2026 Tour de France Stage 21 Live Coverage
Welcome to our live coverage of Stage 21 of the 2026 Tour de France! Our live profile and commentary are below, followed by a preview of the technical aspects of the route.
Course Preview
At 89 kilometres, the final stage of the Tour starts and finishes on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. Just like last year, the Côte de la Butte Montmartre once again features in the finale. This time, the cobbled climb of 1.1 kilometres at 5.9% comes 10.3 kilometres from the finish line.
After the one-off finish in Nice in 2024, Paris once again provides the finale – though, as last year, not with the usual sprinters’ stage. The cobbled climb towards the Sacré-Cœur produced such spectacular racing last time that it makes a return this year. The section, which runs for 1.1 kilometres at an average gradient of 5.9%, will be tackled three times in total, with the final ascent coming 10.3 kilometres from the finish line.
One difference from last year is that the climb now comes 4.2 kilometres further from the finish. In theory, that gives dropped sprinters – or rather, dropped riders in general – more time to regain contact.
Another difference is that the ASO decided at the eleventh hour to skip the planned run-in to Paris. The stage was supposed to start in Thoiry and then, after plenty of chatter and even more photo opportunities, the peloton would reach the French capital after roughly 50 kilometres. But the riders will be spared that this year. The day before the stage, the organisers decided not only to finish on the Champs-Élysées, but also to start the final stage there. As a result, the stage has also been shortened from 132.5 kilometres to 89 kilometres.
Instead of completing three laps of the regular 6.8-kilometre Champs-Élysées circuit, the riders will now do seven, before heading towards the Côte de la Butte Montmartre for the first time. The lap featuring the cobbled climb is 16 kilometres long and will be tackled three times.
Wout van Aert pulled off the unseen in last year's finale: he dropped Tadej Pogacar. On the cobbles of the Côte de la Butte Montmartre, the yellow jersey launched an attack, but the Belgian countered and rode away solo to a resounding victory. With that, the Slovenian missed out on his fifth stage win, but he still crossed the line in fourth place to secure his fourth overall Tour de France title.
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