Retired Tour de France sprinting great Marcel Kittel says he would be "disappointed" if he was still a rider at the decision to include a cobbled climb before the traditional Champs-Élysées finish on the final day of the race in July.
In a presentation in Paris this week, the race organiser [ASO] revealed that the last stage would include parts of the route used in the Olympic road races last August in the French capital. The peloton will now take on three ascents of the Côte de la Butte Montmartre before reaching the Champs-Élysées, a move which has already attracted criticism from two-time Tour winner Jonas Vingegaard.
The last stage of the race has long been viewed as the unofficial sprinters' world championships, although Kittel told Cycling Weekly that the decision will mean the traditional opportunity for the pure sprinters could disappear completely this year. ASO previously said that the inclusion of the climb was to mark the 50th anniversary of the race's usual finish in Paris.
"I feel pain in my sprinter's heart now everyone knows exactly what's planned," Kittel said. "It's clear that they're going to be breaking with tradition. With a final like this, it's also not going to be a quiet moment for the yellow jersey anymore. The Tour now has 21 stages for the GC, not 20, that’s at least how I see it."
He added: "It's going to be very, very hard to control the race there and it's going to definitely be far more difficult to force it into a sprint on the final day. I don't want to judge too much too early, but I'm afraid that we're following that direction and that the race will now be very different."
Breaking with tradition
Kittel won 14 individual stages of the Tour during his career, including two victories in Paris. Back in 2013, he beat both André Greipel and Mark Cavendish on the Champs-Élysées in a memorable final day of racing. The last day is often a relaxed affair for the man in the yellow jersey; glasses of champagne are passed around the peloton to toast the overall winner's success.
Kittel believes that the ceremonial aspect of the race is an important tradition to preserve, explaining that the inclusion of the climb will lead to a huge increase in tension. However, the now 37-year-old added that he understands the change will present a lot of excitement for those watching on, although he isn't convinced that all of the riders will be pleased by the move.
"It's going to be very stressful," he said. "There's a lot more uncertainty and it will be a lot more difficult to control the race as a sprinters team. If I was still a rider, I'd be quite disappointed that it won't be a controlled sprint day anymore.
"I'm not saying it's going to be impossible [for a sprinter to win], because we have so many sprinters at the moment who could get over it [the Butte de Montmartre] and time it well. But it's still going to be really really difficult. It's very narrow, the climb, so positioning is going to be very important."
He added: "I also feel a little afraid as in the past on the Champs-Élysées when it rains, everyone starts to doubt how safe it is. Sometimes in the past the race was neutralised. But with the Montmartre climb and a few descents, it will then be even more challenging, so it's definitely a very big thing that they're doing this."
As well as the likes of Alpecin-Deceuninck pair Mathieu van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen, Kittel believes that an array of Classics riders will now be looking at the course and fancying their chances instead.
"There will be guys who have a better chance to attack to make the race difficult," he said. "It's going to definitely be a really exciting race to watch, there will be sprinters like Philipsen, Michael Matthews and guys like that who will be able to survive it if they’re on a good day. But it really will just depend on the wider dynamic in general and what other teams want when it comes down to it."
