Stage 1: Copenhagen to Copenhagen

One for the time trial experts

Choosing Copenhagen for the Tour de France‘s grand départ was an easy decision. As two-time Tour stage winner Søren Kragh Andersen says, “Cycling is very important in the daily life of the Danes. Owning a bike and using it regularly is part of our culture. In Copenhagen, there are about 675,000 bicycles, which is more than the city’s 644,000 inhabitants.” Most of those inhabitants will be watching the opening stage on July 1, a stage designed for pure time-trial specialists. The course is completely flat, and although it has 20 turns it’s not too technical, with most of the 13.2 kilometers raced on wide boulevards and city streets.

The trickiest section is two-thirds the way through when the course turns right into Langelinie Park on narrow roads that take the course past Copenhagen’s signature sight, The Little Mermaid, the 4-foot-high statue portraying the 1837 Hans Christian Andersen fairytale. On exiting the park, riders will head past the Amelienborg Castle and alongside the harbor before taking the straightaway to the finish outside the Tivoli Gardens, the world-famous 19th century amusement park.

The stage winner (and first yellow jersey) could beat the Tour’s TT record speed of 55.446 kph, set by Rohan Dennis on a similar course in Utrecht, the Netherlands, seven years ago. Jumbo-Visma’s Aussie is again a contender for the stage, while his main opponent is likely to be world TT champion Filippo Ganna of Ineos Grenadiers. For those targeting overall victory—including Tadej Pogačar, Primož Roglič and local favorite Jonas Vingegaard—it will be a question of not losing too much time. We’ll see right from the off who’s up for it.

Words by John Wilcockson/Peloton magazine.