Pogacar breaks another record (unbeaten for 11 years) on the climb of the Mont Ventoux

Before stage 16, few expected a new record time on the Ventoux, despite the wave of broken records on cycling’s legendary climbs in recent years. The headwind on Tuesday and the earlier Hautacam climb in this Tour suggested that the blazing times of the 1990s and early 2000s, fueled by “other oil”, would remain untouched. Even Bjarne Riis’s 1996 record on Hautacam survived Pogacar’s relentless attack earlier this Tour.

The Ventoux record had been in Spanish hands since 2004, when Iban Mayo set a time of 55 minutes and 51 seconds during the Critérium du Dauphiné. Back then, he rode with a simple orange cycling cap, no aero helmets, no cutting-edge clothing or bikes. Even at the peak of Chris Froome’s dominance (2013) or Andy Schleck’s form (2009), the Ventoux was “only” conquered in just under 59 minutes, highlighting how massive the gap was.

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Yet, on Tuesday, during the 2025 Tour de France, the long-standing record on Mont Ventoux finally fell, thanks to a brutal pace set by Visma | Lease a Bike from the base of the climb. The Dutch team drove the peloton for kilometers before Jonas Vingegaard launched his attack. The Dane took Pogacar with him and bridged to Tiesj Benoot, who emptied himself completely. Vingegaard attacked again to catch Victor Campenaerts, who also gave everything, and the Dane and Pogacar then traded blows in a fierce duel.

With a sharp final sprint, Pogacar pulled away from Vingegaard by 2 seconds after the last corner, conquering Mont Ventoux in 54 minutes and 41 seconds. That was 1 minute and 10 seconds faster than Mayo’s time set 21 years ago. An impressive feat, considering that in recent years no one even came close to the record, and there was also a headwind on Tuesday. Vingegaard also easily beat Mayo’s time, while Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe duo Primoz Roglic and Florian Lipowitz just missed the mark.

This shows once again how extraordinary Pogacar and Vingegaard are right now. But before jumping to conclusions, cycling analyst Mihai Simion examined the times of other riders and found seventeen riders who climbed Mont Ventoux in under an hour. "More than in 1999 and 2004. It’s not just Pogacar and Vingegaard who were lightning fast, the overall level is incredibly high," he noted.