Former riders gather in Paris to celebrate the 100th Tour de France
Italians ride from Rome and attend special event
500 former riders who completed at least one edition of the Tour de France have gathered in Paris to celebrate the 100th edition of the race. Sunday's stage ends late in the evening with spectacular celebration apparently being organised by ASO.
They will be present on the Champs Élysées for the special celebrations to mark the end of the 100th Tour de France but around 100 will also meet the public at the Cipale velodrome in the Bois de Vincennes near Paris on Saturday afternoon.
Lance Armstrong has confirmed that he will not be present but many other living Tour de France finishers will be there.
Joop Zoetemelk, who finished the Tour de France 16 times, as will Francesco Moser, Claudio Chiappucci and Guido Bontempi, will attend the event according to l'Equipe. 40 other Italian riders will reportedly arrive by bike after riding together from Rome via the Alps. They are lead by Franco Bitossi, who won the green point's jersey in 1968.
Also expected to attend the special celebrations are the grandchildren of Geo Lefèvre –one of the creators of the Tour de France, and those of legendary race director Jacques Goddet.
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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.