'Without Remco going for the overall, you feel more free' – Valentin Paret-Peintre enjoys extra liberty to aim high in the mountains of the Tour de France

On Monday's rest day of the Tour de France, French climbing specialist Valentin Paret-Peintre and his Soudal-QuickStep teammates incorporated the final part of stage 10 into their training ride.

Their hotel happened to be so close to the finish line, the 25-year-old explained to Cyclingnews, it simply made sense to do that.

"We'll just do a recon of the last 15km and make the most of that," Paret-Peintre said.

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"It wasn't really my objective to see the stage, but as we're right here, we might as well make the most of it. And if I'm in the break, that knowledge might change things."

Tour de France hotel accommodation for teams is allotted at random, and for Paret-Peintre, Ilan van Wilder and the rest, making the most of that lucky coincidence about being so close to the decisive finale of the crunch stage through the Massif Centre was always going to be a last-minute decision.

But other plans the Soudal-QuickStep riders have for the Tour this year have been much longer in the making, and in Paret-Peintre's case, the whole of stage 10 with its seven classified climbs could be decisive in how he tackles the rest of the Tour, too.

"My objective is still the polka–dot jersey," Paret-Peintre told Cyclingnews on Monday's rest day.

"Tomorrow [stage 10] I'll have the chance to see if I can really fight for it or not. There are more than 30 points on offer, and if I don't get any of them, then it'll be really difficult.

"Tomorrow is a key stage; that and Saturday [through the Jura] are the big days that I absolutely have to be in the break. If I don't get in it and take points, then it's certain that it'll be over for me."

The winner on one of France's most emblematic climbs, if not the most emblematic, last July on Mont Ventoux, Paret-Peintre explains that his success on the 'Bald Mountain' was so important, it's encouraged him to switch targets a little in 2026 and aim for the polka-dot jersey.

"Obviously another Tour stage remains a goal, but the mountains jersey is a priority because after winning on the Ventoux, if I win a stage again somewhere else, it'll be 'less good' in comparison than there. So that's why the mountains jersey is important to me this year as a goal. I'd get a different kind of recognition," Paret-Peintre explains.

Currently running fifth with 12 points behind the all-conquering Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), who has 28, Paret-Peintre is all too aware that his plans hinge greatly on the Tour leader and his all-powerful team's decisions regarding a stage.

For example, on the day through the Pyrenees, while he could grab a lot of points on the first first-category Aspin, after that UAE's plans for Pogačar left everybody else clutching at straws. But that hasn't just happened on stage 6, either.

"We really don't know what they have in mind each day," Paret-Peintre said. "Yesterday [stage 9] when they chased after the break, it was a surprise.

"They've got the strongest rider and a really strong team. They can basically choose which stage they want to win, and which ones to leave the rest. So the objective is to be in good form and go in the moves, and see whether that brings up a win."

As an out-and-out climber, Paret-Peintre says the shorter, punchier ascents of the Massif Central are not ideal for him, but the stage has other factors in his favour.

"They are not necessarily the best climbs for me; it's not the Alps or the Pyrenees and the big cols which I really like. But they are still mountains, and above all it's a stage with a lot of elevation gain" – nearly 4,000 metres in total – "and very little flat. So even if the percentages are often 4%, 5%, 6%, not anything more, that makes it a good stage for me."

"So far it's been going really well for the team with two victories in the sprints out of three possible. And on a personal level, it's not been great, but it's been nothing, either.

"There haven't been any huge opportunities for me; the best was the day with the Tourmalet, but that stage was really controlled by UAE. So I've saved my legs and the second week will be really important, above all stage 10 and the next weekend. I'm hoping to do well."

It's not just the team's present that is looking good with those two wins courtesy of Tim Merlier.

The future is also looking promising, with Paret-Peintre talking just a few minutes after it had been announced that Soudal-QuickStep will gain a new co-title sponsor for next year: Safety Jogger. But given this is Soudal-QuickStep's first full Tour de France without Remco Evenepoel since 2023, that's hard to ignore either.

"There's a lot less pressure than the previous year," Paret-Peintre – whose Mont Ventoux win last year, coming just days after Evenepoel's abandon due to illness and injury, was seen as proof there was 'life after Remco' for Soudal – confirms.

"I actually had the feeling that the Tour's first week was a lot easier than last year. When I talk with other riders from other teams, they haven't got that same sensation.

"But the fact that we don't have that pressure with Remco for the overall, that makes you feel freer in the head. In the final kilometres," – when a team with overall ambitions would be under the most pressure to look after their GC leader – "it changes a lot. Up until the last stage of the first week, I wasn't so tired, although that last day, I definitely felt fatigue."

But apart from his tough stage before the rest day – Paret-Peintre says he's very optimistic, and even if he is looking for the polka dot jersey, after victory on the Ventoux in 2025, he also has his eyes on the two stages up another world-famous climb at the end of the third week, as well.

"I'm ready for the second half of the Tour. We've done the longest part, even if it's not the hardest," he explains.

"It's always a dream to win a stage. With my current form, and what I felt on the Tourmalet, I think it's possible. And a palmares with a victory on the Ventoux and one on the Alpe d'Huez - that would be something very special."

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