Jonas Vingegaard etched his name in the history of the prestigious Tour de France by claiming the yellow jersey as the outright winner of the 2022 competition. The Dane displayed outstanding levels of consistency over the course of the tournament to edge out his rivals to win the crown for the first time. It was a breakthrough for the 25-year-old after he came so close to claiming the yellow jersey in the 2021 Tour de France.
Jonas Vingegaard seals yellow jersey with monstrous ride and win in Hautacam #TDF2022 //t.co/eDIdjWejKy pic.twitter.com/d9epbAiTgX
— CyclingUpToDate [@CyclingUpToDat3] July 21, 2022
The Dane was just five minutes off the pace last time out for Team Jumbo–Visma, and although he learned the hard way about the fine margins involved in elite cycling, he was able to return for the 2022 competition to avenge his defeat and close out the win by two minutes ahead of his nearest rival. Vingegaard is now backed in the cycling betting odds at 4/5 to win the Tour de France next year, aiming to join an elite company of riders to have secured back-to-back wins in the competition. However, it will be a challenge given the level of talent that is competing in the tournament across the board.
Consistency Was Key
Vingegaard’s consistency was crucial in allowing him to edge out Geraint Thomas among others for the yellow jersey. The Dane only managed to win two stages out of 21 in his ride to the crown, but he certainly made the most out of his victories. In Stage 11 in the Albertville to Col du Granon section of the Tour de France, he put down an exhilarating pace in the mountainous terrain. Vingegaard put forward a dominant ride in tough conditions and it allowed him to win the stage by 59 seconds ahead of his nearest rival Nairo Quintana and Romain Bardet in third. The victory allowed the Dane to take control of the yellow jersey and he did not relinquish it for the rest of the Tour de France.
Stage 18 was another test of his mettle in the race between Lourdes and Hautacam in 92 miles of action. Vingegaard had to be patient over the course of the stage as he was tested by a tough leading group that provided a firm examination of his speed and resilience under pressure. Although the first half of the stage was fairly flat, the demands of the latter portion of the race on the upslope were a test of his resolve. But, the 25-year-old rose to the occasion whereas his rivals folded, allowing him to take control of the race for the yellow jersey. From that point onwards, the Dane was well on his way to the crown with three stages remaining.
There were further tests, including a near-fall, but he fended off his rivals displaying a strong level of consistency to claim the crown. He will require those skills in abundance in 2023, where his desire will be tested. It is one of thing to reach the top of the Tour de France, but is a different challenge altogether to remain there as others in the field can attest. Vingegaard will now be the hunted rather than the hunter in 2023 and he will have to raise his game further to retain the yellow jersey.
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Tour de France 2023 Overview
The podium of the 2022 Tour de France [Image credit: Michael Steele/Getty Images]
The 2023 Tour de France will be the 110th edition of the world's biggest bike race, and will take place from July 1-23.
The race will start over the border in Spain, with the Basque Country hosting the Grand Départ and opening three stages. The race will finish in Paris after 21 stages and two rest days.
The full route for the 2023 Tour de France will be unveiled at a ceremony in Paris on October 27. As ever, rumours will swirl and key details will emerge ahead in advance.
The route reveal, which follows a similar ceremony for the 2023 Giro d'Italia, will make way for talk of which of the world's best riders will be taking on the Tour de France, and how the route suits their respective chances.
Tour de France 2023 news and features
- 2023 Tour de France to start in the Basque Country
- 2023 Tour de France set to return to Puy de Dome mountain finish
Tour de France 2023 route
The map of the 2023 Tour de France Grand Depart in the Basque Country [Image credit: ASO]
The full route for the 2023 Tour de France will be unveiled on October 27. For now, the only confirmed stages are the opening three that take place in the Basque Country.
Bilbao will be the central location for the Grand Départ after the city has invested significantly in culture, tourism and sport in recent years. The first stage will leave Bilbao on Saturday July 1, 2023 with two more stages through Basque territory before heading into France.
The opening 185km road stage will visit the hilly coastline of the Bay of Biscay before returning to Bilbao for a late, steep climb of the Pike Bidea and the finish in the city centre.
Stage 2 is over 210km from Vitoria-Gasteiz to Donastia San Sebastián, with the Jaizkibel climb close to the finish.
Stage 3 will start in Amorebieta-Etxano and is perhaps a chance for the sprinters, with 80km along the Basque Country coastline before a finish in France that will be revealed later in the year.
The Tour de France last visited the Basque Country back in 2018 for a time trial on the French side of the Pyrenees. The Tour de France first visited the Basque Country in 1949 when Louis Caput won a stage to San Sebastián.
Tour de France 2023 contenders
Tour de France rivals: Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard [Image credit: Getty Images]
2022 champion Jonas Vingegaard [Jumbo-Visma] is expected to return to defend his title after dispatching two-time winner Tadej Pogačar [UAE Team Emirates]. Pogačar himself has expressed a desire in the past to ride the Giro d'Italia but would surely line up at the Tour however his season is structured.
It remains to be seen how Jumbo-Visma play their cards after their 2022 success, with question marks over whether Primož Roglič is brought back in as co-leader.
