Tour organisers eye permanent Montmartre finale after succesful debut

The word ‘epic’ is much overused in cycling, but the final stage of the Tour de France on Sunday may just about justify its use. The addition of the Montmartre circuit changed the character of the race's final stage adding a new dynamic, producing gripping racing. 

Instead of hiding in the pack, keeping out of the sprinters’ way, we saw the yellow jersey throwing punches on the climb to the Basilique du Sacre-Couer. Tadej Pogačar ultimately fell victim to a resurgent Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a  Bike, who took a memorable win in the Paris rainy unsurprisingly organisers want more.

“Obviously we want to continue to pass through Montmartre,” ASO’s deputy director of cycling told Le Parisien. “The success has exceeded our expectations and naturally the desire to make this new route a lasting one is there.”

"We'll debrief very quickly, around a table, with representatives from the city and the prefecture. We'll look at possible areas for improvement. I'm thinking in particular of public accessibility in certain areas. But overall, everything went very well. Everyone loved it. The public and the riders alike.”

Not only did the new circuit show us different racing from the stage 21 we have grown used to, but the world saw a different side of Paris. There was still the rather reserved, genteel environment of the Champs Eleysées circuit, but the Montmartre lap showed a more earthy side of the City of Light. Screaming crowds close to the riders creating a wall of sound as they witnessed brilliant racing.

City officials are hopeful. “There’s no reason why it shouldn’t happen. We must continue to develop and cherish these all-too-rare moments of sharing and communion,” Deputy Mayor for Sport, Pierre Rabadan told the paper. There are, however, issues, with the significant security requirement prompting the deployment of 3,000 police officers on the city’s streets on Sunday.

There are also questions about the sporting element. For years the final stage of the Tour was known as the sprinter’s world championships, but, as Van Aert proved, the new circuit is more suited to the classics riders. One has to ask what motivation there is for sprinters to suffer the mountains of the final week with no reward of a bunch kick and the chance of sporting immortality. 

Organisers will need to address this issue, but after their criticism of sprinters’ teams creating less than entertaining racing in the opening week, maybe ASO are looking for fewer sprint days in future Tours. According to Le Parisien a decision is likely to be announced in August.

Van Aert’s winning attack came on rue Lepic, so maybe ‘epic’ is the right word after all.