2022 Tour de France Stage 7 Live Coverage
Welcome to our live coverage of Stage 7 of the 2022 Tour de France! Our live profile and commentary are below, followed by a preview of the technical aspects of the route.
Course Preview
At 176.3 kilometres, the 7th stage of the Tour de France travels from Tomblaine to a summit finish on La Planche des Belles Filles. The finish climb is 7 kilometres long and averages, while the last kilometre is unpaved.
It has been ten years since La Planche des Belles Filles was first featured on the Tour de France. That stage also started in Tomblaine. Chris Froome turned out on top, finishing 2 seconds ahead of his then leader Bradley Wiggins.
Since then, La Planche des Belle Filles was included four times. So it’s the sixth stage finish in eleven years' time in 2022. After Froome’s triumph, the climb also saw stage victories by Vincenzo Nibali (2014), Fabio Aru (2017), Dylan Teuns (2019), and Tadej Pogacar (2020). That last race was the dramatic uphill time trial on the penultimate day of action, in which Tadej Pogacar snatched the overall title from Primoz Roglic.
In most editions, La Planche des Belles Filles was a climb of 5.9 kilometres with an average gradient of 8.5%. Yet, the 2019 edition featured an extra and unpaved section of 1 kilometre. This way, the ascent amounted to 7 kilometres at 8.7%.
The unpaved sector is also included on 8 July. The last 100 metres are on tarmac though. Beginning with an energy-sapping ramp at 24%, the final kick-up is too steep for gravel.
Obviously, the race comes down to the finish climb, but of course, there is more to the 7th stage. The first half of the route is virtually flat before the second part is more accented. The riders tackle the Col de Grosse Pierre – 3.1 kilometres at 6.4% – and Col des Croix – 3.2 kilometres at 6.3% – before continuing to the Col de la Chevestraye. Which is a climb at shallow gradients – mostly false flat – just before the riders tackle La Planche des Belles Filles.
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