Tour de France 2022 stage 21 preview: nothing to see here - until the Champs-Élysées sprint!
All you need to know about the route, timings, and what to expect from stage 21

Stage 21 of the Tour de France 2022 starts in La Défense Arena and concludes with our old friend: the sprint finish on the Champs-Élysées, the classic denouement of the Tour.
When is stage 21 of the Tour de France taking place?
The Tour de France stage 21 takes place on Sunday, July 24 starting at 15:45 BST with an anticipated finish time of 18:34 BST.
How long is stage 21 of the Tour de France?
The Tour de France stage 21 will be 115.6 km long.
Tour de France 2022 stage 21: expected timings
Route | Distance to go | Anticipated Time (BST) |
Paris La Défense Arena | 115.6km | 15:45 |
Paris Haut de Champs-Élysées (3rd lap) | 26.5km | 17:55 |
Paris Champs-Élysées | 0km | 18:34 |
Tour de France 2022 stage 21 route
The Tour’s final stage will have its first ever indoor start within the La Défense Arena, a multi-use stadium opened in 2017 that’s home to the Racing 92 rugby club and has hosted concerts by the Rolling Stones, Mylène Farmer and Paul McCartney. Once the riders have had a glass of Champagne and reached central Paris there will be eight laps of the finishing circuit, which has the Louvre at its bottom end and the Arc de Triomphe at the top, before the finish halfway up the Champs-Élysées.
Useful Tour de France 2022 resources
- Tour de France 2022 route
- Tour de France 2022 standings
- Tour de France 2022 start list
- Tour de France 2022 key stages
- How to watch the Tour de France 2022 on TV
- How to watch the 2022 Tour de France
- Past winners of the Tour de France
- Tour de France leader's jerseys
- Tour de France winning bikes
Tour de France 2022 stage 21: what to expect
The stage will begin at the traditional processional pace to enable TV and photographers to get pictures of the yellow jersey and his team-mates toasting each other with Champagne. The pace will only begin to pick up on the way into Paris and will become extremely quick once the race leader’s team has brought the peloton onto the Champs-Élysées the first time.
Although small groups will attempt to break away, there’s very little chance of them escaping the clutches of the sprinters’ teams, who will be absolutely determined not to miss out on the most prestigious sprint of the season.
Tour de France 2022 stage 21: riders to watch
Jumbo-Visma set up Wout van Aert perfectly for this sprint last year, although they received some help from Alpecix-Fenix, who trapped Quick Step’s Mark Cavendish on the barriers as they sought to launch Jasper Philipsen. All three of those teams should feature again, with former Paris winners Dylan Groenewegen (2017) and Caleb Ewan (2019) also likely to be in the frame.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Peter Cossins has been writing about professional cycling since 1993, with his reporting appearing in numerous publications and websites including Cycling Weekly, Cycle Sport and Procycling - which he edited from 2006 to 2009. Peter is the author of several books on cycling - The Monuments, his history of cycling's five greatest one-day Classic races, was published in 2014, followed in 2015 by Alpe d’Huez, an appraisal of cycling’s greatest climb. Yellow Jersey - his celebration of the iconic Tour de France winner's jersey won the 2020 Telegraph Sports Book Awards Cycling Book of the Year Award.
-
Tweets of the week: Disaster at the Volta, Tadej Pogačar's special warm-up, and GB's cyclists go to the footie
Behold the memes from Filippo Ganna's chalked off stage win
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Polarised and polarising: the Ombraz Viale sport a quality lens, a comfortable fit but the armless design won’t be for everyone
Armless glasses aren't for everyone but I've truly loved these as a piece of crossover gear for running, biking, kayaking and casual wear.
By Samantha Nakata Published
-
'There's no bull****, that's what I've always liked' - Geraint Thomas's first BC coach Rod Ellingworth on the retiring Welshman
The 2018 Tour de France winner will step away from professional cycling at the end of the season
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
'I never really had a Plan B' - Dan Martin on his cycling career and getting into running after retirement
The two-time Tour de France stage winner takes part in Cycling Weekly’s Q&A
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
'It is time to change goals' - Egan Bernal's coach confirms Ineos Grenadiers exit
'I want to thank all the cyclists I have had the opportunity to coach over the past ten years' Xabier Artetxe says in LinkedIn post
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Geraint Thomas represented 'all the best things about the golden era of British Cycling' - tributes paid to retiring rider
Former and current teammates and other figures from within pro cycling react to the Welshman’s decision to retire at the end of the current season
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
'You can’t keep doing it forever' - Geraint Thomas confirms retirement at end of 2025
'It would be nice to go to the Tour one more time' Welshman says
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Marlen Reusser, Sam Welsford and Marc Hirschi hit the ground running: 5 things we learned from the opening races of the season
Several high profile riders enjoyed victory at the first time of asking after off season transfers to new teams
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Rider airbags being considered as part of new safety measures from UCI
World governing body still undecided on radios, gear restrictions, regulations surrounding rim height and handlebar widths and wider rules in sprint finishes
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Changing the final Tour de France stage in Paris is an exciting prospect but I think it should be for one year only
The race's organisers were reported to be exploring the possibility of bringing the cobbled streets of Montmartre into the race’s final stage in Paris this summer
By Tom Thewlis Published