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

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Jan 11, 2024Eurasian lynx
Oct 7, 2019From the mind of Frank Gehry
Nov 16, 2019Mountain mists over Bavaria
Aug 5, 2018Friendship Day in the City of Brotherly Love
Mar 30, 2023Bright and colorful peacock feathers
Apr 24, 2020Celebrating 30 years of eye-opening images
Feb 18, 2019Presidents Day in America’s front yard
Mar 20, 2024National Cherry Blossom Festival
Dec 15, 2018A long winter’s nap, perhaps?
Nov 8, 2021Polar bears
Mar 7, 2021Finding a balance between wetlands and water treatment
Dec 31, 2023Happy New Years Eve!
May 23, 2018Everybody loves World Turtle Day
Jan 27, 2024St. Paul Winter Carnival
Mar 9, 2018The Door County Coastal Byway in Wisconsin
Mar 10, 2022Bobbio, Italy
Apr 22, 2023Earth Day and National Park Week
Dec 29, 2023Oud-West, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Oct 30, 2022Polar Bear Week
Oct 23, 2024Madame Sherri Forest, New Hampshire
Mar 22, 2023World Water Day
Dec 5, 2021Salzburg, Austria
Jul 26, 2022Mangrove Conservation Day
May 23, 2023World Turtle Day
Apr 30, 2021The Spirit of Harlem by Louis Delsarte
Nov 8, 2022Yi Peng Festival in Chiang Mai, Thailand
Jun 26, 2023Château de Villandry, France
Jul 20, 2019Bringing the moon to Earth
Jul 22, 2021Singing praises of the oceans
Feb 8, 2025Medieval towers in Mestia, Upper Svaneti, Georgia