Paret-Peintre delivers Tour de France home win in Mont Ventoux thriller

Valentin Paret-Peintre bagged a first home win on an enthralling stage 16 of the Tour de France on Tuesday pipping Ireland's Ben Healy atop the 1910m altitude Mont Ventoux finish line.

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Behind them Jonas Vingegaard attacked overall leader Tadej Pogacar relentlessly but the defending champion tracked the Dane all the way up the 15km ascent to extend his lead by two seconds.

Trailing by 4min 13sec at the start of this stage Vingegaard attacked with 9km to climb on Mont Ventoux, whose eery upper reaches resemble a lunar landscape.

"I didn't want to push too hard and then let him have me on a counter-attack. I kept my rhythm as much as I could," said Pogacar who has been fighting off a cold this week.

"He attacked many times but I just tried to hold his wheel."

Vingegaard was knocked off his bike by a motorbike after the finish line but was unhurt, remounting to go and congratulate Pogacar on another fine battle.

"He seemed okay," Pogacar said later.

Pogacar's Team UAE boss described Vingegaard as a "warrior".

"He's got the guts and the legs and we expect him to keep on attacking every day now. He's a warrior," Mauro Gianetti said.

The battle for the overall lead, however, was eclipsed by a frantic fight for the stage win between EF's Healy and Soudal Quick-Step's Paret-Peintre who became the first French winner on Mont Ventoux since Richard Virenque in 2002.

🏆 Le jour de gloire de 🇫🇷 @Valent1_Paret ! Revivez le dernier kilomètre et cette incroyable bataille avec Ben Healy !

🏆 🇫🇷 @Valent1_Paret's day of glory! Relive the last kilometer and that incredible battle with Ben Healy!#TDF2025 pic.twitter.com/nPP8byXK6Z
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 22, 2025

"He looked so happy at the finish line," said Pogacar, who crossed the summit 43sec adrift.

Mont Ventoux has long been held in awe by riders and spectators alike and it has witnessed some of the greatest dramas and tragedies of the Tour.

In 1967, the British cyclist Tom Simpson died here after collapsing on a baking climb.

The great Eddy Merckx once needed oxygen at the summit while Chris Froome ran part of the way up during a frantic wait for mechanical assistance on his way to a third Tour de France title in 2016.

'PERFECT TACTIC'

Healy, who wore the yellow jersey for two days after winning the Bastille Day stage six, appeared to be heading for his second stage win as the two riders approached the finish of an epic tussle.

Paret-Peintre looked completely drained but, cheered on by the home crowd, he found a final surge of strength to overtake the Irishman with 20 metres remaining and held on to the line.

"I was near giving up, Healy was so strong but I said to myself come on, it's the Tour de France, Mont Ventoux," said Paret-Peintre.

"I knew that if I held on, the last section suited me better than him as it's really steep. It turned out to be the perfect tactic."

Healy's consolation was to be awarded the day's combativity prize while moving up one place to ninth in the overall standings.

💪 For his exceptional climb of the Ventoux, Ben Healy is the most combative rider of todays stage.

💪 Pour son exceptionnel ascension du Ventoux, Ben Healy est le combatif du jour.#TDF2025 | @century21fr pic.twitter.com/kx77jxLvpJ
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 22, 2025

Almost unnoticed further down the mountain, German break out star Florian Lipowitz consolidated his third place, extending his lead on fourth-placed Scottish rider Oscar Onley by around 30 seconds.

With two more Alpine stages coming up and five more stages left Vingegaard and his Visma team did everything they could to hurt the Team UAE leader Pogacar here, and can only hope they have tired the pugnacious champion.

But the 26-year-old resisted all they threw at him, despite being isolated from his teammates early in the climb.

Stage 17 should be one for the sprinters as Tim Merlier hopes to add to his two stage wins and current green jersey Jonathan Milan also targets a second win at the 700m straight run to the finish line at Valence.

The weather however could rewrite the script with 50kph winds forecast along the 170km run.

STAGE 16 RESULTS

1. Valentin Paret-Peintre Soudal Quick-Step 4:03:19 (FRA)

2. Ben Healy (IRL) EF Education - EasyPost "

3. Santiago Buitrago (COL) Bahrain Victorious +4

4. Ilan Van Wilder (BEL) Soudal Quick-Step +14

5. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates - XRG +43

6. Jonas Vingegaard (DEN) Team Visma - Lease a Bike +45

7. Enric Mas (ESP) Movistar Team +53

8. Julian Alaphilippe (FRA) Tudor Pro Cycling Team +1:17

9. Primož Roglic (SLO) Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe +1:51

10. Florian Lipowitz (GER) Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe +1:53