Wildfires cut short Tour de France's Paris finale as Pogačar closes on fifth title
Organisers slashed the final stage by a third to free police for France's wildfire fight, with Tadej Pogačar poised for a record-equalling fifth Tour crown.
The 2026 Tour de France reached Paris on Sunday under extraordinary circumstances, with organisers forced to cut the race's traditional finale by roughly a third so police could be redeployed to fight the wildfires sweeping southwestern France and the wider region.
Race organiser ASO confirmed the closing stage would be trimmed from about 133 kilometres to 89 kilometres. The planned start in Thoiry, west of the capital, was scrapped and the stage held entirely within Paris on a circuit — riders taking extra laps of the Champs-Élysées while keeping the three ascents of the Butte Montmartre that have become the modern signature of the closing day. Paris police and the organisers thanked "the riders, the teams, the local authorities, the partners and the public for their understanding regarding these exceptional measures made necessary by the situation."
The blazes, burning near the Bordeaux wine region and displacing more than 250,000 people across southern Europe, reshaped one of sport's most-watched processions. On the road, Tadej Pogačar carried a lead of around six and a half minutes over Remco Evenepoel into the finale, leaving the Slovenian poised — barring mishap — to claim a record-equalling fifth Tour de France title and join Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Jacques Anquetil and Miguel Indurain on the sport's most exclusive list.
