July has a Jam Packed Sporting Calendar

Read on for our look at what’s coming up through July.

Tour de France

Starting promptly on the 1st, this year's legendary Tour de France starts with LTP’s homeland, Denmark, playing host. The race began in Copenhagen, with the LTP team cheering at the side line. As Pas Normal Studios have just opened a Flagship Store in the city, the brand hosted a special event for Tour de France which Julija and Alex from LTP attended before heading to the start line with the crew from Pas Normal and Maats.

Interestingly, the pinnacle race begins in different locations each year, however since its inception in 1903 the race has always finished at the Champs-Elysees in Paris.

This year sees 22 teams compete, with a total of 176 riders, weaving and climbing their way through Denmark, Belgium, Switzerland and France. With Slovenian rider Tadej Pogacar the favorite to win the race, it would make it the third consecutive title for the 23 year old. Marginal gains are key when it comes to winning, with the smallest margin seeing Greg LeMond win by just 8 seconds in 1989, however Pogacar’s previous margin in 2021 was a much more comfortable five minutes and 20 seconds ahead of Danish rider Jonas Vinegaard.

The women's Tour de France Femmes is also happening in July, starting straight off the back of the men's race. The women's race will begin at the Champs-Elysees in Paris, seeing the women depart after the men finish rolling in on the 24th. This year's eight day and multi-stage race will mark the first official women's version of the Tour de France since the race’s brief stint between 1984 and 1989.

The Tour de France will run from the 1st through to the 24th July, 2022 while The Tour de France Femmes runs from the 24th - 31st of July, 2022.

World Athletics Championships

Taking place across the Atlantic, the 2022 Athletic World Championships see’s Oregon play host to the biennial event as it returns for the first time since 2019, a year late due to the covid pandemic. In its 18th year, since the event's official inauguration in 1983, it’s grown to become globally recognized, and offers a more regular competing opportunity for athletes than the Olympics. Starting as a one-off event in 1976, the Championship was created in response to the International Olympic Committee dropping the men's 50km walk from the programme, despite the race's presence in the games since 1932. The first championship was held with just one event (the 50km walk) and took place just after the ‘76 Montreal Olympics. Nowadays, the championships curate a wider range of sports, including hurdles, decathlon, relays and running.

This year's event marks the first time for the US to host the Championships, and sees 2000 athletes representing over 200 countries descending on Oregon. Held at the historic Hayward Field track and field facilities, it's a move which hasn’t been without scandal with the placement awarded without the usual bidding process and undergoing an FBI investigation as a result. When it comes to competitors, the championships biggest winners have included Usain Bolt who holds 14 World Athletics Championship medals, including 11 gold, and Allyson Felix who has won 13 gold medals. This year's medal stand looks set to be dominated by the US, with a track record that has seen them gain the most medals in the Championships.

The World Athletics Championships will run from the 15th through to the 21st July, 2022.

UEFA Women’s Euro’s 2022

The counterpart of the men's European football tournament, this year sees the 13th edition of the women's tournament take place, with England playing host across 10 stadiums. Founded in 1984, the tournament takes place every four years, like many sporting events, this year's tournament is taking place a year later than scheduled due to the covid-19 pandemic. With womens football’s growing fanbase, this year saw tickets for the final at Wembley Stadium sell out in just 30 minutes, resulting in the highest attendance for any Euro’s match.

With 16 teams competing, this year welcomes Northern Ireland for the first time, joining Iceland, Germany and Spain among other leading European women's teams. Initially qualifying, Russia has since been removed from the tournament due to their invasion of Ukraine. The current champions, the Netherlands, will be looking to defend their title. However with England losing to Italy in the 2021 mens Euros, no doubt the women's team will be looking to take the title. A move perhaps made more possible by their hire of the manager responsible for the Netherlands 2017 win, Sarina Wiegman, who has led the team unbeaten in nine matches since her appointment. However the top ranked team is currently Sweden, with Spain a favorite to win, making the tournament one that’s difficult to predict.

The UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 will run from the 6th through to the 31st July, 2022.

The Open Championships

Hot on the heels of the US Open, which we spoke about in last month's sports highlights, The Open Championships are taking place in Scotland at the prestigious St Andrews Old Course in the middle of July.  The Open is the oldest of golf's major four tournaments, first being held in 1860, and is part of both the PGA and European Tours. The only major tournament outside of the US and sitting last in the calendar, it follows on from the Masters Tournament, the PGA Championship and the US Open.

The name open is relevant as, in theory, the tournament is open to everyone, amateur or pro. Though each year sees the majority of players come from a professional background, a number of amateurs are still invited or qualify to take part. Battling it out for the tournaments Claret Jug, this year sees Rory McIlroy pitched as favorite, having already claimed five top 5 finishes in Open Championship tournaments. The notorious unpredictability of the St Andrews Old Course often means that players familiar with it are pitched as favorites.

The Open Championship will run from the 14th through to the 17th July, 2022.