The organisers of the Tour de France want to continue to use the Montmartre circuit in future editions, according to reports in the French media.
Stage 21 of the 2025 edition on Sunday saw the Butte Montmartre ascended three times on the run in to the finish on the Champs-Élysées, mixing things up from the traditional flat sprint finish. While general classification times were neutralised before the cobbled climb was tackled, it created a thrilling final stage, won by Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike).
It was sold as a one off, to celebrate 50 years of the Tour finishing on the Champs, but it now appears that it might become more of a regularity, in bad news for pure sprinters.
"Obviously, we want to continue to pass through Montmartre," Pierre-Yves Thouault, deputy director of the Tour de France, told Le Parisien. "The success has exceeded our expectations, and naturally, the desire to make this new route a long-term success is there."
"We'll debrief very quickly, around a table, with representatives from the city and the prefecture," he continued. "We'll look at possible areas for improvement. I'm thinking in particular of public accessibility in certain areas. But overall, everything went very well. Everyone loved it. The public and the riders alike."
The French newspaper also quoted Paris' deputy mayor for sports, who also sounded approving of the idea, with the minister for sport and Paris police chiefs next to be consulted on the possibility.
Reaction to the Montmartre had been mixed, with some riders enjoying it, while others – including Jonas Vingegaard – not liking it so much. The crowds were certainly huge, with reports of people being 10-deep along the course, even in the rain.
The winner on Sunday, Van Aert, appreciated that GC times were taken before the climbs: "I did enjoy it because it was quite selective after that, and there was a a small group in the front, it was how it should be, the guys who wanted to do it, can take the risks and go for it, and those that didn't, didn't have to fight for it.
"But if the GC times had not been taken earlier, in my opinion, it would have been impossible to create a safe race on this circuit. As it was, today was still an exciting race, riders were going for the stage victory. That was the best for everybody."
Using Montmartre again is not the only change to the Tour's final stage being considered, with Tour director Christian Prudhomme hinting to Cycling Weekly during the race that the stage could move away from Paris in certain years, as it did to Nice for 2024.
“I think that the arrival in Nice, outside of Paris, won’t be unique. We were delighted with Nice,” he said. “But what’s crucial for me is to always keep a really strong relationship with the city of Paris. That’s crucial for me."
