Essential info

Time bonuses

A time bonus of 10, six and four seconds will be awarded to the first three riders across the finish line each day (not including TTs). These bonus seconds are taken off their stage and therefore overall time.

Climb categorisation

Climbs are categorised due to their severity. This is worked out subjectively but based on their length, gradient and position on that day’s route. For example, a 10km climb that comes early in the stage could be a second-category climb, but a 10km climb of similar gradient that comes at the end of a 200km stage could be first category.

King of the Mountains

Points for the red and white polka-dot jersey are awarded to the first riders to pass over the top of a categorised climb. Points are awarded as follows:

HC: 20, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 points

1st cat: 10, 8, 6, 7, 5, 1 point

2nd cat: 5, 3, 2 points

3rd cat: 2 and 1 points

4th cat: 1 point

The Souvenir Henri Desgrange is awarded to the first rider passing the race’s highest point. This year it is the Col du Galibier, on stage 11. The prize is €5,000 and carries no extra points for the King of the Mountains jersey.

Points classification

Points for the green jersey are awarded at the end of each stage and at the intermediate sprints. ASO classifies stages as either flat, hilly or mountainous and this affects the points awarded, with more on offer for the flat stages to favour the sprinters.

Flat stage: 50, 30, 20 points (then descending to two points for 15th place)

Hilly stage: 30, 25, 22 points (then descending to 15th place).

Mountain stage and ITTs: 20, 17, 15, (then descending to two points for 15th place).

Intermediate sprint: 20, 17, 15, (then descending to one point for 15th place).

Young rider classification

Open to riders born after January 1, 1997. The highest placed rider on GC wears the white jersey.

Team classification

Calculated by adding the times of the three best riders on each team on every stage. The leading team wear yellow race numbers.

Most aggressive rider

Rewards the rider making the greatest effort and showing the best qualities of sportsmanship. Awarded after each stage and decided by a jury led by the race director. Winning rider wears red race numbers the following day.

The time cut

Each day, all riders have to finish within a certain time behind the stage winner or face being eliminated from the race. (Special exceptions can be made.)

Each stage is given a coefficient or ranking from one to six, based on its severity. One is the easiest, four is a difficult stage, five a mountainous short

stage and six the time trial. The time gapis then calculated as a percentage of the winner’s time (increasing as average speed increases).

KEY

Stage start

Stage finish

Hors catégorie climb

First-category climb

Second-category climb

Third-category climb

Fourth-category climb

Intermediate sprint

End of neutralised section

JERSEYS

Race leader

Rider with lowest aggregate time at the end of the previous stage

Points jersey

Rider with the highest number of points from stage finishes and intermediate sprints

King of the Mountains

Rider with the highest number of points from categorised climbs

Young rider

Rider under 25 with lowest aggregate time at the end of the previous stage

STAGE 1 TIME TRIAL

Copenhagen > Copenhagen

Friday, 1 July 13.2km First rider 15:00 Last rider 17:55

Held over for a year because the Covid pandemic had resulted in a clash with the delayed 2020 Football European Championships, the Tour de France begins the most northerly start in its 119-year history in the heart of Denmark’s capital, Copenhagen.

Today’s route

After getting up to speed on the initial 600-metre straight, the riders will turn left and cross the Queen Louise Bridge, reputed to be the world’s busiest cycle route with more than 40,000 crossings per day. In the second half, as the route turns left at the end of its longest straight, it switches from wide avenues to narrower roads, circling the historic Citadel of Copenhagen before the final straight adjacent to the Tivoli Gardens.

What to expect

There are two races going on here. On a flat course with lots of 90° turns, several of which could be tight depending on the width of the roads and road furniture, the time trial specialists will be vying for the privilege of pulling on yellow. The second battle is the start of the longer-term one between the GC favourites. Some of these may be among the contenders for victory in this test, but for most this TT is about keeping their losses below 30 seconds.

Riders to watch

Danish fans will have good reason to believe that one of their racers will end the day in yellow. Their principal hope is Quick Step-Alpha Vinyl’s Kasper Asgreen, three times the national time trial champion and fourth in the World Championships last year. Trek-Segafredo sprinter Mads Pedersen can also contend over this kind of distance. Though clear favourite has to be Filippo Ganna, the last time the Tour started with a time trial of comparative length – over 14 kilometres in Düsseldorf in 2017 – Geraint Thomas won the stage, edging out Switzerland’s Stefan Küng. The Swiss rider, the reigning European TT