Stage 21

The 104th edition of the Tour de France bids farewell with a 105 kilometres route. Stage 21 travels from Montgeron to Paris to conclude with eight laps on the Champs-Élysées.

A Champs-Élysées victory should be on the resume of the greatest sprinters. Mark Cavendish took four stage wins in Paris, yet it’s been four years since his last win. In 2013 and 2014 Marcel Kittel powered to victory, while another German was the fastest in 2015 and 2016: André Greipel.

The last stage of the 2017 Tour de France is merely 105 kilometres. Experience shows the race is a slow show until the riders hit the Champs-Élysées. Then speeds ramp up in eight laps of almost 7 kilometres. Usually the sprinters have a big chance of winning on the famous cobbles. The last time a late escape led to the stage win was in 2005 when Aleksandr Vinokourov held off the chasing peloton.

Departure place Montgeron is not new to La Grande Boucle. On the contrary, the very first Tour de France left here in 1903. Yet, the route was really something else as the riders faced a 467 kilometres stage to Lyon.

The first three riders on the line at the Champs-Élysées take time bonuses at 10, 6 and 4 seconds.