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Sunday, July 27, 2025, the Tour de France left the Champs-Élysées to escape in apotheosis on Montmartre hill. And in the famous Rue Lepic, the climb took on a… spectacular look. Not just because of the route or the crowd — but because the entire street transformed into a sea of red polka dots, right up to the balconies.
By Jeff TATARD – Photos: DR
That day, E.Leclerc, sponsor of the polka dot jersey since 2019, pulled off a rare communication coup: a total visual immersion, with a coherence and power rarely seen on the Tour. Thanks to a massive distribution of white and red polka dot bucket hats and t-shirts in the preceding days, thousands of fans were dressed in the colors of the best climber. But what was most striking? It wasn’t just on the ground: in the windows of the Rue Lepic apartments, residents also participated, dressed in the polka dot jersey themselves. A spontaneous popular participation, proof that the operation went beyond marketing to become a true collective moment.
The icing on the cake: Michel-Édouard Leclerc himself, the emblematic figure of the brand, climbed the entire ascent on foot with his teams, two hours before the riders passed, escorted by his security service. Not to show off, but to experience the atmosphere, to see firsthand the fruit of a precisely deployed strategy. An almost cinematic scene: the conductor ascending through the living backdrop of his own campaign.
We were able to get some of the polka dot bucket hats via 3bikes.fr, like hundreds of other enthusiasts. And in this festive, compact, joyful crowd, it was impossible not to feel something greater: a perfect fusion between a brand, a sporting symbol, and a captivated audience.
That day, Rue Lepic was not just a passage of the Tour. It was a popular, red and white theater stage, where the polka dot jersey became a collective uniform. A masterstroke? No. A masterpiece.
Let’s hope the Tour returns there… and Michel-Édouard Leclerc with it.
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