Tour de France stage seven preview

(Image credit: Getty)

published 7 July 2022

Stage seven of the Tour de France 2022 starts in Tomblaine and finishes atop of La Super Planche des Belles Filles.

When is stage seven of the Tour de France taking place?

The Tour de France stage seven takes place on Friday, July 8, starting at 12:15 BST with an anticipated finish time of 16:29 BST.

How long is stage seven of the Tour de France?

The Tour de France stage seven will be 176.3km long.

Tour de France stage seven: expected timings

Route	Distance to go	Anticipated Time (BST)
Tomblaine	176.4km	12:15
Gérardmer	75.2km	14:36
Col des Croix	40.3km	15:26
La Super Planche Des Belles Filles	0km	16:29

Tour de France stage seven route

This stage is a good deal tamer than the first time this final climb was used three years ago. On this occasion, the peloton only crosses a couple of small hills as it travels towards Thibaut Pinot’s home town of Mélisey, before switching due east just before it arrives. There’s another short climb, from which the route descends into the bottom of the 7km ascent to La Super Planche des Belles Filles.

Averaging 8.7%, it begins with a steep kilometre, rising sharply through dense forest, then eases for a kilometre before steepening again. There’s a 20% ramp leading up to the traditional Planche des Belles Filles finish, a short section across the ski resort car parks, then the final kilometre on the dirt road, with a ramp that touches 24% not far short of the line.

Useful Tour de France 2022 resources

Tour de France stage seven: what to expect

This looks a good opportunity for a breakaway to go the distance, a day when the GC teams and favourites are likely to be more focused on sizing each other up on the final climb.

Events in 2019 suggest that there will be very little between the GC men at the line. Geraint Thomas was the pick of them back then, but another eight riders crossed the line within 10 seconds of the Welshman

Tour de France stage seven: riders to watch

It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Dylan Teuns and Giulio Ciccone in the mix like in 2019. Bora-Hansgrohe are making a point of chasing stages, as well as GC, this season and should have someone in contention – Max Schachmann or 2021 Tour stage winner Patrik Konrad perhaps. This is also the kind of Ardennes-like terrain that will suit Israel-Premier Tech’s Michael Woods.

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Peter Cossins has been writing about professional cycling since 1993, with his reporting appearing in numerous publications and websites including Cycling Weekly, Cycle Sport and Procycling - which he edited from 2006 to 2009. Peter is the author of several books on cycling - The Monuments, his history of cycling's five greatest one-day Classic races, was published in 2014, followed in 2015 by Alpe d’Huez, an appraisal of cycling’s greatest climb. Yellow Jersey - his celebration of the iconic Tour de France winner's jersey won the 2020 Telegraph Sports Book Awards Cycling Book of the Year Award.