Sawt Falasteen - 2025 Tour de France adds Montmartre suspense to final stage

The new format of the final stage on July 27 is unlikely to decide who wins the 21-day race, but it adds a new edge to the traditional parade-like ending.

The riders will race a total of 16.8km in Montmartre before the peloton heads to the Champs-Elysees where it will complete three circuits, instead of the previous eight, and end with a mass sprint in the shadow of the Arc de Triomphe.

Around half a million spectators gathered last year for the 2024 Paris Olympics road races, sparking a clamour for the Tour to include Montmartre in its route.

The circuit climbs Rue Lepic in Montmartre, where much of the action in the hit 2001 movie "Amelie" takes place, before the steep ascent to the domed Sacre Coeur Basilica.

"It was kind of now or never," Paris' assistant mayor Pierre Rabadan told AFP. "The goal wasn't to change the finish location, especially for the 50th anniversary of the first finish on the Champs-Elysees, but to make the final stage more competitive and more popular."

The Paris police originally told Tour organisers ASO they were opposed to allowing the race to pass through Montmartre because of security reasons.

"The area is heavily populated and there are many cafe terraces and shops making it a tricky security dimension, involving a more substantial security system," Paris police chief Laurent Nunez told AFP ahead of the announcement, explaining his original reluctance.

The situation was only resolved after the intervention of President Emmanuel Macron, who was the "driving force" behind the decision, the French president's office told AFP.

For the Tour de France, this change to the final stage represents a revolution in sporting terms.

The designer of the route, former cyclist Thierry Gouvenou, said Wednesday the new format adds real tension and competitive edge.

"We put all this together for the sporting interest. It's not just a parade or a tourist visit to Montmartre," Gouvenou said.

"We're almost certain the riders will compete. But I don't really believe it will turn the Tour around. We shouldn't expect huge gaps. But it will energise the stage," Gouvenou added.

The 2025 edition of the Tour de France marks the 50th anniversary of its first finale on the Champs-Elysees, traditionally considered Paris's most chic shopping road, in 1975.

It is the 117th edition of the race itself and it begins July 5 in the northern French city of Lille after three consecutive money-spinning foreign 'Grand Departs' at Copenhagen, Bilbao and Florence.

The gruelling race covers 3,320km over the three weeks and will be contested by 184 riders this year.

At the Olympics there were just 90 riders but after 20 days of racing the Tour peloton will likely be reduced to around 150 due to riders dropping out through sickness and injury.

H.Darwish--SF-PST