This year, the Tour de France will celebrate half a century
of iconic finishes on the Champs-Élysées. In 2024, the race famously skipped
Paris for its traditional final stage due to preparations for the Olympic
Games. But in 2025, the Tour is set to return to the French capital, with stage
21 once again concluding on the world’s most famous boulevard.
Writing in The Guardian, William Fotheringham
reflected on the history and spectacle of this landmark finish.
“It is impossible now to conceive of the Tour de France
without two things: the race leader’s yellow jersey and the finale on the
Champs-Élysées, a spectacle that is half a century old this summer.”
Fotheringham highlighted some of the most memorable
conclusions on the Parisian cobbles. Among them were Bernard Hinault’s
remarkable victories while wearing the yellow jersey, an achievement very few
riders have ever matched. Hinault even outpaced the pure sprinters in 1982,
including the legendary Sean Kelly.
He also recalled Greg LeMond’s dramatic triumph in 1989,
when LeMond overturned a 50-second deficit to Laurent Fignon by winning the
final time trial on the Champs-Élysées by eight seconds, one of the most
thrilling finishes in Tour history.
Other standout moments included Eddy Seigneur’s surprise win
in 1994, and of course Mark Cavendish’s dominant run capped by his fourth
consecutive victory on the Champs-Élysées in 2012, when he was famously led out
by Tour winner Bradley Wiggins.
Fin MajorCycling Journalist
Fin Major is a UK-based writer at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2024. He is the site’s main writer for FAQs and evergreen explainers and has written around 2,000 pieces for the platform. Alongside this work, he focuses on in-depth analysis and covers the biggest races on the calendar, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, providing clear context around performance trends, tactics, and key storylines.
In his reporting, Fin uses reputable data sources such as ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available. Outside of writing, Fin is an active cyclist, which supports his practical understanding of the sport and its demands.
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- 🐐❤️Lozza09-11-2026
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