Tour de France 2022: When does the Tour de France start, what is the route, who is the favourite, does it start in Denmark, is Mark Cavendish competing and how to watch on TV

The race will be followed by the first edition of the Tour de France Femmes, which will have its first stage on the final day of the Tour.

Slovenian cyclist Tadej Pogačar of UAE Team Emirates is hoping to become the youngest rider to win the Tour de France three times consecutively this year.

The cyclist will be up against stiff competition, most notably in the form of an unforgiving, mountainous route that favours the powerful legs of the climbers.

But when will the Tour de France take place and who will compete for Great Britain?

Here’s everything you need to know:

When is the Tour de France?

The Tour de France will start on July 1 and conclude on July 24 this year.

What is the route?

The Tour will start on July 1 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

It will begin with a 13-kilometre Copenhagen city-centre time trial, before the race reconvenes on France’s north coast and winds down the west of the country, travelling through portions of Belgium, Luxembourg, and Switzerland along the way.

Cyclists will then travel through the Alps and the Pyrenees mountains - including a summit finish on Alpe d’Huez - before concluding with a 40-kilometre time trial and the traditional Parisian finish.

For the first time since 2018, the cobblestones of the Paris-Roubaix will be featured, with about 20 km of sections, some of which have never been utilised before in either the Tour or Paris-Roubaix.

Across 21 stages, this year’s riders will cover 3,328 km (2,068 miles) on their bikes.

Who is competing for Great Britain?

Great Britain will have four riders competing in this year’s Tour de France – although injury and other factors can always affect that number.

Tom Pidcock, a 22-year old from Leeds, is set to make his Tour debut this year, with two-time Olympic gold medallist Geraint Thomas and former young rider of the Tour winner Adam Yates all racing for Ineos Grenadiers.

Chris Froome, who is racing for Israel–Premier Tech, is hoping for his fifth Tour win this year.

Will Mark Cavendish compete in the Tour de France 2022?

Mark Cavendish will not be competing in this year’s Tour de France, despite equalling the all-time record for stage wins last year.

Mark has won 34 Tour de France stages in his cycling career, tying him for first on the all-time list with the legendary Eddy Merckx.

Who could win the Tour de France 2022?

Here are the latest odds on how the final Top 10 of the 2022 race might shake out, according to Paddy Power:

Tadej Pogacar (Slovenia) - 8/15

Primoz Roglic (Slovenia) - 5/2

Jonas Vingegaard (Denmark) - 5/1

Daniel Martínez (Colombia) - 12/1

Geraint Thomas (Great Britain) - 22/1

Alexander Vlasov (Russia) - 22/1

Enric Mas Nicolau (Spain) - 22/1

Adam Yates (Great Britain) - 25/1

Richard Carapaz (Ecuador) - 30/1

Jack Haig (Australia) - 40/1.

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How to watch the Tour de France on TV this year

In the UK, ITV4 will provide the coverage for this year’s Tour de France, after the channel signed a multi-year arrangement to broadcast cycling’s biggest event until at least 2023.

ITV has shown live coverage of each stage of the Tour de France on free-to-air television since 2002, as well as a nightly highlights programme.

The channel also has rights to show live coverage of the Tour de Yorkshire, as well as highlights of the Criterium Dauphine and Paris-Nice.

ITV’s cycling coverage also includes daily highlights of La Vuelta a Espana, as well as coverage of the Tour of Britain, Women’s Tour, and the Tour Series on ITV4.

Following the race, the Tour de France and Netflix will produce a documentary series about the 2022 race, with eight 45-minute episodes following all of the Tour’s major players from cyclists to team managers.