Paret-Peintre defends Tour de France breakaway specialist: ‘Otherwise we get bored’

Baptiste Veistroffer cut a lonely figure during Stage 5 of the Tour de France on Wednesday. The Lotto-Intermarché rider attacked almost immediately and spent much of the day alone at the front of the race. His long-range move attracted criticism because the stage was widely expected to end in a bunch sprint and his chances of staying away appeared extremely slim. Fellow Frenchman Valentin Paret-Peintre, however, has no time for those complaints. In fact, the Soudal Quick-Step climber believes riders such as Veistroffer make otherwise predictable stages more entertaining.

Stage 5 represented the first clear opportunity for the sprinters at the 2026 Tour de France. That meant there was little enthusiasm in the peloton for joining the early breakaway. Veistroffer, a rider known for his attacking instincts, was still willing to try. The Lotto-Intermarché Frenchman escaped from the start and began what would become an extremely solitary day ahead of the bunch.

He remained in front for 144 kilometres before the sprint teams inevitably brought him back. Two days later, Veistroffer attacked again during another stage designed for the fast men. This time, Caja Rural-Seguros RGA rider Jakub Otruba joined him, but the move was again unable to prevent a bunch sprint in Bordeaux.

It was already Veistroffer’s second appearance in a breakaway at this Tour. “The objective was to get into the breakaway again, especially because I had family visiting today,” Veistroffer told the Tour de France organisation after Friday’s stage. “That is simply the way I race. “I feel good at the moment, so I might as well make the most of riding at the front of the Tour. It is the biggest bike race in the world, and it is a huge pleasure to be able to do this.”

Does Veistroffer believe he can eventually win a stage by racing this way? “Oh yes, absolutely,” he said. “We have to be honest with ourselves: the chances are always very small. But when everything comes together on a particular day, we have to keep going and take our chance. “The terrain would need to become hillier, the teams would have to give us more than a minute, and there would need to be more fatigue in the peloton. It would probably help to have a few more riders in the breakaway as well.”

“I am okay and not especially tired yet,” Veistroffer explained. “The stage before the rest day looks very difficult, so perhaps we will start to feel it then. But for now, I am doing fine.” His comments indicate that the Frenchman is unlikely to stop attacking. Lotto-Intermarché had already described Veistroffer as the French version of breakaway specialist Thomas De Gendt when announcing its Tour de France selection.

Veistroffer will almost certainly be seen in another breakaway during this Tour. Another solo attack, however, could bring further criticism from those who question the purpose of spending an entire day ahead of the peloton with little realistic chance of victory. Paret-Peintre does not understand that reaction.

The French climber had just celebrated teammate Tim Merlier’s Stage 7 victory in Bordeaux when he was asked about Veistroffer’s attacks. “Not at all. I do not see who it could possibly bother,” Paret-Peintre told Cyclism’Actu. “I think it is good for the spectacle to have someone in the breakaway. Whether there are one, two, three or four riders at the front does not make any difference to us.

“We still want somebody up the road, because otherwise we get bored. I am therefore surprised that there has been criticism. We are happy to let him ride at the front, and I think he is enjoying himself enormously up there.”