Tour de France final stage shortened due to wildfires

Tour de France organisers announced on Saturday that they were shortening the following day’s final stage due to the wildfires ravaging southwest France.

The news came after the interior ministry had said that it would need to redeploy officers initially mobilised to provide security for the race, to areas affected by the fire.

“In a spirit of national solidarity with the areas and communities affected, it was decided to adapt the route for the final stage from Thoiry to Paris,” organisers ASO said in a statement.

The 21st stage was due to last 133km and begin west of Paris in Thoiry.

Instead, it will start on the Champs Elysees in Paris and take in a couple of extra laps around the famous avenue before joining the main Montmartre circuit, and will last only 89km.

The wild fires around the Arcachon Bay area near Bordeaux in the Gironde region, and around Biscarrosse in the Landes, have destroyed seen more than 36,000 hectares of wooded area.

Close to 200,000 people have been evacuated, many from tourist spots.