The National Velodrome will have the chance to host the start of the last stage of the Tour de France on July 23, 2023.
The National Velodrome will host track events and BMX at the 2024 Olympics ©DS
This last stage will have strong Olympic overtones since Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines has had a Velodrome since 2014, which is the headquarters of the French Cycling Federation. and will host the track events and BMX at the 2024 Olympics. The track has already hosted the world championships twice, in 2015 and 2022. These two editions crowned riders like Stefan Küng, Bryan Coquard or Fernando Gaviria (2015), Ethan Hayter, Ethan Vernon, etc. (2022), who subsequently expressed or will express their talent on the roads of the Tour de France.
The Tour also stopped in the urban community of Yvelines, in 1986, for a team time trial won by the Super-U team of Laurent Fignon, who gave his name to the street where the Vélodrome is located. Paris-Nice also visited the municipalities attached to Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines such as Maurepas in 2015, for a success of Michal Kwiatkowski in the prologue, Bois d’Arcy in 2017, for a victory of Arnaud Démare, or Pleasure in 2020, where Maximilian Schachmann won. Among the runners from the municipalities forming Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, note Jean Maréchal, winner of Paris-Tours 1930 and downgraded after his victory in Paris-Roubaix that same year. “Le Crack” participated in the 1931 Tour before leading the Ile de France team in 1951. Michel Pelchat, French cyclo-cross champion in 1964 and 1966, or Maurice Perrin, Olympic tandem champion in 1932, were from of Pleasure.
Departure from the Velodrome forecourt between 4:40 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.
On the program a presentation of all the runners on the central area, totally free for those who would like to come and watch the start of this race. You will also have the chance to attend the start of this last stage which will take place on the forecourt of the Vélodrome between 4:40 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. During this day. Dozens of colorful vehicles and tanks will parade along the entire route, in order to highlight the towns of Saint-Quentin by crossing Villepreux, Les Clayes-sous-Bois, Plaisir, Élancourt, La Verrière, Trappes, Montigny-le-Bretonneux, Voisins-le-Bretonneux and Guyancourt.
To see, very close
Haute Vallée de Chevreuse Regional Nature Park
The Haute Vallée de Chevreuse regional natural park, created in 1985, is located about twenty kilometers south-west of Paris., mostly in the Yvelines department, with a small part in Essonne. Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines is only partially part of the park, notably in Magny-les-Hameaux and Coignières. Many trails, including long-distance hiking trails, crisscross the Park and allow you to explore the sites on foot. In particular, the Jean Racine path which connects Chevreuse to the abbey of Port-Royal des Champs, located on the territory of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines. The Château de la Madeleine, a medieval fortress built on the heights of the village of Chevreuse, houses the Maison du Parc where all useful information for visiting the park can be obtained. This space, of modern architecture, was integrated inside the castle. In addition, part of the Park’s teams are based at the Domaine d’Ors in Châteaufort.
