How to watch Tour de France 2022 on TV in the UK -…

How to watch Tour de France 2022 on TV in the UK - including free-to-air live coverage and highlights

The 109th edition of the Tour de France begins tomorrow (Friday) - to the delight of cycling fans around the world.

Slovenian Tadej Pogacar enters the race as the overwhelming favourite. The UAE Team Emirates rider is looking for his third consecutive Tour de France title - a feat British cyclist Chris Froome managed in 2017.

But Pogacar is likely to be pushed all the way by compatriot Primoz Roglic - who came second in 2020 and was looking good in 2021 until a crash forced him to withdraw. Jumbo-Visma rider Roglic, 32, goes into this year’s Tour in great form - having won the Criterium du Dauphine earlier this month and Paris-Nice in March.

But Wales' Geraint Thomas will also be in contention. The Cardiff-born 36-year-old, who won the Tour in 2018, warmed up with a victory in the Tour de Suisse earlier this month and goes into the French equivalent as part of Ineos Grenadiers’ three-pronged leadership team - along with Colombian Dani Martinez and fellow Brit Adam Yates.

Geraint Thomas celebrates winning the Tour de France in 2018 (PA)

Where does the Tour de France 2022 start?

The world’s most prestigious and difficult bike race begins on Friday, 1 July with a 13.2km individual time trial in Copenhagen, a route that takes in the Danish capital’s beauty spots - including the Little Mermaid and the Kastellet fortress. After two more stages in Denmark, the race goes back to France - culminating with the final stage at the Champs-Élysées, in Paris, on 24 July.

What is the route for the Tour de France 2022?

After the first three stages in Denmark, the teams travel south on a rest day for stage four on Tuesday, 5 July, which starts in Dunkirk and finishes in Calais. From there, riders race south down the east of the country - with mountain days in the Alps on stages 10, 11 and 12.

The race then travels towards the middle of the country and continues south - through Saint Etienne and Carcassonne. The mountain days in the Pyrenees are on stages 16, 17 and 18 - and will go a long way to deciding the outcome of the General Classification race.

The riders then begin to head north back towards Paris with a transition stage, most likely ending with a sprint to the line in Cahors, before a long solo time trial that ends in Rocamadour. Then the race will end in the capital city with stage 21 on Sunday 24 July.

Where can I watch the Tour de France on TV?

In the UK, the main broadcaster of the Tour de France is ITV4 - which is free-to-air. The channel shows every stage of the race live during the day and then has a highlights programme later in the evening - typically at 7pm.

However, tomorrow’s highlights show will air at 8pm - while the live coverage begins at 2.45pm and ends at 6.30pm. On rest days, a highlights show will still be shown at 7pm.

Free-to-air Welsh-language channel S4C is also showing the race live in the day with a highlights show later at night - while there will also be coverage on subscription channels Eurosport and GCN+.