Tour de France/Tour de Fleece 2022 Stage 1 - Copenhagen to Copenhagen (Denmark)

Day 1 of the Tour de France is here and it is a 13km long Individual Time Trial that starts and ends in Copenhagen, Denmark.  Hmmm, not in France, is this a thing that happens often, I have no idea as last year was the first time I've ever paid it any attention and that is only because I joined up to a Tour de Fleece team.

The Map

Sights and points of interest along the route

Today's route takes the riders over The Queen Louise Bridge, the Tyco Brahe Planetarium, the former Carlsbery Brewery, the castle and the zoo. The riders race down the Norrebrograde, the main shopping street in Norrebro and on the side of a house on this street is a huge mural depicting a young woman riding a bike that was painted in 1993 by Finnish street artist Seppo Mattinens.  

Seppo Mattinens mural

Through St. John's Market square with it's granite statue by Jorgen Haugen Sorensen (1934-2021) and the oldest church in the district, St John's Church, built in 1861.  At the centre of the Trianglen is an Art Nouveau tram station built in 1907 by Peder Vilhelm Jensen-Klint

The riders will cycle past Parken Stadium, the home of FC Copenhagen and the Danish national football team before approaching Kastellet, a baroque style fortress built in 1692 by Christian IV of Denmark and the Citadel defended Copenhagen against the English in 1807 but then surrendered with the rest of the city.  The Citadel was captured by German troops during the invasion of Copenhagen on 9th April 1940.  

Kastellet

There is also a park near here, Langelinie Park, that contains many monuments and statues including the Gefion Fountain donated to the city by the Carlsberg Foundation on the 50th anniversary of the brewery and installed in 1908.  The park also contains the Ivar Huitfeldt Column and the Little Mermaid built in 1913 and donated to the city by Carl Jacobsen, the founder of the Carlsberg brewery.

The Little Mermaid

Riders then travel along Amailegade, a long street lined with elegant mansions and palaces, most dating from the second half of the 18th century with many once belonging to various members of the Royal Family.

Amalienborg Palace and the equestrian statue

The route ends with Hans Christian Andersen Boulevard, the widest and busiest street in Copenhagen and is 1.3km long and contains the Central Fire Station built in 1892.

Who Won the Stage and Who Won What Jersey

The Stage winner is Yves Lampaert for Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl.

The Yellow Jersey won by Yves Lampaert for Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl.

The Green Jersey won by Yves Lampaert for Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl.

The Polka Dot Jersey has not been won yet!

The White Jersey won by Tadej Pogacar for UAE Team Emirates.

Leading team: Jumbo-Visma

The Daily Challenge

They are starting in Copenhagen, the City of Fairy Tales, where Hans Christian Andersen wrote some of his most famous tales, the race will pass by the statue of the Little Mermaid.  In 1952 a film about the writer/poet was released featuring the song "Wonderful Copenhagen".

The cyclists will be undergoing individual time trials; your challenge is to spin as much as you can for the duration of Wonderful Copenhagen (that's about 2 minutes and 11 seconds!)

Suggested Fibre:  Our recommendation is to grab something from your Botany bag and get cracking!

What I did

We had a similar challenge last year where we had to spin as much as we could within a certain amount of time and measure it.  Well, I got into a right old tangle so I had no intention of doing today's challenge for that reason alone.  What I decided to do was to spin some Llandovery Whiteface Hill hand combed top that I prepared last week from part of a fleece that I finally managed to get hold of this year and it was the last one I needed to complete my British Breeds Project.  

So, 94g of hand combed top, spun to sport weight gives me 239m of finished yarn, which in terms of the TdF length calculations is 717m - 2 singles plus the plied length = 3 x finished yarn length.