EmailPrintLEGE-CAP FERRET, France -- The Tour de France's final stage Sunday is being slashed in length by a third to divert officers to the fight against wildfires in the country's southwest.The Paris police department said in a statement Saturday that the riders will race inside Paris, rather than starting from Thoiry, west of the capital, on a circuit of 55 miles, down from the 82.5-mile route that had been planned.The statement said part of the security deployment planned for the 21st and final stage of the three-week race will instead "reinforce the response efforts in the areas affected by the wildfires."Including some 70,000 people evacuated in central Spain, wildfires in southern Europe this week have displaced more than 250,000 people.Tadej Pogacar moved to within touching distance of a record-equaling fifth Tour de France title after finishing safely in the penultimate stage Saturday.With winds expected to shift in a west-to-east direction Saturday afternoon, potentially driving the fire closer to the wine region city of Bordeaux, fire crews and authorities were digging trenches, using retardants and taking other steps to block it, French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said. He said the fire was about 20 miles west of the city and lost some of its intensity overnight.
