


Valentin Paret-Peintre claimed a memorable victory in the sixteenth stage of the 2025 Tour de France. The Frenchman was part of a large breakaway group on the route to Mont Ventoux and defeated fellow escapee Ben Healy after a thrilling finale. Spectacle was also on display among the favorites: Tadej Pogacar was heavily pressured by his great rival Jonas Vingegaard, but the man in the yellow jersey held firm.
The final week of the 2025 Tour de France kicked off immediately with a mountain stage to a legendary climb in the race’s history. In the first 140 relatively flat kilometers, the riders could still warm up their legs after the rest day, but after that the next challenge began: a summit finish on Mont Ventoux, also known as the Bald Mountain (19.5 km at 7.9%).
Mathieu van der Poel did not experience any of this. The Dutchman – undeniably the star of the opening week of the Tour – did not start today’s stage to Mont Ventoux. The Alpecin-Deceuninck rider is suffering from pneumonia and was forced to abandon. The stage winner in Boulogne-sur-Mer had already been struggling with a cold in recent days.
Van Aert is very active, but a compatriot joins the break
Even without the spark of Van der Poel, the pace was brutal from the start. In a highly animated opening phase, attacks flew thick and fast as many riders were eager to get into the day’s breakaway. Among them was a very busy Wout van Aert. The Belgian from Visma | Lease a Bike – the last rider to win a Tour stage on Mont Ventoux – repeatedly threw down the gauntlet but was unable to get clear.
Three other riders were granted some leeway by the peloton. The previously invisible Marc Hirschi went on the offensive, joined by his Tudor teammate Marco Haller and Xandro Meurisse of Alpecin-Deceuninck. This trio rode about fifteen seconds ahead for quite some time but saw the peloton slow down after a reckless opening salvo. However, this calm was short-lived as many teams refused to accept this situation.

