MALAUCENE, France :Valentin Paret-Peintre kept his cool in a furnace of pressure and heat, delivering a thunderous victory atop the legendary Mont Ventoux to give France its first win in this year’s Tour de France during a breathtaking Stage 16 on Tuesday.
The Soudal-Quick Step rider edged out Ireland’s Ben Healy in a heart-pounding sprint finale on the Giant of Provence, while Tadej Pogacar remained unshakable in yellow, fending off Jonas Vingegaard on the brutal 21.5km ascent averaging 7.5 per cent.
Defending champion Pogacar clawed two more seconds from his Danish rival in a final surge to extend his overall lead to 4:15 after setting the record for the climb, riding up in 54 minutes and 41 seconds – one minute 10 seconds faster than the previous best mark set by Spain’s Iban Mayo in 2004.
The Slovenian also beat the fastest time from the Saint-Esteve bend, where the toughest section starts by clocking 44:48. The previous record was held by the late Marco Pantani (46:00).
“I had a bad day in 2021 on the Ventoux, today was the opposite, I had good legs, I enjoyed myself,” Pogacar, chasing a fourth Tour title, said.
“We will try to go for another stage win. He (Vingegaard) attacked a lot of times but I knew that I could follow the wheel.”
Vingegaard suffered a brief crash after the line but said his performance gave him confidence that he was still in contention for a third title.
“How I felt good today gives me motivation, I will keep trying,” he said.
Germany’s Florian Lipowitz held firm in third, 9:03 adrift of Pogacar, pulling further ahead of fourth-placed Briton Oscar Onley, who lags another 2:01 behind.
But the day belonged to Paret-Peintre. “I honestly didn’t believe it,” he said. “I thought Pogacar would go for victory today. But when we built a real gap, I told myself, you can’t let a win on Mont Ventoux slip through your fingers.”
Seven riders surged ahead from an early breakaway, carving out a healthy 6:30 buffer as they reached the base of the climb.
The air grew thinner, the crowds louder and the landscape more lunar.
SURVIVAL
Spanish climber Enric Mas led the charge, attacking solo 14.2 km from the summit. Behind him, Paret-Peintre, Healy and Colombia’s Santiago Buitrago gave chase.
As they passed Chalet Reynard, pine forest yielded to desolate, white-stone slopes.
Mas and Buitrago fought valiantly but were dropped by the Franco-Irish duo, only to courageously claw their way back.
Then came Belgian Ilan Van Wilder, who fought his way back to the group and dug deep for teammate Paret-Peintre to keep the Pogacar-Vingegaard threat at bay.
Vingegaard had attacked a handful of times, the first attempt coming 9km from the top, but could not shake off Pogacar, whose acceleration was also not strong enough to drop the Visma-Lease a Bike leader.
With 400 metres to go and the gradient spiking to a lung-scorching 10 per cent, Healy launched his sprint.
But Paret-Peintre, with ice in his veins and fire in his legs, clung to his wheel. In the final, agonising metres, he surged past, claiming not just a stage win, but also a place in French cycling folklore.
He was only the fifth Frenchman to conquer the Ventoux, the mountain that claimed the life of Tom Simpson, who died in hospital after collapsing in the finale of the ascent in 1967.
There was a big scare for Tobias Johannessen, who was taken to hospital after being given oxygen by a race doctor immediately after the finish.
“Tobias suffered some right-sided upper abdominal pain during the final climb today. He made it to the finish where he was seen immediately by the race doctors and given oxygen,” the Norwegian’s Uno-X team said.
“He is feeling much better but will go to the local hospital for further checks.”
