Initiated by the 2024 Olympics, the circuit featuring the cobbled climb of Butte Montmartre returns for the second consecutive year to close out the 2026 edition of the Tour de France.
Just like last year, a Classics-style finish awaits the riders, with three passes over the Butte Montmartre, but there is a key change to give a chance to any sprinters that have survived the Alpine stages. The finish line on the Champs-Élysées will be 15 kilometres from Sacré-Coeur, compared to six last year.
The GC shape of the race also has its similarities, yet twists, on the pattern of last year as it heads into a stage which should deliver the final confirmation of an overall order which was set with the last battles through the Alps. If all runs as expected Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) is once again set to climb to the top step of the podium to claim yellow but this time with Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) – after key rival and last year's runner-up Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) crashed out on stage 15 – on one side and teammate Isaac del Toro on the other.
"We made it through with the team and now we have the last 88km in Paris. It will be one last job," said Pogačar.
It is a shorter stage to finish off the effort than had originally been anticipated, with a late change to the route, which had initially delivered 133km, in response to the intense demand on security resources as a result of wildfires across the country . The altered route will cut out the Thoiry start line and journey into Paris, with the race now starting and finishing on the Champs-Élysées.
Riders will take on five runs of the Champs-Élysées, rather than the originally planned three, before speeding from the Arc de Triomphe toward and toward the Côte de la Butte Montmartre. Then it's onto the Champs-Élysées for a final time, and the last stage winner of the 2026 Tour will be known.
If all get safely across the line with no major mishaps its not just the overall podium that looks set – with Pogačar holding 6:26 to nearest rival Evenepoel and he in turn with a gap of 3:16 to Del Toro – but also the white jersey, climbers classification and the green jersey.
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Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) holds an unassailable lead, 82 ahead of Jasper Philipsen, in the points classification while Del Toro is 2:14 ahead of 19-year-old Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) in the youth category and Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost is settled at the top of the mountains classification with a 56 point margin to race leader Pogačar.
Mountains
Côte de la Butte Montmartre (cat. 4, 1km at 6.5%), km. 46.4
1 pt
Côte de la Butte Montmartre (cat. 4, 1km at 6.5%), km. 62.4
1 pt
Côte de la Butte Montmartre (cat. 4, 1km at 6.5%), km. 78.4
Lyne has been involved in professional cycling for more than 15 years in both news reporting and sports marketing. She founded Podium Insight in 2008, quickly becoming a trusted source for news of the North American professional cycling world. She was the first to successfully use social media to consistently provide timely and live race updates for all fans. She is proud to have covered men's and women's news equally during her tenure at the helm of the site. Her writing has appeared on Cyclingnews and other news sites.
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