“La, la, la, la, la, la, la Kevin Vauquelin!” chanted some spectators in polka-dot T-shirts winding up Rue Lepic, cheering the French rider best placed in the general classification. Meanwhile, others took to the street on their alpine skis for a moment of fun, having put their winter sports equipment out.
Riders ascended the hill three times and passed beneath the Sacré-Coeur basilica before heading to the finish on the Champs-Élysées. Despite the rain making the roads slippery and dangerous, Pogačar attacked on all three ascents but he couldn’t respond when stage winner Wout van Aert countered him.
Hours before the peloton was due to arrive, spectators had already packed the Parisian neighbourhood.Credit: AP
The peloton passed the Moulin Rouge before climbing to the Butte Montmartre. To mark the occasion, dancers in tricolor costumes performed a French Cancan outside the cabaret.
Traditionally, the final stage is largely processional until a sprint decides the day’s winner on the Champs-Elysées. But on Sunday, the final climb came about 7 kilometres from the finish and sprinters could not contend for the stage win. Only five riders were left with Pogačar on the third ascension of the 1.1-kilometre hill.
During the Olympics, the road races drew more than 500,000 spectators in Paris.
Last year’s Tour concluded outside Paris for the first time since 1905 because of a scheduling conflict with the Olympics, with the final stage held in Nice. The Champs-Élysées returned this year for the conclusion of the 3,320-kilometre race.
AP