Paret-Peintre beats Healy in brutal battle on Ventoux: Vingegaard attacks but can’t crack Pogacar (just yet)

The “Bald Mountain” is one of the most iconic climbs in the Tour de France, and for good reason. The highest peak of Provence often delivers spectacular racing. The last memorable showdown came in 2021, when Wout van Aert put on a phenomenal performance to win after climbing the Ventoux twice. This year, the run-in was far flatter, but the stage finished at the summit, an enticing prospect. Sadly, Mathieu van der Poel wasn’t there to see it, as he had to abandon the race due to pneumonia.

Everyone dreams of winning atop this mythical climb, so it was no surprise that there was an intense battle to get into the breakaway. After half an hour, three riders seemed to have the upper hand: Tudor teammates Marc Hirschi and Marco Haller, along with Xandro Meurisse (Alpecin-Deceuninck). For a while, they managed to pull clear, but their advantage of about 1 minute 30 seconds melted away quickly as relentless attacks kept flying, despite attempts by Nils Politt to shut them down.

With 100 kilometers to go, their adventure was over, or so it seemed. But just then, a new split formed. A large group bridged the gap to the leading trio, suddenly creating a powerful breakaway. Victor Campenaerts and Tiesj Benoot (Visma | Lease a Bike) joined the move, along with riders like Pascal Eenkhoorn (Soudal Quick-Step), Enric Mas (Movistar), Ben Healy (EF Education – EasyPost), and the UAE duo Marc Soler and Pavel Sivakov. The group kept growing: from 15 to 20, from 20 to 35 riders...

Big names like Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor), Thymen Arensman (INEOS Grenadiers), Michael Woods (Israel – Premier Tech), Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal Quick-Step), and Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious) also made the jump. A few sprinters (Dylan Groenewegen, Arnaud De Lie, Pavel Bittner...) were there as well, ready to fight for intermediate sprint points. Green jersey leader Jonathan Milan, however, had missed the move.

The Italian tried to bridge across but quickly abandoned the attempt. Emiel Verstrynge didn’t give up, and with help from teammate Jonas Rickaert, the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider managed to chase down the front group after a long, grueling pursuit. Or rather, what was left of the front group, by then, it had split into two parts, with a lead group containing riders like Arensman, Alaphilippe, and Mas.

The sprinters who were still in the break had no real chance, but Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) scooped up the maximum points at the intermediate sprint. After that, Mont Ventoux loomed large on the horizon. The seven leaders (including Matteo Trentin and Fred Wright) continued to gain time on the second group. Tudor riders disrupted the chase, and the gap quickly widened to 1 minute 30 seconds.

Pascal Eenkhoorn was initially in the front group but dropped back to work for Quick-Step teammates Paret-Peintre and Van Wilder. This helped limit the damage behind, but the breakaway still had a 1:30 lead as they hit Mont Ventoux. Things looked promising for Arensman, but when Alaphilippe accelerated, he was immediately dropped.

Riding his own tempo, Arensman clawed his way back and, when the climb steepened, he even took the lead, only Alaphilippe and Mas could follow. The Spaniard attacked early on the lower slopes and quickly opened a solid gap on his rivals. Meanwhile, Visma | Lease a Bike took control at the base of the Bald Mountain, with Wout van Aert setting the pace for the peloton.

The group of favorites was whittled down within no time. When Sepp Kuss took the lead, only about 10 riders were left, with just Adam Yates still hanging on for Pogacar. Up front, Arensman was struggling, clinging to Alaphilippe’s wheel while Mas pulled further and further ahead. Soon, the pair were joined by Healy, Buitrago, and Woods, who had bridged across from behind. By that time, however, the gap was already over a minute.

Kuss pulled on the front of the favorites for what felt like an eternity. Everyone was waiting for Vingegaard’s attack, but it was Carlos Rodríguez (INEOS Grenadiers) who struck first. Not long after, the Dane launched his own move, and only Pogacar could follow. But it didn’t look easy, there was a rare grimace on the Slovenian’s face, and that gave Vingegaard courage.

At the perfect moment, he got help from Benoot, who ramped up the pressure, with Campenaerts still dangling up the road. The plan was executed perfectly, but was it enough to crack the yellow jersey? A renewed acceleration by Vingegaard wasn’t enough; soon, it was just the two of them again. It was a tense battle, and the gap to Mas was suddenly not all that big. Mas, however, was feeling the hot breath of Healy and company, who were busy bickering among themselves.

Vingegaard rode past the remnants of the breakaway and caught up with Campenaerts, who took over Benoot’s job of drilling the pace. This gave the 2022 and 2023 Tour winner a brief moment of breathing space. With 4 kilometers to go, Vingegaard launched his third acceleration, but the grimace from Pogacar was nowhere to be seen, the yellow jersey was glued to his rival’s wheel.

Meanwhile, Healy decided he’d had enough at the front. In typical Healy fashion, he powered across the barren slopes toward Mas, with only Paret-Peintre able to follow. Then the second game began: Healy attacked again, but the more explosive Paret-Peintre easily responded. Mas clawed his way back, and suddenly Buitrago reappeared as well. He had earlier drawn Healy’s anger but now found himself with a real chance to win.

What followed was a flurry of attacks: Paret-Peintre, Healy, Paret-Peintre… Back and forth they went, neither giving an inch in the final kilometers. Mas rejoined, and so did the relentless Buitrago. The tension mounted as the chasers, Vingegaard and Pogacar, closed the gap. Even Van Wilder got back on terms and set a brutal pace for Paret-Peintre.

Pogacar’s attack was inevitable, and it came with 2 kilometers to go. But the yellow jersey couldn’t shake Vingegaard, the Dane countered immediately. Still, neither man could drop the other. Had they kept pushing, the stage win was within reach, but the front group continued to hesitate. In the sprint, Healy opened first, but Paret-Peintre overpowered him to claim France’s first stage victory. Behind them, Pogacar managed to edge out Vingegaard at the line, snatching two bonus seconds from his rival.