tour de france crowd numbers

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Tour de France heads to the final stages with leader changes and crowd control issues

Gabriel J. Sánchez

Justine Kenin

Ailsa Chang

NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with Patrick Redford from the Defector about the progress of the Tour de France.

Copyright © 2023 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

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Tour de France - statistics & facts

Recordbreakers, the yellow jersey, 2021 edition, key insights.

Detailed statistics

Tour de France entrants and finishers 1903-2024

Tour de France 2021: general riders ranking, by times

Tour de France 2021 : general teams ranking, by times

Editor’s Picks Current statistics on this topic

Individual Sports

Budget of selected Tour de France teams 2023

Winner's average speed in the Tour de France 1903-2024

Tour de France total French TV audience 2022-2023

Further recommended statistics

Event history.

• Premium Statistic Tour de France entrants and finishers 1903-2024
• Basic Statistic Most Tour de France wins 1903-2024, by country
• Premium Statistic Winner's average speed in the Tour de France 1903-2024

Number of entrants and finishers in the Tour de France from 1903 to 2024

Most Tour de France wins 1903-2024, by country

Countries with the most Tour de France victories as of 2024

Winner's average speed in the Tour de France 1903-2024

Tour de France winner's average speed from 1903 to 2024 (in kilometers per hour)

• Premium Statistic Tour de France 2021: general riders ranking, by times
• Premium Statistic Tour de France 2021 : general teams ranking, by times
• Premium Statistic Tour de France 2021: best sprinters, by number of points
• Premium Statistic Tour de France 2021: Best climbers, by number of points
• Premium Statistic Salaries of the highest-paid Tour de France riders 2021
• Premium Statistic Budget of selected Tour de France teams 2023
• Premium Statistic Tour de France performance bonuses 2021

General riders ranking of the Tour de France in 2021, by times (in minutes)

General teams ranking of the Tour de France in 2021, by times (in minutes)

Tour de France 2021: best sprinters, by number of points

Ranking of the Tour de France sprinters in 2021, by number of points

Tour de France 2021: Best climbers, by number of points

Ranking of the Tour de France climbers in 2021, by number of points

Salaries of the highest-paid Tour de France riders 2021

Highest-paid Tour de France cyclists in 2021 (in million euros)

Tour de France teams with the biggest budgets in 2023 (in million U.S. dollars)

Tour de France performance bonuses 2021

Value of the Tour de France individual general classification bonuses in 2021 (in euros)

• Basic Statistic Tour de France riders with the most victories 1903-2024
• Basic Statistic Riders with the most days in the Tour de France yellow jersey 1903-2024
• Basic Statistic Tour de France riders with the most stage wins 1903-2024
• Premium Statistic Riders with the most Tour de France entries 1903-2024
• Premium Statistic Tour de France best-performing countries 1903-2024, by podium position

Tour de France riders with the most victories 1903-2024

Cyclists with the most Tour de France victories as of 2024

Riders with the most days in the Tour de France yellow jersey 1903-2024

Cyclists that have spent the most days in the yellow jersey at the Tour de France as of 2024

Tour de France riders with the most stage wins 1903-2024

Cyclists with the most Tour de France stage wins as of 2024

Riders with the most Tour de France entries 1903-2024

Cyclists with the most starts in the Tour de France as of 2024

Tour de France best-performing countries 1903-2024, by podium position

Countries with the most Tour de France victories from 1903 to 2024, by podium position

TV audience and sponsorship

• Premium Statistic Tour de France total French TV audience 2022-2023
• Premium Statistic TV channels broadcasting Tour de France 2021
• Premium Statistic Tour de France live broadcasters 2021, by geographical area
• Premium Statistic Tour de France sponsor partners 2021, by type
• Premium Statistic Tour de France revenue distribution 2019

Number of TV viewers of the Tour de France in France in 2022 and 2023 (in millions)

