What you should know about the Tour’s final stage, which takes riders from Chantilly to the finish in Paris Champs-Élysées on July 24.
As it has since 1975, the Tour de France concludes with nine laps on the Champs-Élysées. This year’s final stage, running 113 kilometers, begins in front of the Chateau de Chantilly, one of the Paris region’s many architectural masterpieces. And while the day begins with leisurely photo opportunities and glasses of champagne, it ends with one of the most hotly contested field sprints in cycling. Germans have owned the Champs-Élysées in recent years, with Etixx—Quick-Step’s Marcel Kittel winning in 2013 and 2014 and Lotto-Soudal’s Andre Greipel winning last year.
Why It Matters
For Chris Froome, tomorrow’s stage will cap off the third Tour de France victory of his career, an achievement that ties him with Philippe Thys, Louison Bobet, and Greg LeMond for second on the list of all-time Tour de France champions. With two more victories in the Tour, Froome will join the Mount Rushmore of Tour de France champions alongside Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, and Miguel Indurain.
Stage 21 means a lot for the Tour’s remaining sprinters. As the unofficial “world championships of field sprinting”, the final stage on the Champs is one last chance to score a stage victory—and a prestigious one at that. Several sprinters remain winless in this year’s Tour—including Greipel, who won four stages last year—and tomorrow’s stage is a perfect opportunity for one to end the Tour on a high note.
When to Tune In
The final stage isn’t worth watching until it hits the final circuits on the Champs-Élysées. That’s when the race really begins, as riders start attacking the field to try get some last-minute camera time. That said, the race almost always comes back together for a field sprint, meaning you really only need to watch the final two laps.
Louis Meintjes
Meintjes (Lampre-Merida) is poised to be the first African to finish inside the top 10 on the GC, as well as second overall in the White Jersey classification.
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