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
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.'
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