Tour de France – Bergfloh defeats giant: France cheered on Mont Ventoux

It took a while, but now France was also able to laugh at this Tour de France. Valentin Paret-Peintre defeated the mythical Mont Ventoux-the first. The Bergfloh, with 52 kilos with a height of 1.76 meters the lightest professional on this tour, prevailed against the Irish Ben Healy in a gripping outlet duel. “I was just more hungry than he was,” said the cyclist, who grew up in Eastern France Annemasse, with a view to his competitor, who had already won the 6th stage and carried the yellow jersey for two days.

Both attacked several times on the long climb, with a force that was able to record it with the Danes Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogačar from Slovenia, which came behind the two more closer and closer Favorite duo. Paret-Peinre even proved gambler qualities. “Yes, I knew that the two were getting closer, but I didn’t particularly care about it. I thought we were really playing it here. And when the favorites come, it was just bad luck, «he said.

Tom on tour

Photo: private

Tom Mustroph, Cycling author and doping expert has accompanied this sport for “ND” for more than 20 years.

The drought guy from Savoy thus redeemed the Grande Nation. So far there had been no victory of a local driver on this tour. 380 days since a Frenchman’s last stage victory, Tour Orient Asso counted the sad countdown. It took 23 years for a Frenchman to triumph on Mont Ventoux again. In 2002 Richard Virenque succeeded in this-so to speak the predecessor of the mountain, but one with a thick doping file. This detail was preferred to embezzle on Tuesday in the lavish jubilation. The fans celebrated the stage-whether they were reviewed in the camp of French television at the foot of the Mont Ventoux, or as a loud spectator that besieged the TV camp.

And there was even more to cheer: the 24-year-old Paret-Peintres won almost exactly 60 years after a Frenchman’s first coup on the “giant of Provence”. In 1965 the nation’s darling won here, Raymond Poulidor. So celebrations in mass. This also wiped out the memory of the rather involuntary amusement, which another darling of the French had taken care of on the stage before the rest day: Julian Alaphilippe tore his arms up after the target sprint in Carcassonne. However, he escaped that two other drivers had already passed the white finish line with the Belgians Tim Wellens and Victor Campenaerts and the stage victory was already gone.

To save the two -time world champion Alaphilippe, however, you also have to mention that he had previously fallen, had been pounding his shoulder and immediately involved again and the team radio has not worked since then. At the Mont Ventoux, however, he could really count. As a member of the outlier group around Landsmann Paret-Peinre, he crossed the finish line as a eighth-and certainly noticed that Pogačar and Vingegaard had still flown past him.