TOUR DE FRANCE 2025 – STAGE 16: MONTPELLIER - MONT VENTOUX
- The Giant of Provence crowned one of the riders with the smallest stature in the peloton, Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal Quick-Step), whose light weight allowed him to tame the mighty slopes of the day. After an extraordinary battle with Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost), the pure climber became the fifth Frenchman to win atop Mont Ventoux, and also claimed the first victory this year for the host nation. In their wake, Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) traded blows, with the Danish climber and his teammates piling the pressure on the Slovenian leader of the race. Pogacar managed to resist and eventually gained a few seconds on the line. The battle goes on into the final week of the Tour 2025.
Paret-Peintre wins a thriller on Mont Ventoux
The stage film July 22 nd 2025 - 16:59
Tour de France 2025 | Stage 16 | Montpellier > Mont Ventoux
The Giant of Provence crowned one of the riders with the smallest stature in the peloton, Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal Quick-Step), whose light weight allowed him to tame the mighty slopes of the day. After an extraordinary battle with Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost), the pure climber became the fifth Frenchman to win atop Mont Ventoux, and also claimed the first victory this year for the host nation. In their wake, Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) traded blows, with the Danish climber and his teammates piling the pressure on the Slovenian leader of the race. Pogacar managed to resist and eventually gained a few seconds on the line. The battle goes on into the final week of the Tour 2025.
It’s the final week of the Tour, Paris is almost in sight! But before the peloton reach Paris, they have to overcome some more gruelling challenges, starting with the ascent of Mont Ventoux (15.7 km ay 8.8%). 165 riders set off from Montpellier as Alpecin Deceuninck reports Mathieu Van der Poel suffers from a pneumonia.
A massive battle for the break
Attackers have some 150 kilometres on the flat to try and get a head start before they battle it out up Mont Ventoux. Wout van Aert, the last winner of a Tour stage featuring the Giant of Provence (in 2021), immediately sets off. But many more riders want to get on the move. The Belgian star is rapidly reeled in.
At km 11, Marco Haller, Marc Hirschi (Tudor) and Xandro Meurisse (Alpecin-Deceuninck) get away. Nils Politt (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) does everything he can to prevent further attacks but breakaway contenders are not discouraged by the German’s pressure.
After covering the first two hours at an average speed of 49.9 km/h, 32 riders eventually go clear alongside the three previous attackers: Pavel Sivakov, Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates), Tiesj Benoot, Victor Campenaerts (Visma-Lease a Bike), Pascal Eenkhoorn, Valentin Paret Peintre, Ilan Van Wilder (Soudal-Quick Step), Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost), Louis Barré (Intermarché-Wanty), Santiago Buitrago, Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious), Thymen Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers), Mick van Dijke (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Toms Skujins (Lidl-Trek), Clément Russo (Groupama-FDJ), Julian Alaphilippe, Matteo Trentin (Tudor), Ewen Costiou, Raúl Garcia Pierna (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Enric Mas, Gregor Mühlberger (Movistar Team), Alex Aranburu (Cofidis), Clément Champoussin, Simone Velasco (XDS-Astana), Mathieu Burgaudeau (TotalEnergies), Pavel Bittner (Picnic-PostNL), Michael Woods, Krists Neilands (Israel-Premier Tech), Jarrad Drizners, Brent van Moer (Lotto), Jonas Abrahamsen y Andreas Leknessund (Uno-X Mobility).
Tudor filter the break
At kilometre 105 of the stage, Trentin accelerates, followed by Alaphilippe, Wright, Arensman, Mas, Velasco, Abrahamsen and Eenkhoorn to form a leading group. The Dutch rider from Soudal-Quick Step eases off shortly afterwards to rejoin his teammates in the chasing group.
Abrahamsen goes first at the intermediate sprint at Châteauneuf-de-Pape (km 112.4), where the seven breakaway riders have a 25-second lead over their 28 pursuers and 4'55" over the peloton led by Politt. A puncture 36 kilometres from the finish line eliminates Wright from the leading group, reducing it to just six men.
Visma-Lease a Bike attack Pogacar
Alaphilippe accelerates as soon as the attackers hit the first slopes of Mont Ventoux. Mas and Arensman join him. And the Spaniard goes solo 13 kilometres away from the finish. Meanwhile, the chase group explodes with several accelerations from Valentin Paret-Peintre. The French climber proves to be the strongest climber from the chase group with Ben Healy. They catch Mas with 4 km to go.
In the peloton, Visma-Lease a Bike set a strong pace until Jonas Vingegaard attacks with 8.5 km to go. The Danish climber attacks again and again, he also finds the support of Benoot and Campenaerts… But Pogacar follows.
