Grand finish of Le Tour Jul 18, 2021

Grand finish of Le Tour

After a three-week jaunt around France, cycling"s most prestigious race concludes today with a triumphant procession into Paris before a sprint finish on the iconic Champs-Élysées. The 21st and final stage of this year"s Tour de France—the 108th edition of the famous event—begins in Chatou, a town in the western suburbs of Paris along the River Seine. Tour tradition dictates the overall race leader isn"t challenged on the last day, so it starts out as a victory parade for the champion-elect, who will be wearing a yellow jersey, posing for pictures, and sipping a glass of champagne along the route. But when the riders reach the heart of Paris, the pace picks up as they dash along the Champs-Élysées, a tree-lined promenade often described as the "most beautiful avenue in the world."

© Martin Bureau/AFP via Getty Images

palette

Today in History

Jul 18, 2018Celebrate Mandela Day
Jul 18, 2019A learning garden
Jul 18, 2020The moth wonderful time of the year
Jul 18, 2022Marine Day in Japan
Jul 18, 2023Great hornbill, Thailand
Jul 18, 2024Coral Reef Awareness Week
Jul 18, 2025Gulf Islands National Seashore, Florida

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Oct 21, 2021Here s looking Atchafalaya
Apr 1, 2019Unbearable cuteness
Jul 28, 2024Bathing huts in Skåne County, Sweden
Aug 23, 2018Riding the bore tide at Turnagain Arm, Cook Inlet, Alaska
Oct 21, 2025Happy Diwali!
Jul 27, 2018Composite image of a lunar eclipse
Jul 2, 2019Sequential images of a total solar eclipse
May 3, 2018Nazar amulets, Goreme National Park, Cappadocia, Turkey
May 8, 2020Victory in Europe, 75 years ago
Oct 13, 2018‘Hello’ from zero degrees longitude
Jul 15, 2021A river runs through rice fields
Oct 30, 2024Edinburgh Castle, Scotland
Feb 14, 2018Aerial view of a heart-shaped field in Trittau, Germany
Dec 19, 2024Sibiu Christmas market, Romania
Mar 10, 2024Daylight saving time
May 27, 2019Reflections on Memorial Day
May 18, 2021International Museum Day
May 20, 2020It s World Bee Day
Sep 24, 2020Till the cows come home
Jul 30, 2025International Day of Friendship
Nov 4, 2018And they’re off!
Jan 11, 2022Porcupine
Jun 17, 2022Grand Teton National Park
Jul 17, 2024Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Bavaria, Germany
Mar 30, 2021Best fronds forever
Oct 24, 2023Füzér Castle in the Zemplén Mountains, Hungary
Dec 15, 2024Lake Misurina, Dolomites, Italy
Dec 4, 2024Wildlife Conservation Day
May 6, 2025An ultralight aircraft flying over the sands of Namibia
Aug 27, 2025World Lake Day in the Faroe Islands