{"id":283528,"date":"2025-07-22T21:36:25","date_gmt":"2025-07-22T21:36:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/283528\/"},"modified":"2025-07-22T21:36:25","modified_gmt":"2025-07-22T21:36:25","slug":"valentin-paret-peintre-gets-france-on-board-at-last-as-he-conquers-ventoux","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/283528\/","title":{"rendered":"Valentin Paret-Peintre gets France on board at last as he conquers Ventoux"},"content":{"rendered":"

Through the hottest days on the steepest climbs, we see them as angels on wheels, supermen immune to the weaknesses and doubts that afflict the rest of us. All the while Mont Ventoux, the Giant of Provence, awaited their arrival. Towering, frightening almost, silently beckoning the strongest to its summit. Up there, it\u2019s halfway to heaven but first you go through hell.<\/p>\n

Jean Bobet was the younger brother of the three-times Tour winner, Louison. Jean was a good rider in the 1950s and twice rode the Tour, finishing 14th and 15th. After his career he became a journalist and author, writing for L\u2019Equipe and later Le Monde. He once described what happens to Tour riders as they approach the Ventoux.<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing is more impressive than a silent peloton. Nobody says a word. Nobody laughs. Lifting your head slightly, you can make out the shape, in the distance, of the Ventoux. You can smell the fear of the men going for a lingering death.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Tour<\/p>\n

The stage winner was quick to thank Van Wilder after his team-mate helped him achieve victory<\/p>\n

MARTIN DIVISEK\/EPA<\/p>\n

It was here, about a kilometre from the summit, that Tom Simpson\u2019s life ended while riding the 1967 Tour. There hasn\u2019t been much talk of Simpson over the past week, scant recollection of a tragedy that lends notoriety to the mountain. The awfulness of that memory may be the reason the Ventoux is an infrequent guest at the Tour de France.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlpe d\u2019Huez thrives on its regularity,\u201d Christian Prudhomme, the Tour director, told the journalist Jeremy Whittle some years ago. \u201cThe Ventoux thrives because of its rarity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, Tadej Pogacar wanted to win the 16th leg to Ventoux. \u201cIt\u2019s an iconic climb,\u201d he said on the second rest day, \u201cand I like it.\u201d Pogacar has already won four stages of this Tour, and who knows when the race next returns to the Ventoux. And if Pogacar was an angel on wheels, able to glide effortlessly upwards, he would have won. The story, though, is more interesting than that.<\/p>\n

\"Valentin<\/p>\n

Paret-Peintre found the final burst of energy to snatch the stage win away from Healy, right<\/p>\n

BENOIT TESSIER\/REUTERS<\/p>\n

Victory went to a Frenchman, Valentin Paret-Peintre, and as the first by a home rider it was welcome. Paret-Peintre, 24, is from Annemasse, a town on the French side of the border with Switzerland. He\u2019d been part of a 40-rider breakaway that built a lead of around six minutes on the group of favourites. At the end the group was whittled down to only four and their lead had been reduced to 43 seconds.<\/p>\n

It was one of those magical Tour days that has two races within one. At the front, the escapees attacked and counterattacked. Behind them Vingegaard\u2019s Visma-Lease a Bike team rode a masterful tactical race to make things difficult for Pogacar. In this they succeeded. Vingegaard himself delivered his best ride of the race so far. And still they couldn\u2019t shake off Pogacar who now leads the race by 4min 15sec.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Norway\u2019s Tobias Johannessen receives medical attention after collapsing on the finish line, evidence that Ventoux still pushes the very best to the limit<\/p>\n

THIBAULT CAMUS\/AP<\/p>\n

Much happened before they got to the first slopes of the Ventoux. This was because every rider in the 165-rider peloton knew that if they were to have any chance of winning, they had to have a sizeable lead on Pogacar and Vingegaard as they began the 15.7km ascent to Ventoux. Soon riders surged off the front of the pack, hoping that when the split came, they would be on the right side of it.<\/p>\n

Pogacar\u2019s team tried to control the race, but with so many eager to escape it was impossible. The UAE squad has had a tough Tour, and on the 155km ride to the foot of the Ventoux, it got harder for them. Jo\u00e3o Almeida has long left the race after fracturing a rib and Pavel Sivakov has been sick and far from his best. Nils Politt kept them rolling along but when the breakaway riders\u2019 lead went to six minutes, the race tilted their way.<\/p>\n

For Paret-Peintre, the outcome was a surprise. \u201cIt\u2019s extraordinary but it [winning] wasn\u2019t the plan because I really thought that Pogacar wanted to win the stage and that he was going to try to lock down the race,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\"Cyclists<\/p>\n

Healy, left, sensed he wouldn\u2019t beat Paret-Peintre if he waited too long and 250 metres from the line, he surged past his rival<\/p>\n

COLIN FLOCKTON\/SHUTTERSTOCK EDITORIAL<\/p>\n

Joining a breakaway is like buying a ticket in the lottery. There\u2019s no telling when your numbers come up. \u201cI said to myself that if there was a big group, why not be in it? You never know,\u201d Paret-Peintre said. \u201cI felt really good. I had two team-mates with me, and I told them that I had my chance of winning. A victory on the Tour is extraordinary, but on Mont Ventoux it\u2019s even better.\u201d<\/p>\n

