‘I can’t believe what’s happened’: Valentin Paret-Peintre puts to bed 23 years of hurt on the Mont Ventoux

by July 22, 2025

written by July 22, 2025

After a wait of more than 20 years, the Tour de France has finally found a French winner at the top of that most fabled of mountains – Mont Ventoux.

Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal Quick-Step) outsprinted Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) after a relentless fight much of the way up its steep and fabled slopes.

With himself and Ben Healy clearly looking the strongest, Paret-Peintre said he had been very focused on the EF rider as the pair approached the finish – with Paret-Peintre’s team-mate Ilan Van Wilder also in tow – and was confident for the final push. He was, however, aware of the ever-narrowing gap between the front group and the rampaging duo of Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard behind.

The last French rider to claim victory on Ventoux’s windy peak was Richard Virenque, way back in 2002. Before Virenque – who remains controversial for many due to his involvement in the Festina affair – it was Jean-François Bernard, who time trialled to the win in 1987, and after him Bernard Thévenet in 1972. Fifteen years apart though their wins may be, they remain the only back-to-back French Ventoux wins in the men’s Tour de France since it was first used in 1958.

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‘I can’t believe what’s happened’: Valentin Paret-Peintre puts to bed 23 years of hurt on the Mont Ventoux

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