The 2022 Tour is listed as the fastest in history. From Copenhagen to Paris, the peloton dominated by the Dane Jonas Vingegaard panicked the counters. Explanations.
Departed from Copenhagen on 1is July, 109e Tour de France was the fastest in history with an average of 42.09 km/h. Jonas Vingegaard’s Tour erased that of 2005 (41.654 km/h) completed by Lance Armstrong. Thierry Gouvenou, technical director of the Tour de France, explains: “ It’s nothing new that it goes fast, faster and faster on the bike. We must not forget that there were many stages with the favorable wind. It should also be noted, and this is more surprising, there were no breakaways that made it to the end. There has always been racing, racing at all levels. For the past two or three years, there have been no more transition stages, everyone runs flat out which contributes to this average. »
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Improving equipment, road surfaces too
And to add: In 2019, there were 58,000 m of elevation in total, there there were only 48,000, so no more flat. It is more favorable to a higher average. The quality of the coating and the care given to the equipment (from the bikes to the outfits) are among the other elements that have contributed to this record average. Thierry Gouvenou details: “ On the straight stages, the riders are now often in overalls, there is nothing sticking out. Everything has been studied. But it’s also an additional risk factor because it goes very, very quickly. This is especially noticeable on the descents. In terms of safety, I find that we are starting to be very limited with the speed. Pidcock at more than 100 km/h in the Croix de Fer, I don’t know if it’s a record but at this speed, you can already be very scared. All of this is possible because bikes are more aerodynamic. Like the outfits. The bibs are super glued, there is nothing lying around. »
A speed from which we measure the differences and the damage in the general classification. Thierry Gouvenou emphasizes: “ It’s been a long time since we’ve seen runners scattered everywhere on the penultimate pass. In general, we had around thirty runners in an hour. There, we are not even at twenty. With huge differences… »
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