TV channels broadcasting Tour de France 2021

Number of TV channels broadcasting the Tour de France in 2021

Tour de France live broadcasters 2021, by geographical area

Number of broadcasters with live coverage rights for the Tour de France in 2021, by geographical area

Tour de France sponsor partners 2021, by type

Number of Tour de France sponsorship partners in 2021, by type

Tour de France revenue distribution 2019

Tour de France revenue in 2019, by source

Fan interest

• Premium Statistic Interest in watching Tour de France 2020 and 2021, by country
• Premium Statistic Share of the French population intending to follow the Tour de France 2021
• Premium Statistic Influencing factors for watching Tour de France 2021, by nation
• Premium Statistic Deterrents for not watching Tour de France 2021, by nation

Interest in watching Tour de France 2020 and 2021, by country

Level of interest in the Tour de France in selected countries worldwide in 2020 and 2021

Share of the French population intending to follow the Tour de France 2021

Share of the population intending to follow the Tour de France in France from 2016 to 2021

Influencing factors for watching Tour de France 2021, by nation

Most common reasons for watching the Tour de France in selected countries worldwide in 2021

Deterrents for not watching Tour de France 2021, by nation

Most common reasons for not watching the Tour de France in selected countries worldwide in 2021

Anti-doping rule violations

• Premium Statistic Sports with the most anti-doping rule violations worldwide 2020
• Premium Statistic Tour de France riders who committed anti-doping violations 1968-2023
• Premium Statistic Confidence in Tour de France teams for complying with the anti-doping rules 2023

Sports with the most anti-doping rule violations worldwide 2020

Number of anti-doping rule violations worldwide in 2020, by sport

Tour de France riders who committed anti-doping violations 1968-2023

Share of Tour de France riders who committed anti-doping rule violations from 1968 to 2023

Confidence in Tour de France teams for complying with the anti-doping rules 2023

Level of trust in the Tour de France teams in complying with the anti-doping rules in 2023, by team

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Sport > World > Lists > Largest Sporting Crowds

Largest Sporting Crowds

There have been some very large crowds of spectators watching sporting events. Below are some of the largest known sporting crowds . At the moment I have just collected information about huge crowds at sporting events, which are now being checked. More suggestions and other crowds numbers are coming in (see comments below).

It is often difficult to record actual crowd numbers for very large events, particularly if there are not contained in a single stadium where tickets can be sold and entry monitored. Sporting events such as the Tour de France are able to have a lot more in attendance than in a stadium, though counting spectators is very difficult. Later I will be dividing these crowd figures into those attending an enclosed stadium compared to trackside events such as cycling road races, horse racing and motor sports. Please let me know if you have information to add.

Ordered list of top world sporting crowds

Here are some of the largest sporting crowds reported. At the moment I have just collected information about huge crowds at sporting events, not all numbers have been confirmed (and may never will be) as counting millions of spectators is not that easy.