A thrilling finale
Healy and Paret-Peintre attack again and again but they fail to make a difference. After each attack, they look at each other. And it allows Mas, Santiago Buitrago and even Ilan Van Wilder to get back in the mix. The Belgian climber took the reins of the group inside the last kilometre to ensure Pogacar and Vingegaard wouldn’t get back.
Healy launched the sprint but Paret-Peintre passed him inside the last 100 metres to claim the first French victory in this edition. Buitrago completes the top 3 of the stage ahead of Buitrago and Van Wilder, with Pogacar crossing the line 43’’ behind the winner of the day.
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27: FRANCE IS BACK!
Valentin Paret-Peintre is the first Frenchman to win in this Tour. He ends a 27 stages and 380 days drought, since Anthony Turgis won the 9th stage of the Tour 2024 in Troyes. Paret-Peintre claims his 3rd professional victory, again on an uphill finish after his triumphs at Bocca della Selva (Giro 2024) and Jabal Al Akhdhar (Tour of Oman 2025).
60: FROM POULIDOR TO PARET-PEINTRE
Valentin Paret-Peintre claims the 5th French victory at the legendary Mont Ventoux, 60 years after Raymond Poulidor's first in 1965 (stage 14, already starting from Montpellier). Then came Bernard Thévenet (1972, stage 14), Jean-François Bernard (1987, stage 18, time trial), and Richard Virenque (2002, stage 14).
3: SOUDAL QUICK-STEP CAN WIN EVERYWHERE!
It's Soudal Quick-Step's 4th win this year, something the team hasn't achieved since 2021. Valentin Paret-Peintre is also the team 3rd different winner, a first since the Tour 2015. Perhaps most impressive is that the team has managed to win two sprints (Tim Merlier in Dunkerque and Châteauroux), a time trial (Remco Evenepoel in Caen) and a mountain stage (Paret-Peintre today). This had never happened before!
4: HEALY THE FIGHTER
At just 24 years old, Ben Healy has been awarded a 4th combativity prize (Saint-Lary-Soulan last year; Vire Normandie, Le Mont-Dore, and Mont Ventoux this year). Only one rider of the peloton, Wout Van Aert, has more (5). Second today, Healy secured his 3rd podium finish in this Tour after his victory in Vire Normandie and his 3rd place in Le Mont-Dore. He is the first Irishman to achieve such a feat since Sam Bennett in 2020.
2002: QUICK-STEP, WHAT A STORY!
Valentin Paret-Peintre triumphed on the slopes of Soudal Quick-Step's first victory, having achieved it here in 2002 with Richard Virenque. It was the team's only success on a HC summit to date! The Frenchman also achieved the team's first mountain stage victory since Julian Alaphilippe's triumphs in Bagnères-de-Luchon, Le Grand-Bornand (2018), and Nice (2020). But each time, the finish was on the flat.
25: YOUNGEST VENTOUX PODIUM
Valentin Paret-Peintre, Ben Healy, and Santiago Buitrago have an average age of 25 years and 30 days. This is the youngest stage podium of the Tour 2025, and also the youngest in the history of stage finishes at Mont Ventoux! The previous record dates back to 1970 (26 years and 20 days for Eddy Merckx, Martin Van den Bossche, and Lucien Van Impe).
3: HAT-TRICK OF NEW WINNERS
Valentin Paret-Peintre becomes the 862nd different Tour stage winner. After Thymen Arensman (stage 14) and Tim Wellens (stage 15), he is the 3rd new winner in a row! Such a run hasn't occurred since stages 11 to 13 of the Tour 2022, won by Jonas Vingegaard, Tom Pidcock, and Mads Pedersen.
3-7: COLOMBIA AND SPAIN IMPROVING
Santiago Buitrago (3rd) secured Colombia's first stage podium since the start, the last being Fernando Gaviria's 3rd place in Dijon last year. A little further back, Enric Mas equaled Spain's best result, finishing 7th like his compatriot Ivan Romeo in Caen. The Spanish have not won in 44 stages, since Carlos Rodriguez's victory in Morzine in 2023.
21: POIS-GACAR
Tadej Pogacar takes the polka-dot jersey from Lenny Martinez, who will wear it tomorrow since the Slovenian also holds the Yellow Jersey. He once again becomes the rider in the peloton with the most polka-dot jerseys, 21 compared to 20 for his teammate Tim Wellens.
4: VAN WILDER HIGHER THAN EVER
Ilan Van Wilder played a decisive role in his teammate Valentin Paret-Peintre's victory, accompanying him for part of the stage and the final climb. Finishing 4th, the Belgian recorded his first top-5 finish in a Grand Tour road stage. His only top-5 finish at this level came was in the Vuelta 2022, but in a time trial.
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