Ben Healy pipped to the line by Valentin Paret-Peintre after heroic breakaway on Mont Ventoux in Tour de France
Tadej Pogacar dealt with every attack from rival Jonas Vingegaard to move 4min 15secs clear in yellow but stage 16 went to the breakaway on
2
Ben Healy was agonisingly denied by a bike length as Valentin Paret-Peintre won his first home stage win of this year's Tour de France
2
Ben Healy of Ireland and Team EF Education was denied by a bike length
But Frenchman Paret-Peintre would not be denied as he came around his Irish rival at the summit of the Giant of Provence.
Healy had done the bulk of the work to reel in an attack from Enric Mas and was then the first to launch his move out of a group of four inside the last few hundred metres.
But the effort told as Paret-Peintre, who had been able to get help from team-mate Ilan Van Wilder in the finale, had the kick to get up the final ramp first.
read more on sport
He said: 'How I won that stage is hard to say, I was thinking, 'Maybe I can win today, maybe I'm the best climber in this breakaway'.
'I tried so many times to drop Healy but he was very strong and at the end, I was just waiting for the sprint and then I won.'
Healy and Paret-Peintre were the final two survivors of a 35-strong breakaway on the 171.5km stage from Montpellier to Ventoux, the first finish here since the chaos of 2016 when Chris Froome was left running up the mountain after breaking his bike.
There was not quite that level of drama this time but it was not for lack of trying on the part of Vingegaard.
Most read in Cycling
The Dane launched his first attack after a big pull from Sepp Kuss, catching Tiesj Benoot before trying again, then taking a turn from Victor Campenaerts before a third dig.
The tactics were excellent but Pogacar was equal to them all and then put in his own attack going into the final hairpin.
Tour de France star Tobias Johannessen collapses at finish line and rushed to hospital in ambulance
To add to Vingegaard's disappointment, he collided with a photographer after the finish.
He added. 'People in the finish area should use their eyes a bit more.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Daily Mirror
3 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
‘Irish Harry Kane' - Roma fans hail Ferguson as Ireland striker scores again
He's barely at the club a few days, but already fans of AS Roma are gushing over Evan Ferguson. The Ireland striker could hardly have asked for a better start when he scored four goals and produced one assist in a 9-0 thumping of Serie D side UniPomezia, which was played behind closed doors at the club's training ground. But Saturday's pre-season friendly away to Kaiserslautern, at a full Fritz-Walter Stadion, was always going to provide a much tougher test for the on-loan star. However, it didn't take Ferguson long to deliver. His 16th minute goal was enough to earn the Serie A side the win. And his overall performance, where he led a high press that new boss Gian Piero Gasperini brought with him from his former club Atalanta, brought him much love from the club's fantatical support base. Many took to social media to give their verdicts on the Irishman's display. Here are some of the highlights: 'Athletically not at their sharpest, as is expected at this stage of preparation, but man, I love the style of play. That man-to-man pressure, the compactness, etc ... Few risks conceded, interesting passing patterns. Ferguson is just a joy to watch!' 'Keep it up, Rome! Great job Ferguson' 'Our Irish Harry Kane' One fan even referenced the loan deal from Brighton, which has a €40million option to buy at the end of the season, writing: 'Sooooooooooooooo can we just buy him outright now?!' Another kept it simple, just posting, 'Evan', followed by 28 love heart emojis in Roma colours. Many Roma fans were producing Irish flag emojis - and after years of heartache, one wrote: 'Another goal from Ferguson. Is it already okay to get our hopes up?' Ferguson's arrival could spell bad news for Roma's 28-year-old Ukraine striker Artem Dovbyk. 'At 20 years old, (Ferguson) already shows character and desire. Honestly, it's very promising. The only doubt I have is that after a year of Dovbyk, seeing a striker who moves into spaces, attacks, and holds up the ball feels incredible. It's still too early to get carried away. But he looks promising.' Another posted: 'This year will be tough for Dovbyk. This guy (Ferguson) is really strong.' One asked: 'When is he being presented with the golden boot?' Other posts included: 'Mark my words, this season Evan Ferguson will make the difference in Italian League! Rt if you agree!' 'Evan Ferguson is in some the best hands for production and maximising attacking talent playing under Gasperini' 'Evan Ferguson bout to win serie a golden boot calling it now' 'I'm buying all the available Evan Ferguson stocks' 'I love Evan Ferguson in this team so much' Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email .