• The Tour de France cycle race - the number of spectators at recent events is estimated to be 12 to 15 million . Many other cycle races and similar events will have a huge number of spectators. This number is the aggregate number of spectators over the whole three week event, but still phenomenal numbers.
• Between 1900-1940 the crowd for Derby Day at Epsom Downs regularly exceeded 300,000. THere were estimates of 500,000 in 1913 and 1934!
• The Indianapolis 500 has an estimated crowd of 400,000 attend. They also report big crowds at the Daytona 500 and Le Mans events.
• I also found a reference to more than 300,000 people at an event in Circus Maximus (Rome) a few years BC. (unconfirmed!)
• Maracana stadium in Brazil had a record attendance of 199,854 for the Brazil vs. Uruguay match in the World Cup Final on the 16th June, 1950. This is the biggest attendance at a sporting event held in an enclosed stadium. The crowd number is an unofficial number - the official crowd (people who paid tickets) that day was 173,850. Due to its large capacity, Maracana stadium has many more reported sporting events with large attendance figures.
• 190,000 attended the 2nd day of a 2-day Pro Wrestling event at the May Day Stadium on the 29th of April 1995. The headline act was "Nature Boy" Ric Flair.
• In Feb 2008, 170,802 fans were in attendance at the FBR Open Golf Tournament in Scotsdale, Arizona (U.S. PGA Tour). It is thought to be the largest crowd ever to witness a single day sports event (where the event is held within the confines of a private piece of real estate) - as opposed to millions of people watching a moving sports event such as The Tour De France or the Olympic Marathon.
• The highest-attended to a Kentucky Derby came in 2015, when 170,513 people packed Churchill Downs.
• American college football game, dubbed The Battle at Bristol, was played at the Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee on September 10, 2016, between the University of Tennessee Volunteers and the Virginia Tech Hokies. It holds the record for NCAA football's largest single-game attendance at 156,990 .
• At a Scotland v England match 17th April 1937 at Hampden Park, there was officially 149,415 spectators. Sources say that there were more, considering there were a lot of people in the stadium without tickets.
• 135,000 - Portugal, da Luz, 04.01.1987, SL Benfica-FC Porto, football.
• 134,000 - 1997 Federation Cup Semi-Final between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan holds the record for the largest audience for a Indian football match. The match, played on 13th July 1997 at Salt Lake Stadium, drew 134,000 spectators. This is a record attendance for any sport in India.
• 129,690 attended Estádio Santiago Bernabéu in Spain for a football match between Real Madrid and A.C. Milan, 19 April 1956.
• The highest attendance at a sporting event in England was 126,047 at the original Wembley Stadium , 28th April 1923, at a football match between Bolton Wanderers FC and West Ham United FC. Apparentaly they closed the gates around 126,000 because the stadium only held 127,000. The crowd outside then climbed over the gates and flooded onto the field. The game was delayed until everyone moved outside the touch lines and they could actually play. 126,047 is the "official" number, but the crowd was easily twice that size. Some estimates have it as large as 300,000.
• The 2003 Melbourne Cup horse race at Flemington Racecourse Victoria Australia had a record crowd of 122,736.
• The MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground), Australia had 121,696 for the 1970 Australian Rules Football grand final in 1970 between Carlton and Collingwood.
• The unofficial record for a game in the USA is approximately 120,000 to see a Notre Dame/ Army game in 1928. The same estimated crowd also saw the Notre Dame v USC football game in Soldier Field, Chicago in 1927. That occurred prior to the north end of the stadium being removed, leaving the stands in a horseshoe configuration which it kept until the renovation in 2002.
• The largest crowd to ever watch a Super Bowl live was at Super Bowl XIV – 103,985 attended the 1980 Super Bowl held at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
• The data has mostly been taken from online forums and databases. Not all figures are confirmed - do your own research if it matters. See our top list of largest sports stadium crowds which includes some of those listed above.

Related Pages

• List of the World's Highest Sports Stadium Attendance
• List of the domestic professional league crowds
• Other world sport lists

Old Comments

Commenting is generally closed on this page, though you can read some previous comments below which you may find interesting and may answer some of your questions.

