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Paris Champs-Élysées
105 km
Sunday 25 July
After the high-speed train transfer from Bordeaux, the closing stage of the race will also be the shortest: 105 kilometres from Longjumeau, a new stage town, in Essonne, to Paris, entered from the west. Sprinters will be hoping for a glorious dash to victory on the final home stretch on the Champs-Élysées, and the 2010 Tour de France will crown its champion.
• Stage town for the first time
• Population: 21,200
• County town of Essonne canton (91)
A final first time start for a final stage through the suburbs of Paris. Longjumeau couldn’t resist the call of the Tour, and the Tour has a lot in common with Essonne. Indeed, twelve of the towns in this county have been visited by the Tour since the post-war revival edition of 1947. It was moreover from Essonne, in front of the Réveil-Matin tavern in Montgeron, that the first Tour was launched in 1903.
• Traditional finish of the Tour de France
• Population: 2,200 000
• Capital of France
• Capital of the Ile-de-France Region – City – County of Seine (75)
For the last 35 years the most beautiful avenue in the world has provided the Tour de France with a gem of a location for its grand finale. Walter Godefroot was the first to win on the Champs, since followed by all of cycling’s greatest sprinters, and some phenomenal hard-hitters. Indeed, only a hard-hitter like Bernard Hinault could prevent the final home stretch from being a sprint finish.
