Tour 2025: Valentin Paret-Peintre wins chaotic stage to Mont-Ventoux, fireworks between Pogacar and Vingegaard

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.