Valentin Paret-Peintre conquered the legendary Mont Ventoux on Tuesday, becoming the first Frenchman to win a stage in this year’s Tour de France and the first to triumph on the iconic climb since Richard Virenque in 2002 – a feat that left him nearly speechless.
The AG2R Citroen climber launched from a breakaway with former yellow jersey holder Ben Healy, then outkicked the Irishman in a thrilling sprint atop the “Beast of Provence.”
“Winning any stage at the Tour is special, but doing it on Ventoux – that’s something else entirely,” said an emotional Paret-Peintre. “I’ll need time to fully grasp what just happened.”
Colombian Santiago Buitrago finished third, four seconds back, with Ilan Van Wilder fourth and overall leader Tadej Pogacar fifth. Pogacar fended off repeated attacks from defending champion Jonas Vingegaard to cross the line two seconds ahead of his rival, tightening his grip on the yellow jersey.
After the Tour’s second rest day, Monday, Pogacar stretched his overall lead to 4 minutes, 15 seconds over Vingegaard. The Danish rider, who won the Tour in 2022 and 2023, appears powerless to stop Pogacar from capturing a fourth title when the race finishes Sunday on the Champs-Elysees in Paris.
“I think we’ll race until Paris and we’ll see who will be the winner,” Pogacar said. “Today was a proper hard day after the rest day, also for me.”
Stage 16 took the riders 171.5 kilometers from Montpellier in the south of France along a long, flat course before the brutal climb up Ventoux.
During the 1967 Tour, British rider Tom Simpson died while ascending the 1,910-meter-high mountain after taking a mixture of amphetamines and alcohol. Simpson had been unwell, and the heat was likely another contributing factor. Doping checks were not common at the time.
Mathieu van der Poel, who had been third in the points classification, withdrew before Tuesday’s stage with pneumonia.
Wout van Aert, the last rider to win when the route included Ventoux in 2021, attacked early, prompting responses from Jonathan Milan, Ivan Romeo and others.
Six riders were in the lead by the time they reached Bedoin at the foot of the climb. Only 22 kilometers remained, but they grew increasingly grueling – including 15.7 kilometers at an 8.8% gradient from Saint-Esteve to the summit.
Healy, leading a group of chasers, overtook Julian Alaphilippe while Vingegaard made his initial move. Vingegaard attacked again – and again – but Pogacar clung doggedly to his wheel. The gap was closing on Spanish rider Enric Mas, who had moved into the lead.
Vingegaard received help from Visma-Lease a Bike teammate Victor Campenaerts, but Healy surged ahead and took the lead from Mas with 3.7 kilometers to go. Paret-Peintre followed and, with support from Soudal-Quick-Step teammate Van Wilder, edged Healy at the line.
Vingegaard could not shake off Pogacar, who countered with 2 kilometers to go to deliver another demoralizing blow to his rival.
“There were some points, of course, where I was suffering,” Pogacar said. “But I think today was just one climb, one effort, and it was more or less full gas from the bottom to the finish line. But in the next days, I think it will be just more and more tiring for the body.”
Wednesday brings the last real chance for sprinters on a relatively flat 160.4-kilometer route from Bollène to Valence, where a wide, fast road should offer a high-speed finish – though local winds could add an element of chaos to Stage 17.
