Why is the Tour de France in Denmark in 2022?
The Tour de France is taking place in Denmark this year.
The Tour de France is one of the definitive great sporting events on the calendar each year.
You don't need to be an avid cycling fan to appreciate the sheer physical and mental anguish that riders must put themselves through to win the Tour.
The gruelling trek covers the north eastern border of France before heading down through the Alps and into more central southern regions.
However, 2022 is different in the sense that it doesn't actually begin in France at all. This year's race begins in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Fans around the world will be excited to soak up the very first trip to Scandinavia for the Tour de France start.
RadioTimes.com brings you all the details about why this year's Tour de France will take place in Denmark in 2022.
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Why does the Tour de France start in Denmark?
Denmark boasts a rich culture of cycling and is widely recognised as one of the finest nations in the world to hop on a bike and ride.
Copenhagen is awash with tides of cyclists commuting to and from work. Reports suggest almost half of the workforce in the Danish capital commutes via cycling.
Simply, Tour de France officials have always enjoyed sending the Tour abroad for the opening stages of races.
The first multi-national Tour took place in 1954 when riders began their exploits in Amsterdam, Netherlands, while a range of European cities varying from Monte Carlo to Leeds have hosted the start of the event.
Tour de France location history
Check out the full list of international starts in the history of the Tour de France, including the planned starting point in 2023:
1954: Amsterdam, Netherlands
1958: Brussels, Belgium
1965: Cologne, West Germany
1973: The Hague, Netherlands
1975: Charleroi, Belgium
1978: Leiden, Netherlands
1980: Frankfurt, West Germany
1982: Basel, Switzerland
1987: West Berlin
1989: Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
1992: San Sebastián, Spain
1996: Den Bosch, Netherlands
1998: Dublin, Ireland
2002: Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
2004: Liège, Belgium
2007: London, United Kingdom
2009: Monte Carlo, Monaco
2010: Rotterdam, Netherlands
2012: Liège, Belgium
2014: Leeds, United Kingdom
2015: Utrecht, Netherlands
2017: Düsseldorf, Germany
2019: Brussels, Belgium
2022: Copenhagen, Denmark
2023: Bilbao, Spain
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Authors
Michael Potts is the Sport Editor for Radio Times, covering all of the biggest sporting events across the globe with previews, features, interviews and more. He has worked for Radio Times since 2019 and previously worked on the sport desk at Express.co.uk after starting his career writing features for What Culture. He achieved a first-class degree in Sports Journalism in 2014.