Irish Independent
4 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Evan Ferguson scores fifth goal in two games for Roma to set up friendly win over Kaiserslautern
The Irish striker hit the ground running with his new club by scoring four times in a training ground success over Serie D opposition earlier this week. There was a dramatic contrast on Saturday afternoon as the 20-year-old was in a packed stadium, leading the line for Gian Piero Gasperini's side against a side that is currently in the German second tier. He made the most of the opportunity by capitalising on a first half goalkeeping error by Julian Krahl to win possession and slot the ball into the empty net. Ferguson was replaced after an hour. His next game will be against Cannes on Thursday.
Irish Examiner
4 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Tour de France: Tadej Pogacar poised to seal fourth title amid fears of ‘ice rink' finale
Tadej Pogacar exited the final mountain climbs with his lead over Jonas Vingegaard intact and now stands on the threshold of achieving a fourth Tour de France triumph in six seasons. Ireland's Ben Healy remains ninth overall. With the threat of neutralisation due to rain now hanging over the final stage in Paris on Sunday, routed over the cobbled climbs of the Butte Montmartre, the weary Pogacar may be almost home and dry. He leads his long-standing rival Vingegaard by almost four and a half minutes and barring any last day mishaps, the Slovenian's fourth yellow jersey seems assured. Tour organisers ASO confirmed in Pontarlier that any decision on neutralising the final stage would not be taken until Sunday afternoon and possibly during the stage itself. 'Anything can happen,' Pogacar said of the final day's combination of climbing and sprinting, 'but I'm not promising I'll go for it. We'll try to enjoy the yellow jersey in Paris.' Alpecin-Deceuninck's Australian Kaden Groves won the penultimate stage, from Nantua to Pontarlier, after breaking clear of a lead group in the final 16km. 'There's so much pressure in the Tour. All I ever get asked is: 'Am I good enough to win in the Tour?' Well, now I've shown them,' Groves, a stage winner in the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a Espana, said. The decisive action came on the descent of the final climb, the Côte de Longeville, 24km from Pontarlier. In the aftermath of a crash on a tight left-hand bend, Groves was among a group of three who moved clear. The 26-year-old then attacked alone in the final kilometres to win by almost a minute. After well over three thousand kilometres of racing, an ingrained fatigue is now stalking the peloton with numerous riders sharing Pogacar's obvious weariness, without enjoying the rewards of his success. Many admit to being wrung out by a Tour with a draining first 10 days and too many long transfers. 'I feel like a nap as soon as getting on the bus,' the Lidl-Trek rider Toms Skujins said during the Alpine stages. Pogacar said: 'If you look at the power files throughout the whole Tour, it's been really amazing and tough. Even though it was one of the hardest I ever did, I enjoyed it.' Much has also been made of the Tour's decision to augment Sunday's traditional processional laps of the Champs-Élysées with three laps racing over the cobbled climbs in Montmartre. 'I don't think it's a good idea,' Vingegaard said. 'Montmartre seemed very beautiful at the Paris Olympics, with a great atmosphere.' 'But when the riders arrived there, there were 50 in the peloton. Now there will be 150 of us fighting for position on a very narrow climb. It's going to add more stress than we'd like.' However, the threat of rain overshadows the plan and even the Tour's director of racing, Thierry Gouvenou, acknowledged that the Parisian cobbles can be treacherous when wet. 'We know with the slightest drop of rain, Paris is a real ice rink,' he said before the Tour. 'We saw it in the Olympic Games time trial. It can turn into a catastrophe.' If it does rain, then the Tour is likely to 'freeze' the overall standings, to ensure that the general classification is not affected by a last-day crash. 'The stage will be run, but the time will be frozen,' Gouvenou said. Others have been dismayed by a Tour route that failed to crack the seemingly unflagging Pogacar, but instead shattered the reserves of many in the peloton. 'The transfers have been longer and more poorly organised than any I have ever witnessed in some 20 Tours,' Jonathan Vaughters, manager of the EF Education EasyPost team said. 'Instead of trying to progress into a modern professional sport, ASO is looking for ways to regress the sport backwards in time. Ultimately, taking care of the athletes leads to better recovery, better health, and better racing.' Guardian
