Under a light drizzle, the peloton zoomed up the steep, treacherous stretch of Montmartre’s cobblestone streets in the last stage of the Tour de France on Sunday — a postcard-perfect finish to the popular sporting event, won this year for the fourth time by the Slovenian Tadej Poga?ar.
Fans packed Rue Lepic, adding yet another page to the history of a key artery that has long symbolised the artistic, rebellious spirit of Montmartre, a neighbourhood which was once a windmill-dotted village considered too far from central Paris to bother with.
Inspired by the cycling event at the Paris Olympics last summer, the race organisers added the circuit up Rue Lepic and around the basilica of Sacré-Coeur to spice up the usual closing sprint along the Champs-élysées.