With Tour de France 2023 just around the corner, it's time to look at the 2022 edition of cycling's most prestigious race.
A Danish rider — who emerged as a contender in 2021 — completed his transition to superstar by winning Le Tour on only his second attempt.
The Sporting News takes a look back at last year's Tour de France.
MORE: When is the Tour de France 2023? Start date, schedule, route, confirmed stages, teams and riders
Who won the Tour De France 2022 general classification?
Denmark talent Jonas Vingegaard (Team Jumbo-Visma) won the 2022 Tour de France by two minutes and 43 seconds over 2020 and 2021 champion Tadej Pogacar.
It was the 26-year-old's second Tour de France, after only three years of being a professional cyclist at the top level — UCIWorld.
Vingegaard snatched the yellow jersey off Pogacar after the stage 11 summit finish at Col du Granon, winning the race and gaining three minutes on his rival.
Pogacar attacked Vingegaard twice on Alpe d'Huez during stage 12 but the Dane managed to fight them off and finish with the same time as his challenger.
The Slovenian contender continued to look for a chink in Vingegaard's armour, but was only able to wrestle back four seconds despite winning stage 17, with the Denmark rider not far behind.
In the final race in the Pyrenees mountains on stage 18, Vingegaard showed sportsmanship by waiting for Pogacar after he had a crash on the descent of Col de Spandelles.
But once that race came to its conclusion after the ascent of Hautacam, Vingegaard had extended his overall lead past three minutes after breaking Pogacar with four kilometres to go.
Vingegaard then cruised to victory through the remaining stages, finishing second in the stage 20 time trial ahead of third-placed Pogacar, before winning the title on the Champs-Elysees.
In winning his first Tour, Vingegaard became the first rider from Denmark to be champion since 1996.
With Vingegaard also claming the Mountains classification, and team-mate Wout van Aert winning the Points classification, it was the first time the same team had won general, mountains and points classifications since Eddy Merckx's Faema team in 1969.
Pogacar won the Young Rider classification for the third consecutive Tour, while Ineos Grenadiers picked up the Team classification and Van Aert the most combative rider.
Final General classification
| Pos. | Cyclist (Nationality) | Time | Back | Bonus | Penalty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Jonas Vingegaard (Denmark) | 79 hours, 33 minutes, 20 seconds | — | 0:00.32 | — |
| 2. | Tadej Pogacar (Slovenia) | 79 hours, 36 minutes, 3 seconds | 0:02.43 | 0:00.40 | — |
| 3. | Geraint Thomas (United Kingdom) | 79 hours, 40 minutes, 42 seconds | 0:07:22 | — | — |
| 4. | David Gaudu (France) | 79 hours, 46 minutes, 25 seconds | 0:13:39 | 0:00.04 | — |
| 5. | Aleksandr Vlasov (Russia) | 79 hours, 49 minutes, 6 seconds | 0:15.46 | — | — |
Jones Vingegaard's rise from unknown to Tour de France champion
Vingegaard wasn't a contender when he entered his first Tour de France in 2021 — with the Dane set to be a domestique for race favourite Primoz Roglic.
Signs that Vingegaard had emerged as a Grand Tour contender were present after he finished second in the 2021 Tour of the Basque Country, ironically to team-mate Roglic.
But Roglic was forced to retire prior to stage nine of Le Tour following a crash on stage three, meaning Vingegaard was thrust into the position of Team Jumbo-Visma's team leader.
Vingegaard showed his potential by going with leader Tadej Pogacar on numerous occasions, but he ultimately finished second in the overall race, five minutes and 20 seconds shy of the Slovenian champion.
The Denmark rider again announced his form prior to the 2022 Tour by finishing second in the Criterium du Dauphine — the race known for riders showing their form ahead of Le Tour.
Again, Vingegaard finished behind Roglic, but the Dane would emerge as the team leader during the 2022 Tour de France and win his first Grand Tour.
