PARIS (AP) — Tour de France riders will climb the Montmartre hill three times during this year’s final stage — a significant break from tradition that will add a dose of suspense and requires heightened security measures.
There was a village atmosphere when massive crowds lined the streets of Montmartre during last year’s Olympics to cheer on riders who climbed narrow cobbled streets in the northern area of Paris.
Tour director Christian Prudhomme said on Wednesday that he wanted to recapture that popular fervor, while offering new race scenarios.
Traditionally, the final stage is largely processional until a sprint decides the day’s winner on the Champs-Elysées. This summer, the final climb up the cobbled Rue Lepic will come less than 7km from the finish, and it’s unlikely many sprinters will still be in the mix for the stage win when the leading group reaches the iconic avenue.
“It will be more complicated for the sprinters,” Prudhomme said as he unveiled the stage route, which could however favor one-day classic specialists good at tackling short and steep hills.
The 21st stage of the Tour on July 27, starting from the Paris suburb of Mantes-la-Ville, will include three passages beneath the Sacré-Coeur basilica. The Montmartre area is a maze of narrow streets and it will require a deployment of extra security forces, urban planning and many security barriers.
During the Olympics, the road races attracted more than 500,000 spectators in Paris, organizers said.
Laurent Nunez, the Paris police prefect, said “several thousand” security forces will be on duty to guarantee the safety of riders and fans. “But it does not pose any particular challenge, we proved that during the Paris Olympics,” he added.
The inclusion of Montmartre will derail the pure sprinters’ quest for glory on the Champs-Elysées. It could even have an influence on the general classification if gaps between the main contenders remain tight heading into the final stage.
“Imagine an attack by one of the main contenders of the Tour de France at the last moment, a few kilometers from the finish,” Prudhomme said.
The last time the final stage proved decisive was in 1989, when Greg LeMond won his second Tour de France with the closest finish ever, edging Laurent Fignon by 8 seconds.
LeMond started the day 50 seconds behind Fignon and won the final stage, a 15-mile race against the clock from Versailles to Paris.
Not all riders are thrilled by the change.
“Montmartre was nice to do in the Olympics, it seemed good, a lot of people, a really good atmosphere,” two-time Tour champion Jonas Vingegaard said this week. “But when they came to the Montmartre, there was only 15 riders left in the bunch. And when we do the Tour de France, there will be 150 guys fighting for positions on a very narrow climb. It could end up being more stress than they want to have.”
The Tour starts from the northern city of Lille on July 5, and the women’s race kicks off on July 26 from the Brittany town of Vannes.
Last year’s final stage was held outside Paris for the first time since 1905 because of a clash with the Olympics, moving instead to Nice. The Champs-Élysées returns this year for the conclusion of the 3,320-kilometer (2,060-mile) race.
___
AP cycling: https://apnews.com/hub/cycling
