Two-time Tour champion Jonas Vingegaard says the addition of the 1.1km, 5.9% climb is 'not really' a good idea
Riders pass the Basilica Sacré-Cœur atop the Montmartre climb during the 2024 Paris Olympic Games road race(Image credit: Getty Images)
Details of the final stage of the 2025 Tour de France have been revealed, with three climbs of the cobbled Montmartre that featured in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games route set to feature.
Tour organisers ASO revealed the 132.3km stage on Wednesday morning. An altered route will pose major challenges to the sprinters who usually thrive on the flat closing laps of the Champs-Elysées. The final climb will come just 6.1km from the finish line, meaning it could well ruin the chances of a stage win for the pure sprinters.
The peloton will enter Paris after 51.7km of racing before taking on four laps of the traditional Champs-Elysées circuit, including one intermediate sprint at the finish line. The race will then shift away to a separate circuit, which will head north to the Côte de la Butte Montmartre, a fourth-category hill measuring in at 1.1km at 5.9%.
The latter part of the stage will bring three laps of the elongated 16.7km Champs-Elysées/Montmartre circuit, with the Montmartre climb set to be pivotal in deciding the victor of the 21st and final day of racing this July.
The climb featured prominently three times in the 272km road race at the Olympic Games last year. Riders sped past the famous Basilica Sacré-Cœur as they crested the climb, and the church will once again feature at this year's Tour.
Belgium's Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) soloed to victory during the race, which featured a far smaller 90-rider peloton compared to the larger group of riders expected on the Tour's final stage.
Earlier this week, two-time Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard said that he was unsure about the climb's inclusion in the final stage of the Tour, noting the difference in peloton size.
The Dane said that the race will bring "more stress" than riders would want so close to the end of the Tour.
"I don't know enough about the parcours that day to speak out about that. I know that we will do the Montmartre, but we also don't know how far it is from the finish," he said. "Is it 10km from the finish, or do we still need to do six or seven laps of the Champs-Elysées? Then it's two completely different races, to be honest.
"To be honest, not really," he said when asked if it's a good idea to add the climb. "The Montmartre was nice to do in the Olympics. It seemed good, and there were a lot of people and a really good atmosphere.
"But in that race, when they came to the Montmartre, there were only 50 riders left in the bunch.
"Now, when we do the Tour de France, we will be 150 guys fighting for position on a very narrow climb. So that will be very interesting to do. So, I think it could end up being more stress than we actually want to have. But we will see."
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The profile of stage 21 of the 2025 Tour de France(Image credit: ASO/Tour de France)
The map of stage 21 of the 2025 Tour de France(Image credit: ASO/Tour de France)
🤩 #TDF2025 - Etape 21 💛🌟 4 passes on the classic Champs-Elysées circuit before setting off 3 times on rue Lepic! Here's the route for this final stage.💪 4 passages sur le circuit classique des Champs-Elysées avant de partir 3 fois à l'assaut de la rue Lepic ! Voici le… pic.twitter.com/MishJmsARxMay 21, 2025
Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being hired full-time. Before joining the team, she had written for numerous major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly and Rouleur. She writes and edits at Cyclingnews as well as running newsletter, social media, and how to watch campaigns.
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