Stage 21: Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines to Paris Champs-Élysées
Date: July 23, 2023
Distance: 115km
Stage type: Flat
The final day of the three-week Tour de France concludes with its traditional circuits in Paris on the Champs-Élysées, but the new opening stretch gives a nod to the 2024 Olympic Games with a start at the national velodrome of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines.
The Tour’s first visit to Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines dates back to 1986 for a team time trial. The velodrome opened in 2014 and now serves as the headquarters of the French Cycling Federation. It will host track events one year after the 2023 Tour de France for the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games.
It is just 37 kilometres on highways to the centre of Paris, so the sprinters will wind their way to the City of Light, then pass the Arc de Triomphe and the Louvre as they vye for the top prize on the Champs-Élysées. Mark Cavendish remains the record holder with four wins. In the past seven years the finale has gone to seven different riders: André Greipel (2016), Dylan Groenewegen (2017), Alexander Kristoff (2018), Caleb Ewan (2019), Sam Bennett (2020), Wout van Aert (2021) and Jasper Philipsen (2022).
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