Latest news with #ValentinMadouas
LeMonde
08-07-2025
- Sport
- LeMonde
Valentin Madouas: 'At the Tour de France, I've always been missing that little something to win a stage'
Valentin Madouas, in Paris, January 10, 2024. ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT / AFP Valentin Madouas dreams of raising his arms in victory on the Tour, which he is riding for the sixth time in his career. About to turn 29 – his birthday falls on July 12 – the Breton rider has made this one of his goals for the 2025 edition and hopes to relive the emotions from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, when he finished second in the road race behind Belgian Remco Evenepoel. "When I see the medal at home, I feel so happy," said the Groupama-FDJ rider. Do you think you will ever experience again, on a bike, what you felt during the Paris 2024 Olympic road race? I don't think so, but I hope to be surprised. The Olympic Games were incredible, especially in France and in Paris! The race was magnificent. There are still great emotions to be found everywhere, and I hope to experience new magical moments, but I am not sure they will ever be as intense as during the Olympics. One year later, what memories do you have of that event? I was really focused on my race, concentrating on my effort, but even so, I was surprised by the enthusiasm. I expected to see a lot of people, but not that many. There was an incredible amount of noise − it was deafening in Montmartre − [and] you couldn't even hear yourself talk. It was pretty wild, but I tried to block all of that out to go after that medal. You have 74.85% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.
Straits Times
02-06-2025
- Sport
- Straits Times
2025 Tour de France adds Montmartre suspense to final stage
France's Valentin Madouas cycling during the men's cycling road race during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, on Aug 3, 2024. PHOTO: AFP – The Tour de France will make three circuits of the historic Paris district of Montmartre on its last stage in 2025 in what organisers said on May 21 would add a competitive finale to the world's greatest bike race. The new format of the final stage on July 27 introduces an outside possibility that the leading contender could crash out, adding suspense to what had traditionally become a procession into the French capital. The riders will for the first time on a Tour de France race a total of 16.8km in Montmartre before the peloton heads to the Champs-Elysees, where it will complete three circuits, instead of the previous eight. The change prolongs the suspense because a breakaway on the narrow, cobbled streets of Montmartre could tempt a few adventurous riders to join and force the big guns to follow them. Around half a million spectators lined the route when the road races at the 2024 Paris Olympics passed through Montmartre, sparking a clamour for the Tour to include the popular tourist spot in its final stage. The circuit will climb Rue Lepic in Montmartre, where much of the action in the hit 2001 movie Amelie takes place, before the steep ascent to the domed Sacre Coeur Basilica. 'It was kind of now or never. The goal wasn't to change the finish location, especially for the 50th anniversary of the first finish on the Champs-Elysees, but to make the final stage more competitive and more popular,' Paris' assistant mayor Pierre Rabadan told AFP. The Paris police originally told Tour organisers ASO they were opposed to allowing the race to pass through Montmartre because of security reasons. 'The area is heavily populated and there are many cafe terraces and shops making it a tricky security dimension, involving a more substantial security system,' Paris police chief Laurent Nunez told AFP ahead of the announcement, explaining his original reluctance. The situation was resolved only after the intervention of President Emmanuel Macron, who was the 'driving force' behind the decision, the French president's office told AFP. For the Tour de France, this change to the final stage represents a revolution in sporting terms. The designer of the route, former cyclist Thierry Gouvenou, said on May 21 the new format adds real tension and competitive edge. 'We put all this together for the sporting interest. It's not just a parade or a tourist visit to Montmartre,' Gouvenou said. 'We're almost certain the riders will compete. But I don't really believe it will turn the Tour around. We shouldn't expect huge gaps. But it will energise the stage,' he added. The 2025 edition of the Tour de France marks the 50th anniversary of its first finale on the Champs-Elysees, traditionally considered Paris' most chic shopping road, in 1975. The 112th edition of the race itself begins on July 5 in the northern French city of Lille after three consecutive money-spinning foreign Grand Departs in Copenhagen (Denmark), Bilbao (Spain) and Florence (Italy). The gruelling race covers 3,320km over the three weeks and will be contested by 184 riders in 2025. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
