How to turn the page? On July 27th, the Tour de France rekindled the flame of Paris 2024 by winding its way through the cobbled streets of Montmartre. A successful trial run. Amaury Sport Organisation has therefore set a date once again with the Place du Tertre and the steep climbs of Rue Lepic in 2026. A choice that is both sporting and popular, suggesting the future of this pilgrimage for all cycling enthusiasts.
Thank you Paris
The 21st stage of the 2025 Tour de France delivered a true race. Intense, unpredictable, exhilarating. An electrifying finale, featuring five-star protagonists such as two-time world champion Julian Alaphilippe, the classicman Wout van Aert and the yellow jersey wearer Tadej Pogacar. « The success was phenomenal », confided the boss of the Tour, Christian Prudhomme, on October 7 during the Tomorrow the Sport event.
« We have no choice but to come back, and I'm absolutely delighted. "He added, speaking to RTL after the presentation of the 2026 route. He particularly emphasized the 8,710 million viewers tuned in to France TV on the day of the event. With Eurosport, that brought in over 9 million viewers: the best Tour de France audience in 25 years. It was the Olympic Games that made it possible; we would never have reached Montmartre otherwise. It allows us to bring the world from Alpe d'Huez to Montmartre. »
Communion Day
The difficulty level is negligible, as the climb is classified as a fourth category, but it allows for a unique gathering of the crowd in Paris, just centimeters from the peloton. The riders took full advantage, rallying the public and even performing wheelies to put on a show. The Champs-Élysées, there's nothing more iconic, more legendary, but you don't see the people under the trees. You see the Arc de Triomphe, the width of the Champs-Élysées, it's very aesthetically pleasing, but you don't see the crowds, the kind you see in Montmartre. " explains Prudhomme, who was keen to thank the police headquarters for its green light,", aware of the scale of the logistical and security challenge that arrival in the capital represents.
Stage 21 / Stage 21 - #TDF2026
- Tour de France ™ (@LeTour) October 23, 2025
🚩 Thoiry - Paris Champs-Elysées 🏁 130 km
🤩 The peloton will tackle the slopes of Rue Lepic three times, but this time the finish line will be located 15 km from Sacré-Cœur, giving the strongest sprinters a chance to shine.
🤩 The peloton… pic.twitter.com/AdLUGGmqQX
The peloton will pass through the Butte Montmartre three times, a hill steep enough to disrupt the traditional pattern of a parade and mass sprint on the Champs-Élysées. the Tour de France websiteChristian Prudhomme insists on the explosive potential of rue Lepic » (1,1 km at 5,9%) and on the « battle of the chiefs " which many spectators were able to attend last summer. " A classic finish awaits the riders once again, with three ascents of Montmartre. But this time, the finish line on the Champs-Élysées will be located fifteen kilometers from the Sacré-Cœur. ", and no longer six kilometers away, he specifies.
A way to test a different configuration, more conducive to a regrouping in the final few hundred meters, and therefore allowing more riders to shine – perhaps even some sprinters, the big losers of the Montmartre finish on the last stage route. See you on July 26, 2026 for another spectacular display?