• The US Open Tennis Tournament, held annually, has 750,000 in attendance. (Marcel Blanc, Mar 2023)
• 142,000 Formula 1 fans were at Silverstone on Sunday to witness Carlos Sainz secure his maiden victory in the 2022 British Grand Prix (July 3, 2022). The total attendance over the three days of the British Grand Prix weekend was 401,000 (Charlie Cumming, Aug 2022. ref: www.f1destinations.com)
• I have just got back from the second day of the Tour de France in Yorkshire, counting up our immediate roadside and looking at today's pictures to show we were on the light side then I guess probable a million and a half. Is this a record for a one day sporting event. DTip (2014)
• Take a breath and do the maths. The Tour course is about 2500km. That's 5m meters of 'footpath', left and right. The figure of '15m' spectators requires 3 per meter every inch of the way, as it were. Sure on the top of big mountains and at the big departs and finishes the crowds swell. But which the kilometer after kilometer of sparse and nil crowds in the flat stages. And smell the PR nonsense. Also the number of apparent spectators includes many who return each day, following by bike or campervan. Graeme DTip (2015)
• Celtic v Aberdeen at Hampden on 24 April 1937. The 147,365 attendance is the largest ever for a domestic match in Europe. Scott Taylor (2017)
• Yip and Celtic spawned a 2-1 win to win their 15th Scottish cup at that time....and like the Scotland v England game they reckon there was a lot more actually there, as many got in without tickets. Talorc MacAllan Scott Taylor (2019)
• 150,000-200,000 at Badminton Horse Trials, UK. Sumarumi (2013)
• Largest outdoor sporting event in the United States for one day, at one place was in Milwaukee WI. 135,000 people attended the middleweight championship fight between Tony Zale and Billy Pryor refereed by the great heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey. Frederick Pabst underwrote the entire event. Prior to that, the Dempsey-Tunney fight had the largest attendance of 120,000. Clare (2020)
• Have you seen the crowd at the Chicago Marathon? (Jesus, 2020)
• I believe that the crowd for the last day of the last F1 Grand Prix in Adelaide, Australia was about 210,000, This would be in 1995. John (2020)
• Attendance for the 2011 Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo was 2,262,834. It'll be more this year. I'll give those Tour de France folks credit for throwing a good party, but the resta y'all couldn't milk our cows. Ron Lewis (2020)
• A new golf attendance record was made in 2013 at TPC Scottsdale, Scottsdale Az. with an official 179,022 for the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Donald (2020)
• Pro wrestling is not a sport and shouldn't be included in this list; entertainment only category is where it belongs. Lee Paxton (2020)
• A note about that 1923 football match in England: This was the first game played at the original Wembley Stadium, and they didn't assign tickets because they didn't think that many people would show up. They closed the gates around 126,000 because the stadium only held 127,000. The crowd outside then climbed over the gates and flooded onto the field. The game was delayed until everyone moved outside the touch lines and they could actually play. 126,047 is the "official" number, but the crowd was easily twice that size. Some estimates have it as large as 300,000. That's just a brief summary. If you want to find out more, look up "White Horse Final" or "1923 FA Cup Final" Bryce Goller (2020)
• Estimated 2.5 million spectators at NYC Marathon. Shane (2018)
• Somewhat late to the discussion but have to add the Boat Race, Cambridge v Oxford easily sees 250'000 on the banks of the Thames to watch. Reckon the number will be higher on sunny days. Munro Malcolm Gow (2018)
• 260,000 Attended this past Saturday's phoenix open in Scottsdale. They hold a single day record for sports – and they had 700,000 for a four day event. They crushed the records. Mia (2017)
• The Battle at Bristol (2016) was an American college football game between Virginia Tech and Tennessee that got 156,000 in attendance. Should add that one. Jake (2017)
