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“No,” Geraint Thomas laughed. He will not be riding back up Mont Ventoux. He’s now ridden up the Giant of Provence five times in the Tour de France, and five times is enough for a lifetime. “I’ll be down in the vineyards drinking some wine looking up at it,” the Welshman continued. “I don’t see the point in riding up it again, not when you don’t have that atmosphere.”
The headlines of the Tour’s 19th visit to the fabled Bald Mountain are everywhere: Valentin Paret-Peintre won the 16th stage, France’s first victory in this Tour, while just behind Jonas Vingegaard repeatedly and valiantly tried to shake Tadej Pogačar from his wheel, but the yellow jersey predictably out-sprinted him at the top.