CHAMPS FOR THE CHAMPS
There are fewer more iconic sporting images than the sight of a peloton sprinting around Paris in a final celebratory effort. From champagne swilling yellow jerseys to mad breakaways attacking the cobbles around the Arc de Triomphe the scenes are etched in our memories. We’d be forgiven for thinking this tradition was as old as the race itself, whereas it only begun in 1975.
The first ever Tour in 1903 finished in the Parisian suburb of Ville d’Avray. The sixth and deciding stage of the Tour was a mammoth 471km and far from the parade that the Tour finale is today. After toasting the winners with frosted champagne the organisers had the racers ride a further 9km to the Parc des Princes Velodrome for a lap of honour in front of the waiting spectators. It’s hard to imagine what kind of state the riders were in, but it’s safe to assume it was a world apart from what we see today.
The Parc des Princes Velodrome became the home of the finale in subsequent Tours right up until 1967. In fact the Tour has finished in a velodrome far more often than on the Champs-Élysées with the Vélodrome de Vincennes being the home of the finale from 1968 until 1974.
The Parc des Princes has become well known for sporting events as the home of Paris St Germain football club and also host to international football and rugby. The Parc did begin its life as a cycling venue in 1897, with 3,200 seats the purpose built stadium proved that cycling was France’s number one sport. It’s debut as a football stadium came in the same year as it’s Tour de France inauguration, with France losing 11-0 To England in front of a crowd of 984. Perhaps it’s fortunate for England that cycling has given more success than football in recent years.
Having evolved throughout its lifetime the stadium went through significant changes in the 60s — the Périphérique, a bypass, was built near the Parc des Princes in 1965, which lost 17,000 seats in the process. Also that year the French Football Federation took over the lease and begun major construction. The Tour moved from the Parc to Vélodrome de Vincennes in 1968 and remained there until 1974.
The Vélodrome de Vincennes is perhaps most well known as the venue Eddy Merckx winning each of his five Tour victories there. With Merckx, countryman Willy Teirlinck and Dutchman Jan Janssen all winning between 1968 and 1974, the velodrome only saw one French winner — Bernard Thévenet in 1973.
Bernard Thevenet won his first Tour de France in 1975, beating the incomparable Eddy Merckx in the process. The day proved extra special for the Frenchman, finishing the race for the first time on the Champs-Elysées he said of the day “it was a magical arrival. There was huge crowd, it was really a great idea to get there.”
Journalist and Tour Director Yves Mourousi had thought of the idea to finish on the famous avenue, as legend would have it, one drunken night with friends. His friends challenged him to make good his idea and that night he phoned the President of the Republics office to propose the idea. Not so much drunk texting as ‘drunk changing the face of the biggest race in the world’. Good work Yves!
By all accounts Bernard Thevenet partied on the night of his Tour win with Yves Mourousi as his guide. Surely there could be no better drinking partner! Chapeau Yves, you’re our kind of cycling fan.
In the spirit of celebration with champagne flutes, or print glasses in our hands, we’ve knocked 25% off across the site for the grand finale.
