Tour de France 2022 Stage 7 preview: Route map and profile of summit finish atop Planche des Belles Filles

Stage 7 of the 2022 Tour de France offers up the first summit finish for the general classification contenders to fight over, and an opportunity for Tadej Pogacar to stamp his authority on the race once more.

Pogacar powered clear to win stage 6 in emphatic style and the reigning champion is already looking good for a third yellow jersey.

La Super Planche des Belles Filles (7km at 8.7% average gradient) has become a modern classic on the Tour. It is where Chris Froome won in 2012 and where Pogacar took control of the 2020 edition, and the Slovenian 23-year-old could come to the fore once more to make a statement, and even snatch the yellow jersey as he attempts to win his third successive Tour.

‘The Plank’ gets steeper as it rises towards the finish line, ending on a 24% gradient which will sort the hardy climbers from the rest. It comes after two category three climbs: the Col de Grosse Pierre (3.1km at 6.4%) and Col des Croix (3.2km at 6.3%) and the stage winner will require sharp bike-handling on the descents as well as strong legs on the way up.

A breakaway of serious climbers could stick it out to the end but typically this stage has served up a contest between the GC riders, and tends to offers an early indication of who might be strongest when it comes to the highest climbs of the Alps and Pyrenees.

Pogacar is the favourite here, while riders like Dan Martinez and Geraint Thomas (Ineos), Jonas Vingegaard and Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma), and Ben O’Connor (Ag2R) are all contenders – the Australian O’Connor won a first-week mountain stage on last year’s Tour. For an outside bet, how about Nairo Quintana who tends to grab a mountain stage at some point, albeit normally at higher altitude than this route.

The stage