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IRELAND’S BEN HEALY was pipped to first place by France’s Valentin Paret-Peintre in a sensational sprint finish to stage 16 of the Tour de France.
After a gruelling four hours from Montpellier, Paret-Peintre beat Healy up the final hill of the Mont Ventoux stage to become the first French stage winner at this year’s Tour.
Healy, who won the sixth stage and previously wore the overall leader’s yellow jersey, made his final charge with 350 metres remaining and led around the hairpin.
But it was home hero Paret-Peintre who rounded him on the last slope to win the stage by a couple of bike lengths, sending the French fans atop the 1910m altitude mountain ecstatic.
Behind Paret-Peintre and Healy, 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 9 kilometres to climb on Mont Ventoux, whose eery upper reaches resemble a lunar landscape.
He and Pogacar were eclipsed, however, by a frantic fight for the line and the stage win between EF’s Healy and Soudal Quick-Step’s Paret-Peintre who relieved home hopes on a Tour raced entirely on French soil.
Vingegaard and his Visma team did everything they could to hurt the Team UAE leader Pogacar, but the 26-year-old resisted all they threw at him despite being isolated from his teammates early in the climb which is already etched into Tour folklore after epic past battles.
Chris Froome ran part of the way up during a frantic wait for mechanical assistance, while even the great Eddy Merckx once needed oxygen at the summit.
Tom Simpson died here in 1967 after collapsing on a baking climb but asking to be helped back onto the saddle.
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.
Originally published on The 42 whose award-winning team produces original content that you won’t find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women’s sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye. Subscribe here.
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