Stage 4 – Dunkirk to Calais – 171.5km – Tuesday, July 5
After taking a day off to travel from Denmark to France, the 2022 Tour de France reconvenes on home soil for a 171.5km stage from Dunkirk to Calais that could be a tricky one if teams are too busy anticipating Stage 5’s cobblestones or Stage 7’s summit finish on the Super Planche des Belles Filles.
The stage starts and finishes at sea level, but in between heads down along the Belgian border toward the hills of West Flanders and then west into the Boulonnais hills, home to a natural park that’s a world class site for bird-watching. The stage offers six Category 4 climbs, which means Denmark’s Magnus Cort-Nielsen (EF Education First-EasyPost) could lose the polka dot jersey if another rider wins all six of them, but that’s unlikely as the Dane or one of his teammates will likely go on the attack to defend it.
This is the first stage that we could see go to a breakaway. Despite this being the last chance for a field sprint before the second week, the sprinters’ teams might have a hard time controlling things on these hilly, winding roads, and with such a hard series of stages throughout the rest of the week, the peloton might be content to let a group of puncheurs escape to settle things among themselves.
The final climb (the Category 4 Côte du Cap Blanc-Nez) comes just 10.8km from the finish line in Calais, a crucial moment when it comes to winning the stage. If a breakaway is still out front, it’s the perfect place to launch a stage-winning move. If the break’s been caught, it’s a chance to drop some sprinters before the finish.
The finish is flat and fairly straightforward, with a hard right turn through a roundabout at 1 500 meters to-go and then another left-hander 500 meters from the line. Riders who aren’t in the top-20 through this last corner can kiss their chances of winning the stage goodbye. Luckily, the weather shouldn’t pose any issues, with cool temperatures, sunny skies, and light wind in the forecast.
Riders to Watch
Despite going on the attack during Stages 2 and 3, don’t be surprised to see Cort-Nielsen contend for the stage win. While he’s done his best to defend his lead as the Tour’s King of the Mountains, he’s known more for being a breakaway specialist–and this is the perfect stage for him. Other riders to watch from a breakaway include Latvia’s Toms Skujins and the USA’s Quinn Simmons (both from Trek-Segafredo), Belgium’s Philippe Gilbert (Lotto-Soudal), and Australia’s Simon Clarke (Israel-Premier Tech).
In the event of a field sprint, the Netherlands’ Fabio Jakobsen (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) and Dylan Groenewegen (Team BikeExchange-Jayco), and Australia’s Caleb Ewan (Lotto-Soudal) are the favorites–if they can make it over the final climb with the main peloton. If they’re dropped, Belgium’s Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) will have a perfect chance to win a stage while wearing the yellow jersey.