PARIS: The Tour de France will pass through the historic Parisian district of Montmartre on its final stage this year after huge crowds massed there for the 2024 Olympic road races, sources close to the decision told AFP on Tuesday. The world’s most famous bike race will still finish with a sprint on the Champs-Elysees as normal, but the climb of the cobbled hill to the domed Sacre-Coeur Basilica adds a picturesque new dimension. At last year’s Paris Games around 500,000 people lined the streets of Montmartre and the French capital. The men’s and women’s Olympic road race saw cyclists speed through some of the most picturesque streets of the capital, including the famous Montmartre hill, and the iconic Moulin Rouge cabaret made famous by 19th century artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. At the Olympics, the road race started and finished in front of the Eiffel Tower. Published in Dawn, May 14th, 2025