Valentin Paret-Peintre became the first French winner in the Tour de France 2025 as he edged an enthralling Stage 16 on Tuesday, pipping Ireland's Ben Healy atop the mythical 1910m altitude Mont Ventoux summit finish.

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

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Trailing by 4 minutes, 13 seconds at the start of this stage, Vingegaard attacked with 9 kilometers to climb on Mont Ventoux, with eerie upper reaches that resemble a lunar landscape.

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

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.

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

Mont Ventoux long has 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 Tactics By Valentin Paret-Peintre In Tour de France 2025 Stage 16

Healy, who wore the yellow jersey for two days after winning the Bastille Day Stage 6, 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 meters remaining and held on to the line.

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

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

With two more Alpine stages coming up, and five more stages left overall, 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 170-kilometer run.

Tour de France 2025 Stage 16 Results – Top 25

1. Valentin Paret Peintre (Soudal Quick-Step) – 4:03:19 (B10)
2. Ben Healy (EF Education - EasyPost) – 4:03:19 (B6)
3. Santiago Buitrago Sanchez (Bahrain Victorious) – 4:03:23 (B4)
4. Ilan Van Wilder (Soudal Quick-Step) – 4:03:33
5. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates XRG) – 4:04:02
6. Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – 4:04:04
7. Enric Mas (Movistar Team) – 4:04:12
8. Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) – 4:04:36
9. Primoz Roglic (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe) – 4:05:10
10. Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe) – 4:05:12
11. Gregor Mühlberger (Movistar Team) – 4:05:20
12. Thymen Arensman (INEOS Grenadiers) – 4:05:26
13. Xandro Meurisse (Alpecin-Deceuninck) – 4:05:34
14. Oscar Onley (Team Picnic PostNL) – 4:05:48
15. Carlos Rodriguez (INEOS Grenadiers) – 4:06:21
16. Alex Aranburu (Cofidis) – 4:06:46
17. Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team) – 4:06:52
18. Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates XRG) – 4:06:57
19. Raul Garcia Pierna (Arkea-B&B Hotels) – 4:07:01
20. Kevin Vauquelin (Arkea-B&B Hotels) – 4:07:01
21. Sergio Higuita (XDS Astana Team) – 4:07:04
22. Jordan Jegat (TotalEnergies) – 4:07:25
23. Clément Champoussin (XDS Astana Team) – 4:07:25
24. Simone Velasco (XDS Astana Team) – 4:07:25
25. Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates XRG) – 4:07:28

Tour de France 2025 Overall Standings – Top 25 After Stage 16

1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates XRG) – 58:24:46
2. Jonas Vingegaard Hansen (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – 58:29:01
3. Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe) – 58:33:49
4. Oscar Onley (Team Picnic PostNL) – 58:35:50
5. Primoz Roglic (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe) – 58:36:28
6. Kevin Vauquelin (Arkea-B&B Hotels) – 58:38:06
7. Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team) – 58:39:36
8. Tobias Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) – 58:41:47
9. Ben Healy (EF Education - EasyPost) – 58:42:38
10. Carlos Rodriguez (INEOS Grenadiers) – 58:45:31
11. Jordan Jegat (TotalEnergies) – 58:47:56
12. Ben O'Connor (Team Jayco AlUla) – 58:55:54
13. Guillaume Martin Guyonnet (Groupama-FDJ) – 59:00:00
14. Thymen Arensman (INEOS Grenadiers) – 59:09:06
15. Sepp Kuss (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – 59:12:45
16. Jhonatan Narvaez (UAE Team Emirates XRG) – 59:16:50
17. Cristian Rodriguez (Arkea-B&B Hotels) – 59:18:10
18. Enric Mas (Movistar Team) – 59:18:30
19. Sergio Higuita (XDS Astana Team) – 59:19:43
20. Matteo Jorgenson (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – 59:22:21
21. Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ) – 59:28:13
22. Warren Barguil (Team Picnic PostNL) – 59:31:36
23. Simon Yates (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – 59:31:46
24. Gregor Mühlberger (Movistar Team) – 59:36:23
25. Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates XRG) – 59:39:20

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