A last sprint, then the celebration. At the end of the ascent, on the lunar slopes of Mont Chauve, invaded by tens of thousands of spectators, Valentin Paretrere won the 16the stage of the Tour de France, Tuesday July 22. In slight imbalance on the finish line after setting the Irishman Ben Healy (EF Education-Easypost), the climber of the Sudal-Quick Step team lifted a victorious fist before quickly catching up his handlebars, Béat smile.
The 24-year-old Haut-Savoyard puts an end to the Tricolore Victory Speech during this 112e Edition of La Grande Boucle, and inscribes its name on the board of the winners at the top of the legendary Mont Ventoux. Tadej Pogacar (Uae Team Emirates-XRG), fifth of the stage, keeps his yellow jersey after resisting the attacks by Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), sixth.
What to remember
- Cador: Valentin Paretrere
France was still expecting a first victory on the 2025 Tour. It finally came at more than 1,800 meters above sea level, from Valentin Paret-Peintre. Large of his role as a teammate after the abandonment of Remco Evenepoel, he took his chance by leaving in the breakaway to sign his second victory on a great tour, a year after having imposed himself on the roads of the Giro.
Before Mount Ventoux and its 15 kilometers of slopes, the runners had 156 to get into legs on the dish. However, the first part of the race was not easy. From the real departure of the 16e Step, the attacks have multiplied until a group of 35 runners managed to get ahead of the peloton.
But difficult to get along with so many people in mind. About sixty kilometers from the finish, eight men, including Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor), came off and seemed left to play the victory. There were still five at the foot of Mont Ventoux, including the Spaniard Enric Mas, which was quick to attack and isolate themselves in the lead.
The leader of the Movistar has made a good part of the ascent in front. But the pursuers did not abandon, and ended up taking it back four kilometers from the finish. The ex-maillot yellow Ben Healy attacked in the process, still followed by the French Valentin Paret-Peintre, who managed to double the Irish in the last meters to win. Behind, the leaders Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard neutralized themselves.
This is the number of years that separates the success of Valentin Paret-Peintre from the last tricolor victory at the top of Mont Ventoux, that of Richard Virenque, in 2002.
- The sentence: “I had never mounted Mont Ventoux, and it hurts. »»
Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B & B Hotels) explained, at the microphone of France Télévisions, that he had never achieved the ascent of the “Géant de Provence”, neither in training nor in race. Twentieth of the stage, 3 min 42 s from the winner, the Norman retrograde at the 6e place of the general classification.
The note: a
An exceptional stage, suspense and a French victory? What more do you ask? Add the arid slopes of Mount Ventoux and tens of thousands of spectators who came to attend the show, and you get a magnificent step, which deserves an A on our rating scale from A to E.
- The general classification:
- Tadej Pogacar (Slovenie, UAE Team Emirates-XRG), in 58 h 24 min 46 s
- Jonas Vingegaard (Danemark, Visma-Lease a Bike), à 4 min 15 s
- Florian Lipowitz (Germany, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), 9 min 03 s
- Oscar Onley (United Kingdom, Picnic-Postnl), 11 min 04 s
- Primoz Roglic (Slodnie, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), 11 min 42 s
- Kévin Vauquelin (France, Arkéa-B & B Hotels), 13 min 20 s
- Felix Gall (Decathlon-Ag2r La Mondiale), 14 min 50 s
- Tobias Johannesen (Norway, UNO-X Mobility), at 17 min 01 s
- Ben Healy (Ireland, EF Education-Easypost), at 17 min 52 s
- Carlos Rodriguez, to 20 min 45 s
- 🟡 The yellow jersey (individuel) : Treej Pogacar (Slovéne, Emirates-XRG Team)
- 🟢 The green jersey (points): Jonathan Milan (Italy, Lidl-Trek)
- ⚪ The white jersey (Best young): Florian Lipowitz (Germany, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe)
- 🚵 The polka dot jersey (Climber): Tadej Pogacar (Slovenia, UAE Team Emirates-XRG)
- The image of the day