Hirschi, Meurisse, and Haller on the attack – photo: Cor Vos
After another barrage of attacks, UAE Emirates XRG finally succeeded in calming things down. The team of Tadej Pogacar took control at the head of the peloton for their leader and gradually allowed the breakaway trio of Hirschi, Haller, and Meurisse to extend their advantage. The gap, however, remained manageable as they approached Mont Ventoux, which clearly revealed the ambitions of the man in the yellow jersey. The world champion seemed set on victory in this climbers’ prestigious stage.
Quiet in the peloton? Not at all!
The riders appeared resigned to this state of affairs, but appearances were deceptive as Jayco AlUla had other plans. Mauro Schmid and Luke Plapp launched a two-man attack, reigniting the dynamite. This move was quickly snuffed out by UAE Emirates XRG, but it signaled to many others that it was time for another attempt. This was disastrous for the breakaway trio as their lead disappeared like snow in the sun.
This even led to a regrouping just over one hundred kilometers from the finish. The early escapees were swallowed by a large chasing group containing several strong climbers. The key names? Thymen Arensman, Julian Alaphilippe, Enric Mas, Michael Woods, Santiago Buitrago, Valentin Paret-Peintre, Ilan Van Wilder, Ben Healy, and Clément Champoussin. Also noteworthy: Visma | Lease a Bike (with Tiesj Benoot and Victor Campenaerts) and UAE Emirates XRG (Pavel Sivakov and Marc Soler) were well represented.
This breakaway – considering the presence of Sivakov and Soler at the front of the race – was given a free pass by UAE Emirates XRG. The gap quickly grew to about four minutes. Pogacar’s team also didn’t seem motivated to close the gap immediately. The best-placed rider in the breakaway, Ben Healy, was facing a deficit of over 18 minutes at the start. Were we then seeing a battle on two fronts?
Arensman and co push on
Because of the size of the breakaway, cooperation was far from optimal, so seven riders slipped away. Arensman, Alaphilippe, Trentin, Wright, Abrahamsen, Mas, and Velasco joined forces and steadily increased their lead. With forty kilometers remaining, their advantage stretched to well over a minute and a half. For Arensman – the best climber in the group – the situation looked increasingly promising by the kilometer.
In the chase group, riders initially refused to take turns pulling. When they finally did – Neilands, Eenkhoorn, and Wright controlled the pace – it was already too late. The six leaders started the first steep slopes of Mont Ventoux with a very healthy buffer of 1:30.
Mas breaks away from Arensman and Alaphilippe
Before the official final climb, the first probes appeared. Alaphilippe couldn’t hold back and launched an attack, but Mas and Velasco responded promptly. And Arensman? He didn’t get rattled by his breakaway companions’ explosive start, settled into his own rhythm, and bridged up. Alaphilippe’s surge proved the deathblow for Abrahamsen, the less adept climber who quickly fell off the pace.
While Arensman initially stayed quiet in the front group, he shook things up for the first time on the steeper slopes of Mont Ventoux. Velasco was dropped almost immediately, but Mas and a gritty Alaphilippe stayed connected. Stronger yet, Mas felt the pace wasn’t high enough and hit the accelerator himself. The Movistar rider – who had slipped back in the general classification over the past two weeks – immediately opened a nice gap.
But Healy and Paret-Peintre are closing in
Arensman initially kept his Spanish rival in sight, but the stage winner at Superbagnères gradually lost ground. Nine kilometers from the summit, Healy, Paret-Peintre, and Buitrago caught up to Arensman and Alaphilippe, charging forward. The gap to Mas had already grown to over a minute. Could the ‘fresh’ chasers turn the tide?
Healy still had reserves and nearly single-handedly closed the gap on Mas, though he still had one rider on his wheel: the tough Paret-Peintre. This duo reeled in the spent Spaniard at around four kilometers from the summit, at Chalet Reynard. What ensued was a fascinating three-way sprint for the win, with Healy and Paret-Peintre pushing one another to the limit with fierce tempo accelerations.
The Irishman and the Frenchman appeared very evenly matched, which led to a tactical cat-and-mouse game for the stage victory. Healy and Paret-Peintre slowed to a near stop in the final kilometers of Mont Ventoux, allowing Mas, Buitrago, and even Ilan Van Wilder to catch back on. The latter immediately took the front in support of his teammate Paret-Peintre – a necessary move to hold off Pogacar and Vingegaard.
The group then sprinted for the stage win. Healy went first, but Paret-Peintre kept his wits about him and overtook the Irishman in the final steep corner. The French climber delivered a prestigious victory for France and his team, Soudal Quick-Step. For the Belgian team, this was their fourth stage win of the Tour, following earlier successes by Tim Merlier (twice) and Remco Evenepoel.
Visma | Lease a Bike launches Vingegaard attack
In the favorites group, Visma | Lease a Bike immediately took the reins. Led by Wout van Aert and then Sepp Kuss and Simon Yates, the group was thinned out considerably. This quickly led to a first casualty: Felix Gall – seventh in the GC – was reported in trouble early on. Meanwhile, Kuss – the last man for Vingegaard – was making his final efforts. This was the prelude to an attack from his leader, around eight kilometers from the finish.
Vingegaard’s acceleration shattered the favorites’ group; only Pogacar could match his big rival. The seemingly resurrected Roglic momentarily fought back but was eventually caught by Lipowitz and Onley, who couldn’t keep up with the climbing firepower of Vingegaard and Pogacar. The two contenders overtook one breakaway rider after another and rapidly closed in on the leaders.
Vingegaard and Pogacar push each other to the limit.
Vingegaard counted on support from Benoot and Campenaerts during his attempts to shake Pogacar, as they dropped back to set up another Danish attack. Vingegaard then threw down the gauntlet twice more, but the yellow jersey held steady. Pogacar still had the energy to counterattack himself, but Vingegaard neutralized this move. The Dane then unleashed his full arsenal once again, but this was matched by Pogacar.
And so the two rivals finished close to each other, although the explosive Pogacar managed to sprint away by two seconds from his main contender for the overall victory.

photo: Cor Vos

Arensman once again distinguished himself – photo: Cor Vos
| Rank | Rider | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 04:03:19 | |
| 2 | " | |
| 3 | + 04 | |
| 4 | + 14 | |
| 5 | + 43 | |
| 6 | + 45 | |
| 7 | + 53 | |
| 8 | + 01:17 | |
| 9 | + 01:51 | |
| 10 | + 01:53 |
| Rank | Rider | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | - | 58:24:46 | |
| 2 | - | + 04:15 | |
| 3 | - | + 09:03 | |
| 4 | - | + 11:04 | |
| 5 | - | + 11:42 | |
| 6 | - | + 13:20 | |
| 7 | - | + 14:50 | |
| 8 | - | + 17:01 | |
| 9 | - | + 17:52 | |
| 10 | - | + 20:45 |