• What about Sri lanka vs India semi final of 1996 cricket world cup ? Dhanuka (2016) - ed. There was an estimated 110,000 at the ground that day
• The Notre Dame v USC 1927 football game in Soldier Field, Chicago was estimated to have a crowd of 120,000. That occurred prior to the north end of the stadium being removed, leaving the stands in horseshoe configuration which it kept until the renovation at the millennia. Art Malm (2016)
• Perhaps someone should check out the official attendance at the 1996 Australian F1 Grand Prix in Adelaide as I believe it was 205,000 on race day. The total would have been double that for the full three days. Peter Maslen (2016)
• There was 146,000 at the Celtic v Aberdeen cup final at Hampden in 1937.There were 137,000 at a Celtic v Leeds European cup semi- final match in 1970.There were 127,000 for Real Madrid v Frankfurt in 1960 for the European cup final. For a cup tie there were 143,000 for Celtic v Hibernian. All played at Hampden Park GLASGOW!!! (all record attendances) In 1937 the 3 biggest football stadiums in the world were all in Glasgow which only had a population of one million at the time. James Macaulay (2016)
• And even more at the 1931 Harmsworth- from the Detroit News- " In 1931, Miss America IX became the first boat to reach 100 mph, topping out at 102.256 mph. That year saw the most dramatic of all the Harmsworth races, with England's Kaye Don the chief opponent, his Miss England II powered by a Rolls-Royce motor from the British Air Ministry. Police estimated that a million fans lined the Detroit River to watch the races. Kaye Don got a better start in the first heat and beat Wood, who couldn't pass Miss England's wake. The hometown crowd was shocked. Wood had always seemed unbeatable." Camphoneguy (2015)
• Hmmm.... going back in history- Time Magazine said of the 1920 Harmsworth Trophy race: "Many a race between shadowy contraband-carrying rumrunners and swift, searchlight playing patrol boats has been run on the narrow Detroit river. Last week 400,000 persons lined the river's edge to watch millionaires race millionaires." Camphoneguy (2015)
• The 2015 Phoenix Open (largest) PGA tournament had a weekly attendance of 564,368 "paying" spectators ... which is pretty good considering they had rain with thunder clouds on one day and the Super Bowl on the last day. Lex (2014)
• Bradford rugby league had a massive crowd of 130000 or there abouts years ago. Raider (2014)
• I heard there were about six million at Pope Francis Holy Mass celebration in Philippines earlier this week .Wow. Pmbharath.pb (2014)
• Oslo 1952 Olympic ski jumping 104 000+ paying spectators.wich was maximum 60% of the total crowd. Fredrik (2014)
• I was hoping for more 'historical' figures or references, e.g.: those lined along the Thames/Isis for the Henley Regatta; the enormous Hippodrome crowds of 6th century Byzantium (a six-figure crowd was allegedly killed in a post-chariot race riot); and figures for earlier American events (fav: 40,000 for the Yale-Princeton game of 1893). Phil (2014)
• About 130,000 - 150,000 people go to the "Spain Motorcycling Grand Prix" in Jerez de la Frontera every year, and that's just the day of the races, Sunday. It's officially known that the attendance throughout the weekend is over 200,000. It's not even mentioned in this article. Fran (2014)
• I'm really not believing that the Olympics doesn't even rank on this list. TBird (2013)
• The Battle at Bristol between Virginia Tech and Tennessee will be held at Bristol Motor Speedway Sept 10, 2016. The expected attendance is 150,000. Ditzleg (2013)
• I see the list is just started, a few suggestions: Olympics, Cricket World Cup and World Cup Soccer in the non annual categories. TDF is the largest annual event. Moonpie (2013)
• The National Hockey League which is in danger of having no season in 2012-13 due to a labor argument and draws the biggest crowd of the inside activities. I must say that two activities that have seen improves in average presence year-on-year are Major League Baseball and the Canadian Football League. Andy Kards (2013)
• The total prize money for the World Baseball Classic (WBC) tournament standing at $14 million, and individual players in the United States earning as much as $33 million in a year. Andy Kards (2013)

