Cycling in Yorkshire
Cycling in Yorkshire
Stage 3 of the Tour de France 2022 is a 182km road stage from Vejle to Sønderborg. It starts in hilly terrain, but the second half of the route is flat. Crosswinds are less likely than on Stage 2, and the chances are that Stage 3 will finish with a bunch sprint.
Here is the Stage 3 TDF 2022 Blog.
| Date | Sunday 3rd July 2022 |
|---|---|
| Stage classification | Flat |
| Distance | 182km |
| Intermediate sprint | Christiansfeld |
| Climbs | Côte de Koldingvej (Cat. 4) Côte de Hejlsminde Strand (Cat. 4) Côte de Genner Strand (Cat. 4) |
This is a map of the route of Stage 3, Tour de France 2022 from the Copenhagen Grand Départ website.
This is a map of the Stage 3 Tour de France 2022 route in PDF format.
This is the profile of Stage 3 Tour de France 2022.
| Caravan | Fast Schedule | Slow Schedule | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start Time (départ fictif) | 1105 | 1305 | 1305 |
| Start Time (départ réel) | 1115 | 1315 | 1315 |
| Intermediate Sprint (90.5km) | 1324 | 1513 | 1524 |
| Third & Final Climb (123.3km) | 1411 | 1556 | 1611 |
| Finish Line (182km) | 1535 |
1712 | 1735 |
Stage 3 starts in Vejle, in Jutland.
Vejle is the ninth largest city in Denmark, with a population of 59,000 (Wikipedia). It is at the head of the Vejle Fjord.
The Bølgen (Wave) apartment building is on the waterfront, and was built between 2009 and 2018.
Another landmark is the white Vejle windmill, which stands on top of Sondermarken Hill. It hosts art exhibitions.
Vejle Boldklub have been Danish football league champions five times.
The Tour de France website claims that Vejle is called "the Manchester of Denmark" because of its cotton-spinning industry. I haven't verified this.
Swiss rider Tony Rominger was born in Vejle to a Danish mother.
Stage 3 does a loop north west of Vejle, taking in Jelling.
Jelling is known for the Jelling Stones, which are carved runestones strongly identified with the creation of Denmark as a nation.
The stones date from the 900s. The smaller one is older, and was erected by King Gorm the Old in memory of his wife Thyra. The larger one was put up by Harald Bluetooth (Harald Blåtand), in memory of his parents Gorm and Thyra. It also celebrates his conquest of Denmark and Norway, and his conversion of the Danes to Christianity.
3km after Jelling is Lake Farup, where a Viking ship called Jelling Orm sails in Summer.
The first categorised climb comes at the end of the Vejle loop, after 27.3km. It's the Côte de Koldingvej, and is 1.1km at 3.4%, Category 4.
The riders then head south to Kolding.
Kolding is a seaport at the head of the Kolding Fjord.
It is home to the Koldinghus royal castle, built in the 1200s by King Eric Klipping. Its purpose was defensive, because at the time there were constant conflicts between the Kings of Denmark and the Dukes of Schlewig.
The castle later became a royal residence.
The Trapholt Museum has modern art and contemporary Danish furniture.
The race continues south, along the east coastline of Jutland, to Hejlsminde.
The second categorised climb, the Côte de Hejlsminde Strand, is at 82.8km. It's just 0.76km at 5.5%, and is Category 4. Soon after the peloton passes through Christiansfeld.
Christiansfeld is a small town founded in 1773 by the Moravian Church and named after King Christian VII. The buildings are all in the same style, with yellow bricks and red-tiled roofs.
It is known for its honey cakes, baked to a secret recipe.
The next town on the route is Haderslev, a town of 22,000 people in a valley that lead to the Haderslev Fjord. It was probably founded by them there Vikings.
Haderslev was part of Prussia from 1864, and thus of the German Empire from 1871. In the Schleswig referendum of 1920, residents voted by 62% to 38% to become part of Denmark again.
The route then returns to the Baltic coast, and the riders tackle the third and final categorised climb, the Côte de Genner Strand. It is 1.7km at 3.4%, and Category 4. It's very unlikely to dislodge any sprinters.
The next significant town is Aabenraa, meaning 'open beach'. The name looks as though it could be a plumber trying to get to the top of an alphabetical list of tradespeople.
It's the political and cultural centre of the German minority in Denmark, and in that referendum, 55% of residents would have preferred to remain part of Germany.
Then it's on south east towards the finish in Sønderborg, much of which is on the island of Als.
Historically, Sønderborg was part of Schleswig-Holstein, a territory contested between Denmark and Germany.
It is home to Sønderborg Castle. The castle was originally built as a defensive tower in 1158 by Valdemar the Great, then it has been extended and transformed over the decades.
The castle housed the Royal Danish Sergeant's School more recently. Since 1921, it has been a local history museum.
After losing a battle at Dybbøl to Germany in 1864, South Jutland came under German rule. Danes met in municipal halls, where they were not allowed to sing Danish songs or serve alcohol. Instead, everyone started to bring different cakes, pies and other desserts. This led to the tradition of the Als 'coffee table', or kaffeebord, with 7, 14 or 21 types of cake.
Sønderborg is part of Project Zero, intending to achieve carbon neutrality by 2029.
The favourites for Stage 3 of the Tour de France 2022 will be the sprinters, assuming it ends in a bunch sprint.
They could include Fabio Jakobsen, Caleb Ewan, Dylan Groenewegen, Alberto Dainese, Wout van Aert and Jasper Philipsen.
Who do you think will win Stage 3?
Eyewitness Denmark travel guide.
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