Race to Paris 2025: Concluding Events on the Montmartre Slope Hills
The final stage of the Tour de France, following the 2025 event, is set to retain the new Montmartre circuit featuring the cobbled Rue Lepic climb. This decision is based on the unprecedented viewership, large crowds, and intense racing drama generated by this route.
In 2025, the traditional flat, ceremonial sprint stage to the Champs-Élysées was replaced with a more challenging and exciting finale incorporating the hill and cobblestones of Rue Lepic. Initially, there were uncertainties and criticisms about the inclusion of such a difficult climb so late in the Tour. However, the spectacular finish and the buzz it created have led organizers to affirm the Montmartre circuit will remain part of the race’s signature finale.
The Montmartre circuit, introduced in 2025, involved three ascents of the Montmartre climb just before the finish on the Champs-Élysées. This change proved to be a success, delivering dynamic racing and attracting crowds. The final Tour stage on cobbles of Rue Lepic was met with unanimous approval from viewers, breaking records with 5.2 million viewers tuning in to watch Wout van Aert's triumph[3]. This figure is the highest for a final Tour stage in the last 20 years[4].
The audience share of 42.1% is also the highest for any final Tour stage in the past 20 years[4]. The success of this stage has given organizers ideas to make the route permanent in the coming years[6]. France 2 managed to gather a 42.1% audience share with this event[2], and it's unlikely that the main French broadcaster of the event will complain about the potential repeat of the final stage in Montmartre[6].
The peak viewership of 8.7 million is the highest for a final Tour stage in the last 20 years[1][4]. This peak was reached during the final Tour stage, a score never seen in 20 years[1]. The final Tour stage in Montmartre attracted 180,000 people, surpassing the attendance at the Olympic Games' road race on the same cobbled streets[7].
In 2021, a total of 45 million French people watched the Tour de France for at least a minute[8]. Of these, 8.2 million people watched at least 10 seconds of the Tour on Eurosport[9]. Each stage of the Tour de France gathered an average of 130,000 viewers on Eurosport 1[9].
The city of Paris is supportive of the idea of repeating the final Tour stage in Montmartre, according to a report by Le Parisien[7]. Pierre Rabadan, the adjoint aux Sports, estimates that the repeat of the final stage is likely to happen[7]. ASO, the Tour's organizer, is preparing to submit a file to the Paris prefecture to repeat the final stage in Montmartre[6].
The success of the Montmartre circuit in Paris has shown that it has revitalized interest in the final stage, moving away from a predictable sprinter’s finish towards one with more suspense and strategic complexity[1][2][5]. It seems that the final stage of the Tour de France will continue with this challenging, spectator-friendly course rather than reverting to a pure sprint stage on the Champs-Élysées[5].
The Montmartre circuit, introduced in 2025, has been affirmed to remain part of the Tour de France's signature finale, given the high viewership, large crowds, and intense racing drama it generated. In 2025, the final Tour stage on the cobbles of Rue Lepic broke records with 5.2 million viewers tuning in, making it the highest for a final Tour stage in the last 20 years.