Ineos Grenadiers won the Tour seven times in 11 years but have now endured a three-year drought, and their hopes depend on whether Egan Bernal can return to his best form after his life-threatening crash at the start of 2022.
Richard Carapaz, who finished third in 2021, is expected lead his new team, EF Education-EasyPost, while Enric Mas would again lead the line for Movistar.
The biggest area of intrigue, though, concerns Remco Evenepoel, who recently won the Vuelta a España and the road race world title. He had been scheduled to target the Giro d'Italia in 2023 and the Tour de France in 2024 but that could be fast-tracked, especially if he finds the route to his liking.
Tour de France 2023 teams
The 2023 Tour de France will be made up of 22 teams, although they have not yet been confirmed.
The 18 WorldTour teams will be on the start line, with two spots going to the top-ranked second-division teams, and two more handed out as discretionary wildcard invitations by the organisers.
With relegation and promotion not yet confirmed for 2023, the start list is not final, but it is almost certain that Alpecin-Fenix and Arkéa-Samsic will be joining the WorldTour, while Lotto Soudal and Israel-Premier Tech drop down.
Lotto Soudal would earn an automatic spot as one of the best second-division teams from the 2022 rankings, along with TotalEnergies.
That would leave Israel-Premier Tech scrapping for one of the two wildcard spots, alongside French squad B&B Hotels-KTM, ambitious Norwegian outfit Uno-X, and the Basque Euskaltel-Euskadi who'll want to represent their home region at the Grand Départ.
Tour de France history
Jonas Vingegaard is the reigning champion, having won his first Tour de France in 2022. The Danish rider denied Tadej Pogačar a trio of consecutive victories, the Slovenian having snatched the 2020 title before dominating the 2021 race.
Pogačar himself broke a Ineos/Sky stranglehold on the race, with the British team having won seven of the previous eight Tours de France with Egan Bernal, Geraint Thomas, Bradley Wiggins and four-time winner Chris Froome. Vincenzo Nibali, then riding for Astana, was the other man to break the British squad's dominance with a win in 2014.
The Tour wins record is currently held by four men, with Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Jacques Anquetil and Miguel Indurain all on five titles.
Peter Sagan getting once dominated the green jersey for the points classification but has been usurped in the past three years, with Wout van Aert establishing himself as the dominant man of all terrains in 2022. Sagan still holds the all-time green jersey record with seven wins in nine participations. Erik Zabel's six jerseys lie second, ahead of Sean Kelly's four.
In addition to his yellow jersey, Vingegaard won the polka-dot jersey for the mountains classification in 2022, as Pogačar did the previous two years. Richard Virenque holds the record for polka dot jersey wins at seven, and it won't be beaten anytime soon as Pogačar and Rafał Majka are the only current riders to have won more than one king of the mountains title, with two.
Pogačar has won the white jersey for best young rider three years in a row and, at 24, is still eligible for a fourth crack in 2023.
Read on for a list of the riders with the most wins of the Tour de France, the most stage wins, as well as the major jerseys.
Most Tour de France wins
- 5 – Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Miguel Indurain
- 4 – Chris Froome
- 3 – Phiilippe Thys, Louison Bobet, Greg LeMond
- 2 – Lucien Petit-Breton, Firmin Lambot, Ottavio Bottecchia, Nicolas Frantz, André Leducq, Antonin Magne, Sylvère Maes, Gino Bartali, Fausto Coppi, Bernard Thévenet, Laurent Fignon, Alberto Contador, Tadej Pogačar
- 1 – Vincenzo Nibali, Geraint Thomas, Egan Bernal, Jonas Vingegaard
Most Tour de France stage wins
- 34 – Eddy Merckx, Mark Cavendish
- 28 – Bernard Hinault
- 25 – André Leducq
- 22 – André Darrigade
- 20 – Nicolas Frantz
- 19 – François Faber
- 17 – Jean Alavoine
- 16 – Jacques Anquetiil, René Le Grevès, Charles Pélissiier
... - 12 – Peter Sagan
- 11 – André Greipel
- 9 - Tadej Pogačar, Wout van Aert
- 7 – Chris Froome
- 6 – Vincenzo Nibali
Most Tour de France green jersey wins
- 7 – Peter Sagan
- 6 – Erik Zabel
- 4 – Sean Kelly
- 3 – Jan Janssen, Eddy Merckx, Freddy Maertens, Djamolidine Abdoujaparov, Robbie McEwen
- 2 – Stan Ockers, Jean Graczyk, André Darrigade, Laurent Jalabert, Thor Hushovd, Mark Cavendish
- 1 – Michael Matthews, Sam Bennett, Wout van Aert
Most Tour de France polka dot jersey wins
- 7 – Richard Virenque
- 6 – Federico Bahamontes, Lucien Van Impe
- 3 – Julio Jiménez
- 2 – Felicien Vervaecke, Gino Bartali, Fausto Coppi, Charly Gaul, Imerio Massignan, Eddy Merckx, Luis Herrera, Claudio Chiappucci, Laurent Jalabert, Michael Rasmussen,Rafał Majka, Tadej Pogačar
- 1 – Nairo Quintana, Chris Froome, Warren Barguil, Julian Alaphilippe, Romain Bardet, Jonas Vingegaard