Tour de France finale brings excitement to Montmartre with a climb to Sacré-Coeur
The Tour is breaking with tradition this year as organizers look to build on the popular success of the Paris Olympic road race. During last year's Olympics, massive crowds lined the streets of Montmartre — a neighborhood in northern Paris famous for its artistic heritage and sweeping city views — to cheer on riders.
Inspired by the frenetic atmosphere, Tour organizers decided to include the Montmartre climb in this summer's route. Riders will ascend the hill and pass beneath the Sacré-Coeur basilica before heading to the finish on the Champs-Élysées.
Spectators began arriving early Sunday on the cobbled Rue Lepic, well before race leader Tadej Pogačar and his rivals were expected to tackle the steep ascent. Fans also filled the stairs beneath the Sacré-Coeur to ensure they didn't miss a moment of the action.
Riders will also pass the Moulin Rouge before climbing to the Butte Montmartre. To mark the occasion, dancers in tricolor costumes will perform a French Cancan outside the cabaret.
Traditionally, the final stage is largely processional until a sprint decides the day's winner on the Champs-Elysées. On Sunday, the final climb comes less than 7km from the finish, making it unlikely that many sprinters will contend for the stage win.
During the Olympics, the road races drew more than 500,000 spectators in Paris.
Last year's Tour concluded outside Paris for the first time since 1905 because of a scheduling conflict with the Olympics, with the final stage held in Nice. The Champs-Élysées returned this year for the conclusion of the 3,320-kilometer (2,060-mile) race.
___
AP cycling: https://apnews.com/hub/cycling
Samuel Petrequin, The Associated Press
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Marchand says 'passion' burns bright on road to 2028 Olympics
Leon Marchand said his performances at the world championships proved he still had "a passion for swimming" after winning the 400m medley for his second gold in Singapore on Sunday. The French superstar took an extended break from swimming after wowing his home fans with four individual golds at the Paris Olympics last year. He announced his return in grand style in Singapore, smashing the 200m medley world record that had stood since 2011 on his way to gold. He completed the double with another imperious victory in the 400m IM, touching the wall in 4min 04.73sec, more than three seconds ahead of Japan's Tomoyuki Matsushita (4:08.32), with Russian Ilia Borodin (4:09.16) third. Marchand said his performances showed he still has the hunger to succeed on the long road towards the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. "It's not perfect, because it's never perfect, but it's more than I expected, especially the world record in the 200m medley," said the 23-year-old. "It shows that I still have a passion for swimming, that I love it. "It's still what I like the most, and that I want to continue." Marchand started the final in lane one after a below-par performance in the morning heats, which saw him qualify seventh fastest. But normality was restored in the final as he took an early lead before obliterating his rivals as the race progressed. Marchand broke Michael Phelps's 400m IM world record two years ago in Japan but his time in Singapore was more than two seconds outside his best mark. "Physically, it was very difficult, more than usual," he said. "I was really heavy in the water in breaststroke and crawl, but I gave it my all because I wanted to be close to my record." amk/pst
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
McIntosh wins fourth gold, medley double for Marchand
Olympic champions Summer McIntosh and Leon Marchand claimed gold medals in the women's and men's 400m individual medley at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore. Teenager McIntosh won her fourth gold medal of the week as she finished more than seven seconds clear of silver medallist Jenna Forrester on Sunday with a championship record time of 4 minutes 25.78 seconds. Earlier this week, the 18-year-old took gold in the 400m freestyle, 200m butterfly and 200m medley, as well as bronze in the 800m freestyle on Saturday. McIntosh - who holds world records in both the 200m and 400m medley and the 400m freestyle - won three gold medals and a silver at her first Olympics last summer. Great Britain's Freya Colbert came last after qualifying for the final as the eighth-best swimmer in the heats. Frenchman Marchand scraped through in the men's 400m medley heats with a sluggish performance, but recovered to win gold in 4:04:73 - almost four seconds ahead of silver medallist Tomoyuki Matsushita. The 23-year-old Paris Games hero set a new world record in winning gold in the men's 200m individual medley on Thursday, but was two seconds shy of breaking the 400m world record he set at the 2023 World Championships. Max Litchfield finished seventh, capping a disappointing week for the British team. Marchand later helped France take silver in the men's 4x100m medley relay, as Britain finished sixth. The USA set a new world record in the women's 4x100m medley relay with a time of 3:49.34, while the GB quartet came last. There was a gold medal for Tunisia's Ahmed Jaouadi in the men's 1500m freestyle, adding to the 20-year-old's triumph in the 800m freestyle earlier this week. Olympic silver medallist Meg Harris won the women's 50m freestyle, while Lithuania's Ruta Meilutyte retained her 50m breaststroke with a time of 29.55. Kliment Kolesnikov won gold in the men's 50m backstroke with 23:68, though he fell more than a second short of the world record he set three years ago. In the final diving event of the week, Britain's Robbie Lee came 12th in the men's 10m platform as Cassiel Rousseau of Australia took gold. Bright future for GB after tough week Great Britain enjoyed a difficult week in Singapore, winning just five medals and only one gold in the men's 4x200m freestyle. While illness has caused issues in the camp, Aquatics GB performance director Chris Spice does not want that to be an excuse. "We don't try to dwell on that. You only have to look at some of our relay selections in the last couple of days to see some of the people who might have been affected by that," he told BBC Sport. "We're not staying close to other teams, we've tried to minimise the risk of transferring anything between teams. "But of course you're in a heated environment with people all close to each other. It's natural that there is going to be some illness around. That's what it is. We just put our heads down and try and get on with it." There has been a lot of change both in the water and behind the scenes for Aquatics GB, something Spice felt contributed to an underwhelming week. "We've had three British records here as opposed to two last year. Underneath the bonnet, things aren't bad," he added. "We think we've got the best crop of juniors we've had in the last four or five years. Hopefully as we get towards LA [2028 Olympic Games], those two things will come together and the results will start to come. "We've got a very young team, we've got eight people here at their first World Championships. There are a lot of newbies, there is a lot of learning going on. "There were missed opportunities this week, we left two or three medals on the table. "We've got a new head coach, a new team manager. The head of sports science and medicine has gone across to diving. We're all learning about each other and need time to bed in." Great Britain's medals Gold - Matt Richards, Jams Guy, Jack McMillan, Duncan Scott - men's 4x200m freestyle relay Silver - Ben Proud - men's 50m freestyle Silver - Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew Jensen - women's 3m synchronised diving Bronze - Jack Laugher and Anthony Harding - men's 3m synchronised diving Bronze - Ranjuo Tomblin and Isabelle Thorpe - mixed duet free artistic swimming Peaty targets four gold medals at 2028 Olympics Spendolini-Sirieix to miss Worlds with 'mental blocks'
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Nantes in talks to sign Sturm Graz striker Amady Camara
Nantes have submitted Sturm Graz an offer to sign centre-forward Amady Camara (20) on loan with an option to buy, according to Ouest-France. The Ligue 1 side is reportedly confident that a deal could be struck swiftly with the Austrian outfit. The 20-year-old Malian international striker joined Sturm Graz two years ago. Camara can also play on the right wing. Camara would bring competition to Youssef El-Arabi, Mostafa Mohamed and Matthis Abline. Although it must be stressed that the Egyptian centre-forward and the France U21 international could still leave Luis Castro's Canaris before the end of the summer transfer window. Mohamed was reportedly of interest to Nice. Nantes are planning a revamp of their attacking options. They are set to sign AZ Alkmaar winger Mayckel Lahdo on loan. GFFN | Bastien Cheval
