MONT VENTOUX (France) – Every time Valentin Paret-Peintre attacked or responded to an attack by Ben Healy On the Ventoux, the roar exploded. We were right at the top of the Giant of Provence, and below us was the 150-meter bend with a giant screen. That big screen transformed the Ventoux into a stadium and Paret-Peintre into their hero.
A French hero on the mountain symbol of this Tour de France. We listened to our cousins' comments: for them, this was the symbolic stage, the one they perhaps cared about the most. The fact that one of their own won means a lot. It's neither hot nor cold on the Provençal Giant, but there's always a slight breeze that makes things difficult for the attackers and those on the roadside.
Thrilling ending
The last 2.700 meters were practically all against the wind, except for the last 80 meters where we turned. Paret-Peintre performed a real feat today: he managed the effort and did not lose his lead when the riders who were supposedly the strongest remained in front. With the desire to conquer an ambitious goal, he put himself forward: he was the first to attack, the first to open the group of counterattackers and the first to close on the Spaniard.
He was also smart in managing his effort when he began sprinting with Healy. The ending is a story we all saw: a very tense sprint and that half wheel that precedes the Irishman's.
After the finish line we met David Bramati, he greets us, stops, takes his arm out of the flagship. “I can’t speak,” he “screams to us under his breath”… without a voice. He barely manages to whisper something. The gendarmerie clears everyone out. It's the usual chaos, only this time we're at the top of a 1.910-meter mountain and the road is extremely narrow.
Brama might want to talk a lot more than usual, but he just can't. A mix of emotions is closing his throat, and his voice is effectively gone. Only when someone from behind him comes... Ilan Van Wilder and you hear a “Brama” in perfect Italian, the sporting director stops the car again. The two embrace and burst into tears. This time, not even the policeman interferes.
Van Wilder as Pogacar
«We played our cards well – says Van Wilder – Valentin attacked, telling me he felt great. I didn't, so it was easy to choose to shoot for him. I'm not selfish; if a teammate is better than me, I race for him. So I accelerated, and Valentin took off from my wheel. At that point, almost suddenly, I found my rhythm and my legs again. I did a time trial with and against myself!
Van Wilder's climb vaguely resembles that of Pantani in 2000, when he broke away and then returned to the best.
«Towards the end – the Belgian continues – I saw that the guys in front of me weren't far away and around the last kilometer I was in front again. I could see that the situation was difficult for Valentin, both in front and behind. I felt the yellow jersey closing in quickly, so I didn't hesitate. I blocked and pulled for him.
«Fortunately he made a good sprint and I heard from the announcer that he had won. On the radio, "Brama" went completely crazy. He started screaming, I couldn't understand what he was saying. It was incredible, I will never forget this day. I'm happy for the team because of the roller coaster we've experienced in this Tour. It's as if I had won." A final comment Pogacar with Wellens.
Indeed, after the Remco defeat, this was a great response for the Soudal-Quick StepThe Belgian team rode very well, and overall, by getting rid of the leader, everyone had more freedom. Soudal rode perfectly today. In addition to Paret-Peintre and Van Wilder, Pascal Eenkhoorn was also in the breakaway.
"It was also thanks to Pascal," Van Wilder concluded, "that we managed to stay in the attacking group. He worked incredibly hard on the flat, allowing Valentin and I to conserve energy."
On the Ventoux stone
So here's the hero of the day. They literally charge him from the finish line, and it doesn't take long since Valentin is the lightest in the Tour: 52 kilos. They take him behind the stage where there's the typical French mountain milestone that marks the summit. One of those yellow stones with a rounded top, the name of the mountain and its altitude. They drag him there. He asks for and swallows one of those. recovery drinks.
The feeling is that he hasn't achieved this feat yet. The Tour's patron Christian Prudhomme he approaches and compliments him with admiration. After all, it is also the first French victory in this Tour. The fact that she got up here amplifies everything.
«A victory on Ventoux… I don't know what to say – Paret-Peintre begins, bewildered – it's incredible. When foreign enthusiasts are asked what climb they know in France, they say Ventoux. Really, I don't know what to say…
"At first, I didn't really believe in the breakaway. I watched what was happening, but I thought staying up front was pointless. Then, finally, a big group formed, and things got better. I told Ilan and Pascal that I felt really good. When Arensman's squad then left, the team chose to keep Eenkhoorn with us. He shot, and I think that was the right strategy. We didn't waste any energy."
For the team
Those who say cycling isn't a team sport should listen to the athletes' voices and bring them into the race, into the group. So many things are overlooked.
«This victory – Valentin continues – it's a team effort. If it weren't for Eenkhoorn and Van Wilder, I wouldn't have won."
And this is also true in reverse, that is, if the leader had still been there, Remco Evenepoel. Even in that case, everyone for him.
"With Remco in the race," Paret-Peintre concludes, "I don't know if I would have had the freedom to go up front. We were rightly here for him. In any case, today was very different from a day like Carcassonne. There I was able to ride calmly in the small group and thus do two days of recovery (the easy stage plus yesterday's rest day, ed.), whereas if Remco had been there I would have had to stay alongside him. And these, for the purposes of recovery in a Grand Tour, count for a lot."
So France is enjoying itself, at least today. Once the wave has passed Alaphilippe (and waiting for Seixas), cousins don't have much. No more than us… And as said before, the fact that a Frenchman won up here, just when everyone took the victory of pogacar, it's a big gift. A nice shock that renews the French's love for their race.
And in the meantime, we await the front page of tomorrow's Equipe...
