The Montmartre Vélo Club paint their home climb, the Rue Lepic, before the visit of the best bike riders in the world from the men's professional peloton as they finish their race around France in July.

Rue Lepic belongs to the Montmartre Vélo Club. But once a year they lend it out.

The club was started by a group of local cyclists during the pandemic. Riding within the permitted 1-kilometre radius from their homes, they became friends, comrades and then clubmates. Rue Lepic became the site of heated club competitions. Then the Olympics came and made it world famous.

As the eyes of the world again turned to this quiet cobbled street in Montmartre, the club planned a street-painting operation.
There would be five stencils and two teams, placing, spraying paint, rollering off the excess, then carrying on up the road. Club members in fluoro vests would man the barriers and divert cars away while the operation took place and the paint dried.

MONT. MAR. TRE. VELO. CLUB.

As midnight approaches we walk up towards Sacré Coeur, through the lovers and the revellers populating Montmartre this midsummer night. Barriers up. Stencils down. Spray, roller, move on. Change the orientation of the lettering to capture all the camera angles. Spray some more. Protect it with barriers until it’s dry. People in the cafés cheer as we progress and at one point the police drive past and give us a wave. It goes like magic.

The morning after the night before, thousands of amateur cyclists take their shot at Rue Lepic. The fastest, lightest carbon road bikes. Tandems, recumbents, folding bikes, mountain bikes, Lime bikes and Vélibs. Without doubt, this will be the biggest Strava segment in the world on this Sunday in July. The streets are already packed.

At midday, MVC members ride up Lepic with the mayor (on an e-bike), and then the wait is on. After a three-week odyssey around France, the best cyclist in the men’s professional peloton are on their way. When they get here, they don’t disappoint. The noise is deafening, the crowds go wild. And a thousand cameras testify, on television and social media across the world, that Rue Lepic belongs to Montmartre Vélo Club. For three years, we have produced the MVC club kit, and there is a limited MVC collection on sale. See the Montmartre Vélo Club jerseys here!