Pogacar out to bury ghosts in final Tour de France week
As the 2025 Tour de France heads into its final and most punishing mountain stages, the defending champion is about to tackle climbs where he cracked or struggled before.
Reuters
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SBS Australia
15 hours ago
- SBS Australia
The giant delivers French smiles
In the latest SBS Cycling Podcast, the hosts celebrate a stunning French victory atop Mont Ventoux, capturing the electric atmosphere and scenic Alpine backdrop. The episode also explores the general classification battle, with an analysis of Vingegaard and Pogacar's rivalry. A quick look ahead at the next stages leaves fans eager for more Tour de France action.
SBS Australia
16 hours ago
- SBS Australia
Tour de France stage 16: Paret-Peintre becomes this year's first French winner
Valentin Paret-Peintre became the first French winner on this year's Tour de France 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 15km ascent to extend his lead by two seconds. Trailing by four minutes and 13 seconds at the start of this stage, Vingegaard attacked with 9km to climb on Mont Ventoux, whose eerie 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. "He looked so happy at the finish line," said Pogacar. 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. Almost unnoticed further down the mountain, German breakout 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. For the latest from SBS News, download our app and subscribe to our newsletter .
The Advertiser
19 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Enfin! A French stage winner in the Tour de France
Valentin Paret-Peintre has kept his cool in a furnace of pressure and heat, delivering a thunderous victory atop the legendary Mont Ventoux to give France its first win in this year's Tour de France during a breathtaking Stage 16. The Soudal-Quick Step rider edged out Ireland's Ben Healy in a heart-pounding sprint finale on the Giant of Provence, while Tadej Pogacar remained unshakable in yellow, fending off Jonas Vingegaard on the brutal 21.5 km ascent averaging 7.5 per cent. Defending champion Pogacar clawed two more seconds from his Danish rival in a final surge to extend his overall lead to 4 mins 15 secs. Germany's Florian Lipowitz held firm in third at 9:03, pulling further ahead of fourth-placed Briton Oscar Onley, who lags another 2:01 behind. Ben O'Connor, in 12th, 30:08 behind Pogacar, is the only Australian in the top 25 GC riders. He was also the best-placed Aussie in the stage, finishing 32nd, 6.07 adrift of Paret-Peintre The day belonged to the 29-year-old from the French-Swiss border town of Annemasse, whose lack of belief turned into defiance and then glory. "I honestly didn't believe it," he said. "I thought Pogacar would go for victory today. But when we built a real gap, I told myself, you can't let a win on Mont Ventoux slip through your fingers." After the Tour's second rest day, stage 16 took the riders 171.5 km from Montpellier in the south of France on a long flat course until they reached the brutal climb up Ventoux. Mathieu van der Poel, who had been third in the points classification, withdrew before Tuesday's stage with pneumonia. Seven riders surged ahead from an early breakaway, carving out a healthy 6:30 buffer as they reached the base of the climb. The air grew thinner, the crowds louder and the landscape more lunar. Spanish climber Enric Mas looked like the chosen one, attacking solo with 14.2 km to the summit. Behind him, Paret-Peintre, Healy, and Colombia's Santiago Buitrago gave chase. As they passed Chalet Reynard - where pine forest yields to desolate, white-stone slopes - it became a survival march. Mas and Buitrago fought valiantly but were dropped by the Franco-Irish duo, only to courageously claw their way back before being left behind again with 400 metres to go when Healy launched his sprint. But Paret-Peintre, with ice in his veins and fire in his legs, clung to his wheel. In the final, agonising metres, he surged past, claiming not just a stage win, but also a place in French cycling folklore. He was only the fifth Frenchman to conquer the Ventoux. Buitrago was third. Behind the breakaway Vingegaard had attacked a handful of times, but could not shake off Pogacar. He was further irked after crossing the finish line when, the Dane said, "Some photographer just ran straight in front of me. I don't know what he was doing. I went down. People in the finish area should use their eyes a bit more." Valentin Paret-Peintre has kept his cool in a furnace of pressure and heat, delivering a thunderous victory atop the legendary Mont Ventoux to give France its first win in this year's Tour de France during a breathtaking Stage 16. The Soudal-Quick Step rider edged out Ireland's Ben Healy in a heart-pounding sprint finale on the Giant of Provence, while Tadej Pogacar remained unshakable in yellow, fending off Jonas Vingegaard on the brutal 21.5 km ascent averaging 7.5 per cent. Defending champion Pogacar clawed two more seconds from his Danish rival in a final surge to extend his overall lead to 4 mins 15 