Two former winners of the Champs-Elysées dash on the Tour de France have criticised the redesigned route for the ultimate stage of biking’s greatest race, introduced on Wednesday by organisers ASO.
Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike), who triumphed in Paris in 2021, mentioned it was “harmful” so as to add the three ascents of the Côte de la Butte Montmartre, which characterised final yr’s Paris Olympic Video games street race, to the standard procession stage.
Regardless of the extra Classics-style route probably benefiting somebody like Van Aert, who was one of many strongest on the brief climb alongside Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), and whose teammate Remco Evenepoel received the gold medal for Belgium, he expects the completely different peloton measurement to be the important thing drawback.
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“I am not likely a fan of it. I believe it should be a harmful stage,” Van Aert informed Sporza, talking on the Giro d’Italia. “The course is clearly one thing that fits me, particularly when that final climb is 6km from the end. That opens up views for traditional riders like me.
“Nevertheless it ignores the truth that we arrived there throughout the Video games with a peloton of fifty riders and now with a complete Tour peloton, the place many classification riders nonetheless have one thing to defend. I anticipate chaos, I believe it is a disgrace that we will search that out.”
Regardless of the unimaginable spectacle, the place an anticipated 500,000 followers got here out to look at the Olympic Video games street race, Van Aert thinks the security facet is paramount and never being prioritised.
“I perceive that the organisation thought ‘That appears cool, we must always attempt to use that,'” he mentioned. “However lately, security has more and more grow to be a difficulty, and this alternative for Montmartre ignores this.”
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Compatriot and 2022 dash winner on ‘essentially the most well-known avenue on this planet’, Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) has a equally unfavourable opinion, together with his probabilities of repeating victory on the cobblestone road being diminished.
“As a sprinter, it is clearly a disgrace to see this stage change. It had grow to be a powerful custom,” Philipsen informed L’Equipe.
“The stage will grow to be considerably extra demanding for the sprinters, just because there will probably be extra riders able to successful it. However that does not imply {that a} sprinter can not win it.”
Philipsen was much less within the security facet, acknowledging how any potential chaos relies upon largely on how the GC scenario is at the start of the ultimate day. Nonetheless, he did observe how encouraging an opportunity to maneuver up on the ultimate day, with Montmartre included, breeds extra threat.
“An vital issue going into this closing stage would be the classification and the time gaps between the general contenders. If every part stays shut, the stress degree within the peloton will certainly improve, particularly as we method Montmartre,” he mentioned.
“Not one of the total contenders will wish to lose even a second, because the stage presents a closing alternative to maneuver up the highest 10 and achieve priceless seconds.
“In earlier years, the general groups may simply get pleasure from a extra relaxed day, however now they will have to remain fully targeted till the tip. As soon as once more, it will change the general rigidity within the peloton.”
Earlier this week, two-time Tour winner Jonas Vingegaard criticised the thought from a security perspective, whereas Evenepoel has additionally beforehand voiced his doubts about including the Montmartre climbs.
Tour de France race director Christian Prudhomme defended the organiser’s resolution to create extra of a spectacle on stage 21, citing preliminary unfavourable responses to one of many Tour’s most iconic climbs, the Tourmalet, was first included as proof that constructing the “legend” of the race requires some threat.
“It was apparent to us that we needed to do one thing massive for the fiftieth anniversary of the primary arrival on the Champs-Elysées,” Prudhomme informed Sporza.
“This can additional improve the status of the Tour all around the world. It’s going to enable biking to additional construct its legend.
“When Henri Desgrange (the driving power behind the primary Tour – Ed.) first included the Tourmalet and the Pyrenees within the route in 1910, not everybody was thrilled. Now they’re a part of the legend of the Tour. We should proceed to construct on that legend.”
Whereas the Rue Lepic and Montmartre’s inclusion into the Tour will probably be a function of 2025 and an enormous speaking level forward of a presumably chaotic closing day, it is unclear but whether or not the slender streets of northern Paris will grow to be a mainstay.
However Prudhomme’s pursuit of “legend” and wanting to make sure “the fantastic uncertainty of the game will return” counsel that one of these closing stage could possibly be right here to remain.
He desires somebody, like Bernard Hinault did in 1979 and 1981, to win in France’s capital sporting the yellow jersey, closing out the Tour de France in type. Nonetheless, he did admit that this was a part of “a loopy dream.”