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Tears, crowds, and Seven Nation Army: The Tour de France has landed in Copenhagen

We doubt Jonas Vingegaard is going to forget his reception in a hurry

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It would be easy to simply snark at the Tour de France team presentation. Watching from home it must look like a stupid, rambling unnecessary adornment to three weeks of thrilling racing.

However, in person it was different. To see the emotion on Jonas Vingegaard's face as the huge Danish crowd chanted "Vin-ge-gaard! Vin-ge-gaard!" made it all real, made one realise how big cycling is in Denmark. Most of the riders looked like they were actually having fun, remarkably.

This was not a usual team presentation, barely attended and hidden away. The riders were shown to a crowd of thousands at Tivoli Gardens, the third-oldest theme park in the world, in the centre of Copenhagen. 

Even half an hour before teams started rolling onto the stage, the area in front of the main stage was packed, people waiting expectantly to see a glimpse of their heroes. To prove how seriously it was being taken, at one point your correspondent was shushed by a cycling-mad fan, keen to hear the banalities that the riders were spouting.

It was as easy to get laughs as a rider at the team presentation as a best man doing a bang average speech to inebriated guests at a wedding, but don't let that affect your impression of the sheer adulation that was emanating from the crowd towards the athletes on stage. These guys are worshipped here, especially the Danes.

The weather helped, the thousands of Danes being bathed in warm June sun; it is not worth thinking about what would have happened if it was belting down with rain. It wasn't though, so everything is fine.

The two hosts Stine Bjerre Mortensen and Dennis Ritter, both sports journalists, were greeted with a roar, and then the conveyor belt of teams and their cyclists started. Most were hurried through, with some teams deciding to say nothing at all - we see you Movistar - while others, the ones with Scandinavian riders especially, were forced to stop and entertain the crowd.

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It did not seem boring or forced though, although it might have been different for those watching along at home, but this was a celebration rather than a formality. Amid the rollercoasters and dodgems of the theme park, there was a lot of excitement for cycling. Sadly we did not get a chance to see Primož Roglič on 'The Astronomer', but there is still time

Each team span their legs round a 1.5km route around central Copenhagen before heading into Tivoli, guided by a local cycling club. This gave them a chance to see a bit of the Danish capital before being ushered on stage, although it is unlikely this will help them prepare for the time trial.

The crowd went mad for Mads Pedersen of Trek-Segafredo, one of the favourites for the green jersey; the former world champion basked in the cheers of the crowd, as he was the first home hero to enter the spotlight.

When Israel-Premier Tech rolled on stage, a chant of "Fuga! Fuga! Fuga!" went around, and it was clear that Jakob Fuglsang is a popular man here. The crowd were almost as excited to hear from four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome, who charmed the crowd.

"I've been to ten Grand Départs and I've never felt the energy quite like this one," the 37-year-old said, winning hearts and minds for him and his team.

It was true though, the energy felt magnificent in the arena. Sure, it might not have been David Bowie at Glastonbury in 2000, or Queen at Live Aid, but it was as close as cycling is going to get. Even Danish pop sensation Lukas Graham was welcomed by the crowd for a brief interlude, although it didn't feel necessary.

The Danish fans were busy entertaining themselves by singing Seven Nation Army by the White Stripes at any give opportunity. This was less "oh, Jeremy Corbyn" and more "daaaa da da da da daaaa daaaa", but that didn't matter.

The high point came at the business end of the team presentation, when the two teams with the favourites for the Tour emerged, first Jumbo-Visma and then UAE Team Emirates.

This brings us back to Jonas Vingegaard. He is a popular man here, the rider who finished second at last year's race clearly the crowd's favourite for the overall title. He was overcome with emotion as his name was chanted, seemingly unable to comprehend the amount of love shown towards him. This continued for some time, with the 25-year-old waiting to say anything, with tears in his eyes.

His teammate Roglič, one of the top favourites for the race, was handed a hospital pass of a question by the presenter: who out of himself and Vingegaard was the true leader of Jumbo? The Slovenian dealt with the question with customary grace and tact, saying it was the Dane's race. It might have been a joke, an escape from a difficult question in front of a biased crowd, but it might prove to be true.

Then Tadej Pogačar came on stage, his Danish teammate Mikkel Bjerg was quizzed about being the two-time Tour winner's friend, and the whole thing was over, with more music from Lukas Graham. 

The event left an impression, and Denmark might be about to succeed Yorkshire as the biggest Grand Départ the Tour has done. On Wednesday's evidence, its foray out of France, out of L'Hexagone , has already been a success.