If we join the race at the foot of Mont Ventoux, Thymen Arensman, Julian Alaphilippe, Enric Mas, Jonas Abrahamsen and Simone Velasco have a 1:30 lead on a much bigger group behind them and a six-minute lead on the group of favourites. Then the Ventoux began to takes its toll; first Velasco and Abrahamsen, then Arensman and Alaphilippe all wilted. <\/p>\n

This was the mountain, doing what it does. \u201cA God of evil,\u201d the French philosopher Roland Barthes once wrote, \u201cto which sacrifices must be made. It never pardons the weak.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mas kept going and for a kilometre or two, it seemed the day might be his. But he was still far from the summit. Behind him, Ben Healy was leading the pursuit and and it was clear he was on one of his really good days. He had ridden such a clever race, infiltrating the group of escapees and conserving his energy on the never-ending flat roads before the mountain.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I played it really nicely in the break and never really touched the wind once until Ventoux,\u201d Healy said. \u201cI hit Ventoux and I wasn\u2019t really sure how my legs were. I took it steady at the bottom and kind of went at a nice pace. It\u2019s an hour-long climb. Then, I started to realise I was actually feeling really good today and we definitely could race for the win.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Cyclists<\/p>\n

The French fans roared their compatriot on to what they hoped would be a first stage victory for France at this Tour<\/p>\n

THIBAULT CAMUS\/AP<\/p>\n

Healy knew Paret-Peintre was the danger. Paret-Peintre was convinced the Irish rider was the danger. \u201cBen Healy was really very strong when he attacked but I said to myself: \u2018It\u2019s a victory at Ventoux, you can\u2019t give up.\u2019 Even in the last 100 metres to overtake him, I really struggled, but I had to do it. Incredible, I can hardly believe it.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was close. Healy, Paret-Peintre and the Colombian Santiago Buitrago were leading into the final kilometre and then Ilan Van Wilder, a Soudal Quick-Step team-mate of Paret-Peintre, rejoined the front three. The effort involved in that comeback was huge and Van Wilder then went to the front to ensure his team-mate could prepare himself for his final effort. <\/p>\n

Healy sensed he wouldn\u2019t beat Paret-Peintre if he waited too long and 250 metres from the line, he surged past his rival and got two bike lengths clear. The French rider accelerated immediately, Healy tried to go again. Round the last right-hand bend before the steep rise to the line, Healy was in front but Paret-Peintre had a little more and just about got the better of a terrific duel.<\/p>\n

Though he had ridden magnificently, Healy couldn\u2019t hide the disappointment. \u201cMaybe I should have judged my effort a little bit differently because for sure I had super legs,\u201d he said. \u201cI just did a little bit too little too late, I think, because this top section is a bit shallower and the headwind was just too hard to break Valentin today. I tried to get a jump on him in the finish, because I knew he was more explosive than me on a finish like this. I did my best but didn\u2019t quite get him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Behind the breakaways, the Visma riders set the tempo on the climb. Pogacar knew it was only a matter of time. Eight kilometres from the top, Vingegaard attacked. His acceleration was as explosive as any we have seen from him in the Tour and this is saying something. Pogacar responded and went with his rival. Behind them, the group of favourites splintered; Primoz Roglic, Florian Lipowitz and Oscar Onley would lose a minute to a minute and a half to Pogacar and Vingegaard.<\/p>\n

\"Tadej<\/p>\n

Pogacar, left, responded to Vingegaard\u2019s attacks on the Ventoux climb and ended up putting a couple more seconds into his lead over the Dane<\/p>\n

DARIO BELINGHERI\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n

After Pogacar neutralised the first attack, Vingegaard tried three more. Every time he looked back, the Yellow Jersey was there, haunting him. When Pogacar tried his one attack, Vingegaard quickly chased him down. Watching them duelling on Ventoux, it was remarkable to think that Pogacar has somehow taken a 4min 15sec lead on a formidable rival. Pogacar says the two Alpine stages, over multiple passes, will be even more difficult.<\/p>\n

Despite what we say and write, Pogacar is human. \u201cI am definitely not Superman,\u201d the Slovenian said at the summit of Ventoux. \u201cI was born in Ljubljana, not some planet, whatever. Today was an epic climb. Congratulations to Paret-Peintre, he was a very deserving winner.\u201d<\/p>\n

As team officials congratulated the French rider, he pulled himself away and went in search of Van Wilder, who was draped over a steel barrier, utterly wasted. Putting his arms around his team-mate, Paret-Peintre said: \u201cMerci, merci beaucoup. C\u2019est incroyable. Merci.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Through the hottest days on the steepest climbs, we see them as angels on wheels, supermen immune to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":283529,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5309],"tags":[2000,299,36],"class_list":{"0":"post-283528","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-france","8":"tag-eu","9":"tag-europe","10":"tag-france"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114899044630313787","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283528","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=283528"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283528\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/283529"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=283528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=283528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=283528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}