Climbing 30% hill goes wrong...rider falls back to the start; Declercq misses Tour with Covid...but it's not Cav replacing him; Pidcock makes Ineos team; Scottish MP criticised for not wearing a helmet; Tour trims + more on the live blog

Copenhagen dressed up for le Grand Départ 💛

Copenhague habillé aux couleurs du Tour de France pour le Grand Départ 💛#TDF2022 #LeTourDK

📸 A.S.O / Jonathan Biche pic.twitter.com/mQKk24oV3X

— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) June 28, 2022

Tadej Pogačar is very good at cycling. We knew that already, but if there's anyone to confirm the obvious, I guess Alberto Contador's a decent source...

"He's a real cycling prodigy, able to handle the heat of being the Tour de France leader day after day. And that pressure, believe me, can be a real challenge," Contador told Cyclingnews.

So what does it take to win the Tour?

"There are always moments in the Tour when your legs are just about to explode, you really can't handle the pain. And you have to go on, you have to stay focussed, you have to keep your morale high.

"But in the last time trial, above all if you're wearing the yellow jersey, that's when it gets really hard.

"If you're second overall, of course you want to go flat out to get the win and the lead. But when you are defending the lead on that stage, you know there's one day to go to Paris and you can lose the jersey in one afternoon, mentally that takes its toll. That really takes its toll."

Slammed? It's not legal, and believe it or not it does NOTHING against cars.

The Scottish Sun: SNP MP Alison Thewliss latest politician slammed for riding a bike without a helmet....https://t.co/TACDUhVCLE

— Tweetleman (@Tweetleman) June 26, 2022

 The Scottish Sun reported an 'exclusive' that SNP shadow chancellor Alison Thewliss, MP for Glasgow Central, had been "slammed" and "blasted" for not wearing a helmet while cycling.

The newspaper heard from a policy and research director at IAM Roadsmart who said it was setting a "bad example".

"It is common sense to wear a cycle helmet to avoid unnecessary brain injuries," Neil Greig said. "MPs should always be aware of this when setting an example to others.The new Highway Code says 'you should wear a cycle helmet' and that 'evidence suggests that a correctly fitted helmet will reduce your risk of sustaining a head injury'.

“At least by continuing not to wear helmets high-profile politicians are keeping the issue in the news, but for all the wrong reasons."

Peter McCabe of brain injury charity Headway added: "It is always concerning to see an MP undermining such an important safety message. We'd encourage Alison Thewliss to think not only her own safety but also the message she's sending to other cyclists, particularly children."

Last year, Green Party politician Patrick Harvie received similar criticism for riding without a helmet.

That time again. Annual pre-Tour chop ✂️ TDF number 12 coming right up 🙌 Although Sa has had a gin… pray for me🙏🤣 pic.twitter.com/x9pRXzppl9

— Geraint Thomas (@GeraintThomas86) June 27, 2022

0 all over for the extra weight-saving gains and aero benefits...obviously...

TDF number 1.... pic.twitter.com/PnnogDr9bX

— Tom Pidcock (@tompidcock) June 28, 2022

🇫🇷💛 Vive Le Tour! 💛🇫🇷

Meet your 8⃣ Grenadiers: ready to go all in at #TDF2022 pic.twitter.com/70f4i3HgWV

— INEOS Grenadiers (@INEOSGrenadiers) June 28, 2022

Not long to go now...EF Education-EasyPost are the only team yet to announce their team...last-minute enquiries about a certain sprinter from the Isle of Man's availability? (Wishful thinking, I know)

Ineos Grenadiers have upped the Brit count to seven, announcing Adam Yates, Geraint Thomas, Tom Pidcock and Luke Rowe for the race. Dani Martínez, Filippo Ganna, Jonathan Castroviejo and Roubaix winner Dylan van Baarle complete the line-up.

Elsewhere...

Bora have decided against selecting out of form Sam Bennett. Instead, dark horse Aleksandr Vlasov gets plenty of support...

Bora - hansgrohe: Aleksandr Vlasov, Lennard Kämna, Max Schachmann, Nils Politt, Felix Grosschartner, Patrick Konrad, Marco Haller, Danny van Poppel

Cofidis: Guillaume Martin, Ion Izagirre, Bryan Coquard, Simon Geschke, Victor Lafay, Anthony Perez, Benjamin Thomas, Max Walscheid

Alpecin-Fenix: Mathieu van der Poel, Silvan Dillier, Michael Gogl, Alexander Krieger, Jasper Philipsen, Edward Planckaert, Kristian Sbaragli, Guillaume Van Keirsbulck

Intermarché–Wanty–Gobert Matériaux: Alexander Kristoff, Kobe Goossens, Louis Meintjes, Andrea Pasqualon, Adrien Petit, Taco van der Hoorn, Georg Zimmermann, Sven Erik Bystrøm

TotalEnergies: Peter Sagan, Anthony Turgis, Alexis Vuillermoz, Pierre Latour, Daniel Oss, Cristián Rodríguez, Mathieu Burgaudeau, Maciej Bodnar

There's no margin for mechanical mishaps when climbing walls like this one. A slipped chain can be all she wrote for your hopes of getting up there in one go. Put your foot down and there's no way you're riding to the top unless you fancy going back to the start (which you almost certainly don't)...

Jenio, rs pic.twitter.com/YyvCeL0gEg

— País do Ciclismo #TDF2022 (@DoCiclismo) June 28, 2022

This monster berg appears to be in Brazil, possibly Belo Horizonte, and looks at least 30 per cent. When they look steep on camera you know you've got a serious climb...

Not the same hill, not the same gradient (probably), but here's the visual on how much better pro cyclists are than the rest of us...

Ahí va Richard Carapaz entrenando para estar en forma este 2021. pic.twitter.com/90Kjt89bcQ

— Diego Vos (@diegovos_) February 1, 2021

Pretty similar really... 

EDIT: A bit more digging confirmed it is indeed the Morro do Tunicão in Belo Horizonte and yeah...we might have undersold it at 30 per cent...