If you’re hungry for more exciting stage racing following the inaugural Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, there isn’t long to wait as the women’s peloton go to battle once more on the 9th August. This time, it’s a far cry from the rolling hills of rural France, instead they will race against the striking, dramatic backdrop of Scandinavia over six days.
Things kick off in Copenhagen, a city that has had its fair share of cycling fever in the last few weeks with the Grand Depart of the men’s Tour de France taking place in the city. We can expect big crowds and plenty of excitement from the Danes who have enjoyed an incredibly successful season of cycling with Jonas Vingegaard taking the overall win in the men’s Tour de France and Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig winning a stage of the women’s.
The route then heads into Sweden for one day only, as the peloton will race along the stunning coast at Bohuslän. The final four stages take place in Norway – the Tour of Scandinavia is an improved and extended edition of the Ladies Tour of Norway which has been on the women’s professional racing calendar since 2014. Perhaps the most punishing stage of the race is on the penultimate day, it finishes up a 11.1 kilometre climb that averages a 6.1% gradient. Tour de France Femmes winner Annemiek van Vleuten took victory when the Ladies Tour of Norway finished on this climb in 2021.
While the newly crowned Tour de France champion isn’t expected to start in this race, there are still some big names due to be competing. Perhaps the most standout favourite of them all is Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig of FDJ-Suez-Futuroscope who will be hoping to perform well in front of a home crowd. The Dane proved her form at the Tour and is a strong contender to take victory overall here.
Read on for a full outline of the route, contenders and our prediction to take the victory in the inaugural Tour of Scandinavia.
Tour of Scandinavia 2022 Route
Stage one, Copenhagen – Helsingør (DEN), 145,6 km
The opening day of the Tour of Scandinavia begins in the famous square of Kongens Nytorv in Denmark’s capital of Copenhagen. A QOM sprint comes after just 17 kilometres of racing. It takes place on the Søllerød slotsbakke climb which is 500 metres at 5% average gradient – this shouldn’t put any riders in trouble but will mean a fast start to the race. From then on, it’s a flat stage with one intermediate sprint point after 55 kilometres. The peloton will enter the…