Tour de France standings 2022
Final General classification
| Pos. | Cyclist (Nationality) | Time | Back | Bonus | Penalty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Jonas Vingegaard (Denmark) | 79 hours, 33 minutes, 20 seconds | — | 0:00.32 | — |
| 2. | Tadej Pogacar (Slovenia) | 79 hours, 36 minutes, 3 seconds | 0:02.43 | 0:00.40 | — |
| 3. | Geraint Thomas (United Kingdom) | 79 hours, 40 minutes, 42 seconds | 0:07:22 | — | — |
| 4. | David Gaudu (France) | 79 hours, 46 minutes, 25 seconds | 0:13:39 | 0:00.04 | — |
| 5. | Aleksandr Vlasov (Russia) | 79 hours, 49 minutes, 6 seconds | 0:15.46 | — | — |
You can find a full list of classifications here
Tour de France winners, results by stage
The 2022 Tour de France began with an individual time trial in Copenhagen and two more stages in Denmark before it transferred over to France.
The 2022 Tour de France ran a total of 3,349.8 kilometers, or 2,081.47 miles. There were seven hilly stages, six flat stages, six mountain stages and two individual time trials. Of the six mountain stages, five were summit finishes.
| # | Date | Length | Stage | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | July 1 | 13.2 km (8.2 miles) | Copenhagen to Copenhagen (individual time-trial) | Yves Lampaert |
| 2 | July 2 | 202.5 km (125.8 miles) | Roskilde to Nyborg (flat) | Fabio Jakobsen |
| 3 | July 3 | 182 km (113.1 miles) | Vejle to Sonderborg (flat) | Dylan Groenewegen |
| Transfer | July 4 | -- | NA | -- |
| 4 | July 5 | 171.5 km (106.6 miles) | Dunkerque to Calais (hilly) | Wout van Aert |
| 5 | July 6 | 157 km (97.6 miles) | Lille Metropole to Arenberge Porte du Hainaut (hilly) | Simon Clarke |
| 6 | July 7 | 220 km (136.7 miles) | Binche to Longwy (hilly) | Tadej Pogacar |
| 7 | July 8 | 176.5 km (109.7 miles) | Tomblaine to La Super Planche des Belles Filles (mountain) | Tadej Pogacar |
| 8 | July 9 | 186.5 km (115.9 miles) | Dole to Lausanne (hilly) | Wout van Aert |
| 9 | July 10 | 193 km (119.9 miles) | Aigle to Chatel Les Portes du Soleil (mountain) | Bob Jungels |
| Rest day | July 11 | -- | Morzine Les Portes du Soleil | NA |
| 10 | July 12 | 148.5 km (92.3 miles) | Morzine Les Portes du Soleil to Megeve (hilly) | Magnus Cort Nielsen |
| 11 | July 13 | 152 km (94.4 miles) | Albertville to Col du Granon Serre Chevalier (mountain) | Jonas Vingegaard |
| 12 | July 14 | 165.5 km (102.8 miles) | Briancon to Alpe D'Huez (mountain) | Tom Pidcock |
| 13 | July 15 | 193 km (119.9 miles) | Le Bourg D'Oisanas to Saint-Etienne (flat) | Mads Pedersen |
| 14 | July 16 | 192.5 km (119.6 miles) | Saint-Etienne to Mende (hilly) | Michael Matthews |
| 15 | July 17 | 202.5 km (125.8 miles) | Rodez to Carcassonne (flat) | Jasper Philipsen |
| Rest day | July 18 | -- | Carcassonne | NA |
| 16 | July 19 | 178.5 km (110.9 miles) | Carcassonne to Foix (hilly) | Hugo Houle |
| 17 | July 20 | 130 km (80.8 miles) | Saint-Gaudens to Peyragudes (mountain) | Tadej Pogacar |
| 18 | July 21 | 143.5 km (89.2 miles) | Lourdes to Hautacam (mountain) | Jonas Vingegaard |
| 19 | July 22 | 188.5 km (117.1 miles) | Castelnau-Magnoac to Cahors (flat) | Christophe Laporte |
| 20 | July 23 | 40.7 km (25.3 miles) | Lacapelle-Marival to Rocamadour (individual time-trial) | Wout van Aert |
| 21 | July 24 | 116 km (72.1 miles) | Paris La Defense Arena to Paris Champs-Elysees | Jasper Philipsen |