teams back from Denmark to France.

The full route is;

 Stage 1 – July 1st
   Copenhagen – Copenhagen – 13km (time trial)

   Stage 2 – July 2nd
   Roskilde – Nyborg – 199km

   Stage 3 – July 3rd
   Vejle – Sonderborg – 182km

   Stage 4 – July 5th
   Dunkirk – Calais – 172km

   Stage 5 – July 6th
   Lille – Arenberg Porte du Hainaut – 155km

   Stage 6 – July 7th
   Binche (Belgium) – Longwy – 220km

   Stage 7 – July 8th
   Tomblaine – La Super Planche des Belles Filles – 176km

   Stage 8 – July 9th
   Dole – Lausanne (Switzerland) – 184km

   Stage 9 – July 10th
   Aigle (Switzerland) – Chatel – 183km

   Stage 10 – July 11th
   Morzine – Megeve – 148km

   Rest day – July 12th

   Stage 11 – July 13th
   Albertville – Col du Granon – 149km

   Stage 12 – July 14th
   Briancon – Alpe d’Huez – 166km

   Stage 13 – July 15th
   Bourg d’Oisans – Saint-Etienne – 193km

   Stage 14 – July 16th
   Saint Etienne – Mende – 195km

   Stage 15 – July 17th
   Rodez – Carcassonne – 200km

   Rest Day – July 18th

   Stage 16 – July 19th
   Carcassonne – Foix – 179km

   Stage 17 – July 20th
   Saint-Gaudens – Peyragudes – 130km

   Stage 18 – July 21st
   Lourdes – Huatacam – 143km

   Stage 19 – July 22nd
   Castelnau-Magnoac – Cahors – 189km

   Stage 20 – July 23rd
   Lacapelle-Marival – Rocamadour – 40km (time trial)

   Stage 21 – July 24th
   Paris – Paris – 112km

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PARIS

French athlete breaks world record after rope climbing Eiffel Tower

French athlete Anouk Garnier broke the rope climbing world record on Wednesday morning after she ascended 100 metres to the second floor of the Eiffel Tower.

French athlete breaks world record after rope climbing Eiffel Tower

“I really did it?” the 34-year-old asked through tears while throwing herself into the arms of her family, including her “very proud” mother.

Equipped with a security cord, the two-time obstacle course world champion set off just moments earlier in front of dozens of people to climb one of Paris’ most iconic landmarks.

The objective: Beat previous marks held by South African Thomas Van Tonder who climbed 90 metres for the men’s record and Dane Ida Mathilde Steensgaard who peaked at 26 metres for the women’s record.

After just 18 minutes of climbing, compared to the 20 minutes initially estimated, she finally hit 100 metres.

“It is a dream come true. It was magical. If there was one thing that I never doubted, it was that I was going to do it,” Garnier told AFP.

‘What monument?’

It all began in 2022 when she landed the title of double world champion for obstacle courses in her age category.

Looking for a new challenge, Garnier discovered Steensgaard, a world champion in the same sport, who established a rope climbing world record for scaling the Copenhagen Opera House.

Garnier said: “I told myself ’26 metres is not very long. And me, what monument could I climb?'”

She set her sights on the Eiffel Tower, a symbol of France around the world.

“I never gave up because there were ups and downs,” Garnier said. Convincing sponsors was particularly complicated, she added.

When Garnier finally arrived at the Eiffel Tower on Wednesday morning, she cried.

“It is a year of preparation, it is not just an 18-minute climb. There is all the pressure when you aim for big things like this. When it is really done, the emotion is crazy,” she said.

As Garnier descended from her climb, she said it was beautiful to see her family so proud.

“They are the ones who instilled in me this discipline of sport, of always doing the best, always seeking excellence. It is thanks to them that I can do extraordinary things like today,” she said.

‘Another 10 years’

She also took up this challenge for her mother, who has cancer, to raise money for League Against Cancer, an organisation that works to prevent cancer and support patients.

“I saw her struggling so much that I wanted to do my part,” Garnier said.

Garnier now wants to take a break, but it will be a short one because her schedule is already fully booked.

Other than obstacle courses, which she plans to take up again after abandoning them a few months ago, she will be carrying the Olympic flame in Marseille on May 9 before becoming an ambassador for the volunteer program of this summer’s Paris Olympics.

Garnier is already thinking about future challenges.

“I’m 34 but my body is 20,” she said. “I am in great shape and I hope to go on like this for another ten years.”

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