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Adam is Cycling Weekly ’s news editor – his greatest love is road racing but as long as he is cycling on tarmac, he's happy. Before joining Cycling Weekly he spent two years writing for Procycling, where he interviewed riders and wrote about racing. He's usually out and about on the roads of Bristol and its surrounds. Before cycling took over his professional life, he covered ecclesiastical matters at the world’s largest Anglican newspaper and politics at Business Insider. Don't ask how that is related to cycling.

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Stage 1 | 06/29 florence > rimini, stage 2 | 06/30 cesenatico > bologne, stage 3 | 07/01 plaisance > turin, stage 4 | 07/02 pinerolo > valloire, stage 5 | 07/03 saint-jean-de-maurienne > saint-vulbas, stage 6 | 07/04 mâcon > dijon, stage 7 | 07/05 nuits-saint-georges > gevrey-chambertin, stage 8 | 07/06 semur-en-auxois > colombey-les-deux-églises, stage 9 | 07/07 troyes > troyes, rest | 07/08 orléans, stage 10 | 07/09 orléans > saint-amand-montrond, stage 11 | 07/10 évaux-les-bains > le lioran, stage 12 | 07/11 aurillac > villeneuve-sur-lot, stage 13 | 07/12 agen > pau, stage 14 | 07/13 pau > saint-lary-soulan pla d'adet, stage 15 | 07/14 loudenvielle > plateau de beille, rest | 07/15 gruissan, stage 16 | 07/16 gruissan > nîmes, stage 17 | 07/17 saint-paul-trois-châteaux > superdévoluy, stage 18 | 07/18 gap > barcelonnette, stage 19 | 07/19 embrun > isola 2000, stage 20 | 07/20 nice > col de la couillole, stage 21 | 07/21 monaco > nice, tour culture, plan your visit to the tour de france, grand départ lille-nord de france 2025, riding into the future, all the news, official tour operators, history of tour de france, accessories.

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Tour de France: Champs-Élysées crowds limited to 5000 in Paris COVID-19 red zone

Crowds limited for Sunday's evening finish

Crowds along the Champs-Élysées will be limited to just 5,000 during Sunday’s final stage of the Tour de France due to Paris being at the centre of a red zone of COVID-19 cases. 

The final stage of the Tour de France traditionally has a party atmosphere with crowds along the famous central avenue often five deep along the barriers as fans watch the riders race circuits of the final stage.

However, with over 10,000 new COVID-19 cases confirmed in France on Thursday and a number of clusters in the capital, crowds numbers will be strictly controlled, just as they were in Nice for the Grand Départ and other red zones in France.    

"Access to the Champs-Élysées will be stopped once the total of 5,000 people is reached," authorities said according to the Reuters news agency. 

“The rules will be those of the red zones", AFP quoted an ASO official as saying. 

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Other measures mean the teams bus paddock area, located near Place de la Concorde will not be accessible and the public will not be allowed on the part of the final circuit along the Rue de Rivoli near the Louvre museum and the Jardin des Tuileries, in the final kilometre of the Paris circuit.

The Tour de France has finished on the Champs-Élysées since 1975. 

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The 21st and final stage of the 2020 Tour de France starts in Mantes-la-Jolie and ends in Paris after 122km of racing. The riders are scheduled to cover eight laps of the Champs-Élysées circuit, with the expected sprint finish scheduled for 7pm local time.   

The 2020 Tour began on August 29 in Nice, which was also classified as a red zone due to the high number of COVID-19 cases in the area. Fans were not allowed to spectate in high numbers at the team presentation or at the start and finish of stages. Spectators were obliged to wear face masks along the roadside but crowds often packed the major climbs of the race.  

Riders and team staff in the protected ‘race bubble’ were tested for COVID-19 before and during the race. Four Lotto Soudal staff members were sent home before the start in Nice, while four other staff members from the Cofidis, AG2R La Mondiale, Ineos Grenadiers teams tested positive and were removed from the race on the first rest day. 