secs. Germany's Florian Lipowitz held firm in third at 9:03, pulling further ahead of fourth-placed Briton Oscar Onley, who lags another 2:01 behind. Ben O'Connor, in 12th, 30:08 behind Pogacar, is the only Australian in the top 25 GC riders. He was also the best-placed Aussie in the stage, finishing 32nd, 6.07 adrift of Paret-Peintre The day belonged to the 29-year-old from the French-Swiss border town of Annemasse, whose lack of belief turned into defiance and then glory. "I honestly didn't believe it," he said. "I thought Pogacar would go for victory today. But when we built a real gap, I told myself, you can't let a win on Mont Ventoux slip through your fingers." After the Tour's second rest day, stage 16 took the riders 171.5 km from Montpellier in the south of France on a long flat course until they reached the brutal climb up Ventoux. Mathieu van der Poel, who had been third in the points classification, withdrew before Tuesday's stage with pneumonia. Seven riders surged ahead from an early breakaway, carving out a healthy 6:30 buffer as they reached the base of the climb. The air grew thinner, the crowds louder and the landscape more lunar. Spanish climber Enric Mas looked like the chosen one, attacking solo with 14.2 km to the summit. Behind him, Paret-Peintre, Healy, and Colombia's Santiago Buitrago gave chase. As they passed Chalet Reynard - where pine forest yields to desolate, white-stone slopes - it became a survival march. Mas and Buitrago fought valiantly but were dropped by the Franco-Irish duo, only to courageously claw their way back before being left behind again with 400 metres to go when Healy launched his sprint. But Paret-Peintre, with ice in his veins and fire in his legs, clung to his wheel. In the final, agonising metres, he surged past, claiming not just a stage win, but also a place in French cycling folklore. He was only the fifth Frenchman to conquer the Ventoux. Buitrago was third. Behind the breakaway Vingegaard had attacked a handful of times, but could not shake off Pogacar. He was further irked after crossing the finish line when, the Dane said, "Some photographer just ran straight in front of me. I don't know what he was doing. I went down. People in the finish area should use their eyes a bit more." Valentin Paret-Peintre has kept his cool in a furnace of pressure and heat, delivering a thunderous victory atop the legendary Mont Ventoux to give France its first win in this year's Tour de France during a breathtaking Stage 16. The Soudal-Quick Step rider edged out Ireland's Ben Healy in a heart-pounding sprint finale on the Giant of Provence, while Tadej Pogacar remained unshakable in yellow, fending off Jonas Vingegaard on the brutal 21.5 km ascent averaging 7.5 per cent. Defending champion Pogacar clawed two more seconds from his Danish rival in a final surge to extend his overall lead to 4 mins 15 secs. Germany's Florian Lipowitz held firm in third at 9:03, pulling further ahead of fourth-placed Briton Oscar Onley, who lags another 2:01 behind. Ben O'Connor, in 12th, 30:08 behind Pogacar, is the only Australian in the top 25 GC riders. He was also the best-placed Aussie in the stage, finishing 32nd, 6.07 adrift of Paret-Peintre The day belonged to the 29-year-old from the French-Swiss border town of Annemasse, whose lack of belief turned into defiance and then glory. "I honestly didn't believe it," he said. "I thought Pogacar would go for victory today. But when we built a real gap, I told myself, you can't let a win on Mont Ventoux slip through your fingers." After the Tour's second rest day, stage 16 took the riders 171.5 km from Montpellier in the south of France on a long flat course until they reached the brutal climb up Ventoux. Mathieu van der Poel, who had been third in the points classification, withdrew before Tuesday's stage with pneumonia. Seven riders surged ahead from an early breakaway, carving out a healthy 6:30 buffer as they reached the base of the climb. The air grew thinner, the crowds louder and the landscape more lunar. Spanish climber Enric Mas looked like the chosen one, attacking solo with 14.2 km to the summit. Behind him, Paret-Peintre, Healy, and Colombia's Santiago Buitrago gave chase. As they passed Chalet Reynard - where pine forest yields to desolate, white-stone slopes - it became a survival march. Mas and Buitrago fought valiantly but were dropped by the Franco-Irish duo, only to courageously claw their way back before being left behind again with 400 metres to go when Healy launched his sprint. But Paret-Peintre, with ice in his veins and fire in his legs, clung to his wheel. In the final, agonising metres, he surged past, claiming not just a stage win, but also a place in French cycling folklore. He was only the fifth Frenchman to conquer the Ventoux. Buitrago was third. Behind the breakaway Vingegaard had attacked a handful of times, but could not shake off Pogacar. He was further irked after crossing the finish line when, the Dane said, "Some photographer just ran straight in front of me. I don't know what he was doing. I went down. People in the finish area should use their eyes a bit more."
