Here’s what Valentin Paret-Peintre had to say
“How I won that stage is hard to say, I was thinking maybe I can win today, maybe I’m the best climber in this breakaway. I asked my teammates to make a good pace at the bottom and I tried so many times to drop Healy but he was very strong and at the end I was just waiting for the sprint, and then I won.”
Referencing Remco Evenepoel’s departure, he says, “These last few days we went through a little storm, I guess, and now the sun shines again. It’s really amazing for me and for the team to win another stage, a fourth stage in this Tour, then tomorrow it’s a sprint we hope, so we can maybe win again.”
Amazingly, this is just Valentin Paret-Peintre’s third pro win. He has a stage win at the Tour of Oman, Giro d’Italia, and now the Tour de France.
And it was secured with some incredible teamwork: Ilan van Wilder was in the breakaway and after being distanced, miraculously found the strength to get himself back up to the lead group and do one final turn, leading Paret-Peintre and his companions into the final kilometre before he and Healy sprinted for victory.
(POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Flo Clifford23 July 2025 12:10
Who is Oscar Onley? The talented Scottish climber breaking through at the Tour de France
Viewers scanning the Tour de France general classification will see a mix of wholly expected names and some comparative unknowns.
Tadej Pogacar leads the standings as his era-defining dominance continues; Jonas Vingegaard sits second behind his longtime rival. But accompanying the rider sitting fourth in the overall standings is a British flag: not former Tour de France winner and veteran Geraint Thomas, but the up-and-coming youngster Oscar Onley.
The 22-year-old has been enjoying a breakout season and is in action in just his second Tour de France. He and his team came in targeting a stage win but are on course for a top-five finish at the sport’s biggest race. With every passing stage he has surpassed both his own expectations and that of all observers.
So who is Onley, and what’s behind his meteoric rise?
Flo Clifford23 July 2025 12:03
Movers and shakers on general classification after stage 16
Pogacar and Vingegaard were locked together all day but the yellow jersey still managed to eke out another two seconds on the line.
Lipowitz cemented his grip on third place overall with another strong ride and now leads Onley by 2’01”.
The Scot himself had a good ride and leads Vauquelin by more than two minutes… but Vauquelin isn’t who he needs to be worried about now, with five-time Grand Tour winner Roglic breathing down his neck at just 38” off the pace.
Roglic has continued his resurgence from the depths of obscurity in the opening week to now looking much more like his usual self.
Further down the standings, Healy didn’t take the stage win but he did re-leapfrog Rodriguez in their intriguing battle for the minor places.
(Pool via REUTERS)
Flo Clifford23 July 2025 11:56
Jonas Vingegaard crashes into Tour de France photographer on Mont Ventoux finish
The Dane crashed after the finish on the legendary climb of Mont Ventoux, where he finished second, losing another two seconds to longtime rival and yellow jersey Tadej Pogacar.
“Some photographer just ran straight in front of me straight after the finish line, I don’t know what he was doing,” the Danish rider told media assembled at the finish.
Flo Clifford23 July 2025 11:49
Frenchman Valentin Paret-Peintre wins atop Mont Ventoux as Tadej Pogacar keeps yellow jersey
Valentin Paret-Peintre secured the biggest win of his career and a first stage win for the home nation of this year’s Tour de France with a thrilling sprint atop Mont Ventoux.
The 24-year-old edged out breakaway companion Ben Healy in a dramatic two-up sprint for the line, after a slimmed-down group of four came into the final kilometre with the yellow jersey of Tadej Pogacar and rival Jonas Vingegaard breathing down their necks.
Pogacar dealt with every attack attempted by Vingegaard and even put a couple of seconds into him at the finish to add two seconds to his lead, and now sits 4:15 clear in yellow, but stage 16 went to the breakaway at the summit of this most feared of Tour climbs.
Flo Clifford23 July 2025 11:41
General classification after stage 16
- Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates – XRG) in 58:24:46
- Jonas Vingegaard (Visma – Lease a Bike) +4:15
- Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-BORA-Hansgrohe) +9:03
- Oscar Onley (Picnic PostNL) +11:04
- Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-BORA-Hansgrohe) +11:42
- Kevin Vauquelin (Arkea – B&B Hotels) +13:20
- Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) +14:50
- Tobias Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) +17:01
- Ben Healy (EF Education – EasyPost) +17:52
- Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadiers) +20:45
(Reuters)
Flo Clifford23 July 2025 11:34
- Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal Quick-Step) in 4:03:19
- Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost), same time
- Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious) +4”
- Ilan Van Wilder (Soudal Quick-Step) +14”
- Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates – XRG) +43”
- Jonas Vingegaard (Visma – Lease a Bike) +45”
- Enric Mas (Movistar) +53”
- Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor Pro Cycling) +1’17”
- Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-BORA-Hansgrohe) +1’51”
- Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-BORA-Hansgrohe) +1’53”
(POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Flo Clifford23 July 2025 11:27
Paret-Peintre’s victory – just his third at WorldTour level – marked his maiden Tour de France win and ensured the yellow jersey of Tadej Pogacar and his rival Jonas Vingegaard were denied glory on one of the Tour’s most legendary climbs.
The pair were locked together all the way up the climb, with Vingegaard continually attacking but unable to distance the race leader, before Pogacar dropped the Dane in the closing metres to add another two seconds to his overall lead. Vingegaard’s frustration was compounded by a crash with a wayward photograph in the finish area, although he did not appear injured.
(AFP via Getty Images)
Flo Clifford23 July 2025 11:20
Today’s stage has a neutralised start time of 1.35pm local time (12.35pm BST), with an expected finish time of 5.10pm local time (4.10pm BST).
Flo Clifford23 July 2025 11:15
Stage 17 route map and profile
Tour de France 2025 – stage 17 map (letour)
Tour de France 2025 – stage 17 profile (letour)
Flo Clifford23 July 2025 11:10