Race director Christian Prudhomme also tested positive but was allowed to return to the race in the final week after a negative test. No riders or staff tested positive on the second rest day last Monday, allowing all the teams to continue towards Paris.

Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) has gradually strengthened his overall race lead and is expected to secure victory in Saturday’s time trial stage to La Planches des Belles Filles before a celebratory ride into Paris on Sunday.    

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Stephen is the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters , Shift Active Media , and CyclingWeekly , among other publications.

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Tour de France

2010 tour de france: by the numbers, related: interactive google map of the 2010 tour route for the dedicated number-crunchers in the crowd, the annual tour de france route announcement provides ample opportunity to quantify critical elements of the big race ahead. although just a journalism major, european correspondent andrew hood took a stab at analyzing the 2010 tour de france by the numbers:.

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By Andrew Hood

Related: Interactive Google Map of the 2010 Tour route

For the dedicated number-crunchers in the crowd, the annual Tour de France route announcement provides ample opportunity to quantify critical elements of the big race ahead.

Although just a journalism major, European correspondent Andrew Hood took a stab at analyzing the 2010 Tour de France by the numbers:

ZERO: For the third year in a row, no time bonuses will be awarded during the 2010 Tour de France. Much to the chagrin of the sprinters, who lose almost all shot at taking the yellow jersey in the opening days of the Tour. The purists like the notion that the time in Paris is the “real” time, so are they going to give up time penalties as well?

ONE: Prologue, 8km in Rotterdam, back for the first time since 2007. The 2008 Tour started with a straight-up road stage and this year’s Tour with a longer individual time trial in Monaco. This will give the prologue specialists, like Thor Hushovd, a shot at the yellow jersey.

TWO: Rest days, on Monday, July 12, and Wednesday, July 21.

THREE: Countries: Holland, Belgium and France. No Italy this year; Alejandro Valverde will be happy about that.

FOUR: “Medium” mountain stages, routes that aren’t across the Alps or Pyrenees, but don’t finish with an uphill run, either. These transition stages are ideal for the head-bangers and the stage-hunters.

FIVE: Times Holland has hosted the Tour. This time, Rotterdam takes the “grand depart,” giving Holland the starting point for three consecutive grand tours, starting with the 2009 Vuelta a España, the 2010 Giro d’Italia in Amsterdam.

SIX: Mountain stages, three of which are summit finishes. That’s the same number of summit finishes as 2009, but that’s where the similarity ends. The climbs, in both depth and severity, on tap in 2010 are much more difficult than in 2009.

EIGHT: Number of podiums by Lance Armstrong; seven wins and third place in 2009.

NINE: Flat stages. Sprinter ace Mark Cavendish only counted eight, but even he admits he’ll have a hard time trying to equal his mark of six stage wins from 2009.

TEN: Number of times Americans have won the Tour; seven with Armstrong and three with Greg LeMond.

ELEVEN: Number of new host cities for 2010.

TWENTY: Number of stages (not counting the prologue), which is in line with what’s considered a “modern” tour.

TWENTY-THREE: Number of climbs ranked as second-, first- or hors-categorie for 2010. That number includes one in the Jura, eight in the Alps, two in the Cévennes and 12 in the Pyrénées. That number equals the number of climbs in 2005, with “only” 17 in 2008.

FIFTY-NINE: Total number of time trial kilometers, one of the lowest numbers in recent Tour history. With only the 8km prologue and the 51km individual time trial in Bordeaux in Stage 19, the chrono-men will have a long wait in between to get a chance to shine.

2,115: Number in meters of the Tourmalet summit, highest point of the 2010 Tour, the “ Souvenir Henri Desgrange .”

3,596: Total of kilometers.

3.2 million: In Euros, the total prize package for the 2010 Tour, of which, 450,000 Euros goes to the winner.

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