When the time comes to write the history of Tour de France 2025, Ben Healy will always be remembered as one of its most aggressive protagonists who went out and grabbed career-making success for himself.
The EF Education-EasyPost rider did a monster ride on Mont Ventoux today and was just denied a second stage win atop the feared mountain. However, he took 2nd place and gained time in the general classification on the Giant of Provence, moving up one place to 9th overall.
Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal-QuickStep) just got the better of Ireland's Healy on the top of the mountain after Healy, the yellow jersey for two days earlier in this race, had put in the performance of the day.
Healy led out the final sprint and it looked like he would take the win, but his French rival just had a little bit more punch and pipped him on the line.
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Long before the final climb began, a small group rode away from the large breakaway move that Healy was in today on stage 16, some 171.5km from Montpellier to Mont Ventoux. And though the leaders hit the climb 1:30 up on the Healy group, the Irishman simply mowed down all of those ahead.
Enric Mas (Movistar Team) was the last man standing from the lead group and at one point he had 1:30 on the Healy-led group on Mont Ventoux, with the Spanish veteran initially looking like he might solo up the climb to win. But Healy simply kept hammering away on the front and caught Mas with 3.8km to go.
At that point, only Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal-QuickStep) was with Healy as the yellow jersey was three minutes back. Indeed, the yellow jersey group was exploding as Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike) attacked race leader Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) again and again.
With 3.5km to, Healy and Paret-Peintre dropped Mas, with Vingegaard and Pogačar clear of everyone else behind them and having closed the gap down inside two minutes.
However, with 2km to go, that gap between Healy and Paret-Peintre back to Vingegaard and Pogačar was still 1:50 and it was clear the two leaders would survive to fight for the stage win. However, as they attacked each other and then eased off, it allowed Mas to try and fight back.
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With 1.8km to go, Mas got back to them and he had Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain - Victorious) with him, after he had earlier been dropped by the Healy group as it hunted down Mas.
With 1km to go, it was Healy, Buitrago and Paret-Peintre leading, with Vingegaard and Pogačar just 40 seconds back now, having attacked each other and matched each other.
However, while the leaders hung on, Healy went a little too early in the final sprint and Paret-Peintre took the win, with Healy having to be content with 2nd place. Buitrago was 3rd at four seconds. Ilan Van Wilder (Soudal Quick-Step) was 4th, at 14 seconds, having been in the breakaway and briefly got back to the leaders in the final 2km.
And then came Pogačar, placing 5th at 43 seconds, outsprinting Vingegaard and putting two more seconds into him. Vingegaard and his Visma Lease a Bike team did everything they could to crack Pogačar today.
They put Victor Campenaerts and Tiesj Benoot in the large breakaway, of almost 30 riders, today. And on Ventoux, when Vingegaard caught Benoot and then Campenaerts, both went to the front and drilled it in a bid to put Pogačar under pressure.
But the Slovenian simply followed for most of the climb - though attacked Vingegaard a couple of times - and then won the sprint at the finish to eke out another couple of seconds on Vingegaard.
More to come.
? Le jour de gloire de ?? @Valent1_Paret ! Revivez le dernier kilomètre et cette incroyable bataille avec Ben Healy !
? ?? @Valent1_Paret's day of glory! Relive the last kilometer and that incredible battle with Ben Healy!#TDF2025 pic.twitter.com/nPP8byXK6Z— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 22, 2025
