The cycling event of the Paris 2024 Games climbing Montmartre left its mark on the minds of the Tour organizers.
On October 25 in the Palais des Congrès in Paris, the map of the Tour de France (from Lille to Paris, from July 5 to 27) was unveiled, accompanied by the speech of Christian Prudhomme whose concluding words were scrutinized. Concerning in particular the 21st stage (Mantes-la-Ville-Paris). The Champs-Élysées will be in the spotlight on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the first arrival on “the avenue of sprinters” or “the most beautiful avenue in the world” (after an interruption in 2024 and a final stage in Nice due to… the Games).
But not a word on the possibility of reviving the spirit of the Olympics, the unforgettable images which spanned the summer with a peloton on rue Lepic carried by a considerable crowd during the online event. Montmartre was celebrating on August 3. There was the decor by Amélie Poulain, a considerable crowd and the excitement of a rare moment. And immediately Tour lovers and spectators imagined a possible extension to the Tour de France.
Security, a significant cost
According to Le Parisien, the organizers are working on the project of an Olympic epilogue to the Grande Boucle: “a file has been filed with the Paris Police Prefecture.” And the daily routine of revealing the route that would be taken by the peloton: “three times the route of the Games in the famous rue Lepic then around the Butte Montmartre, after entering Paris via the Quai d'Issy, as he has been accustomed to doing for years, and having crossed the Seine at the level of Concord. After the loops in the 18th arrondissement, the descent towards the Champs-Élysées, where the finish would still be judged, would be via Rue Royale.”
Security, requiring a significant deployment of law enforcement, the dedicated perimeter, possible roadblocks, the ban on traffic and the cost of unprecedented logistics are at the heart of the reflection. For many years, the Tour has evolved the route of the last stage, including the tour of the Place de l'Arc de Triomphe, the crossing of the Cour Carrée, the courtyard of the Louvre Museum or the nave of the Grand Palais. But sometimes dreams take a little time to come true. If authorization does not come in time for the 2025 Tour, perhaps in a few years, the Tour will manage to take the wheel of the Olympics from Montmartre. To slip unforgettable images into its long history…
France
Lifestyle