Stage 21: Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines to Paris Champs-Élysées
Distance: 115.1km
Stage type: Flat
Finally, the climbs are almost over and the Eiffel Tower and Paris' other celebrated landmarks will soon be visible on the skyline. The Tour de France's final stage has long been a victory parade, with the yellow jersey and his teammates toasting each other with champagne and then leading the race onto the Champs-Élysées for several laps of fast and furious racing, concluding with arguably the most prestigious bunch sprint of the season and well-deserved laps of honour.
The chance to win, in theory, has increased with the abandons of Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan), Fabio Jakobsen (Soudal-QuickStep), Caleb Ewan (Lotto-Dstny), Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious) and Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma).
But first, they’ll have to be faster than Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) who has already won four stages, and claimed the points jersey.
Stage 21 is not only the stage to win at the Tour de France for a sprinter, but it is also the last chance for the others sprinters remaining in the field try and claim victory.
Setting off from Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, the Olympic site for the 2024 Games, the 115.1-km stage will meander on its way to Paris, passing in front of the Chateau de Versailles before heading to Paris via Meudon and Issy-les-Moulineaux. By the time the peloton reaches Paris, it will be the early evening. Convention dictates the team of the yellow jersey leads the race onto the Champs-Elysées finishing circuit. The peloton will complete seven laps of the 6.8-km circuit and its speed will only increase over the course until the inevitable chaotic sprint.
Mark Cavendish remains the record holder with four wins. In the past seven years the finale has gone to seven different riders: André Greipel (2016), Dylan Groenewegen (2017), Alexander Kristoff (2018), Caleb Ewan (2019), Sam Bennett (2020), Wout van Aert (2021) and Jasper Philipsen (2022).
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