As it happened: Jonas Vingegaard attacks Tadej Pogačar four times during Tour de France stage 16 tactical battle on Mont Ventoux

Bonjour and welcome to our live coverage of stage 16 of the 2025 Tour de France! It's Mont Ventoux day!

Stage 16 comes after the rest day and ends with the iconic climb in Provence. The riders face 171.5km in the saddle, with a flat, hot ride across southern France and then the feared 15.7km climb to the very summit of the bald, exposed and windswept mountain finish.

This is the profile of stage 16 of the Tour de France

As Alasdair Fotheringham wrote in his excellent stage preview, "the bleakly beautiful moonscapes of Mont Ventoux will be the backdrop and terrain of one of the decisive final stages of the 2025 Tour d France."

"The 'Giant of Provence' is the first, and arguably the most crucial, of the Tour's third week mountain battles."

Click here to read Alasdair's full stage preview.

Tuesday began with news that Mathieu van der Poel has been forced out of the Tour after being diagnosed with pneumonia following hospital examinations.

He joined a short coffee ride during Monday's rest day to show off his commemorative Merci Poupou replica jersey, promoting the charity named after his grandfather, but he was already struggling with illness.

Click here for the full story on Mathieu van der Poel abandon.

We're just 30 minutes to the start of the stage and riders ware signing on in Montpellier.

Ineos Grenadiers have just been on stage and now it's time for Visma. It will be fascinating to see what tactics they opt for today.

Jonas Vingegaard signed on with a smile but spoke with a quiet voice.

"We had a nice rest day, resting and recovering a bit. Now we're ready for today. It's one of the most iconic mountains in the Tour de France history," he said.

The Tour still has three big mountain stages, so we'll keep fighting to the very end."

Lenny Martinez also signs on with his Bahrain Victorious teammates. He is wearing the polka-dot mountains jersey and perhaps the best hope for a French stage win in this year's Tour.

Martinez won his first pro race on Ventoux in 2023.

He may have to join a breakaway today or attack early to win but it will be fascinating to see what he can do on Mont Ventoux.

Montpellier is a stage town for the 33rd time and has hosted 30 Tour de France finishes, most of them won by sprinters.

Recent victories have gone to Robbie McEwen in 2005, Robbie Hunter, who became the first African stage winner there in 2007, Mark Cavendish in 2011 and André Greipel in 2013.

During the race’s last visit in 2016, green jersey Peter Sagan broke away from the peloton with 12km to go and was followed by race leader Chris Froome, who subsequently consolidated his hold on first place in the overall classification.

You can follow all the action in our Tour de France live coverage throughout the day, but for a live video broadcast, there are also plenty of options.

Click here for all the details on how to watch Tour de France stage 16 online, on TV, and wherever you are in the world.

Alasdair Fotheringham and Matilda Price are on the road to Mont Ventoux as we speak and will provide the best on the ground news and analysis from thew stage.

Next up and last up on the sign-on stage is Tadej Pogačar, with UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammates.

He seems happy and healthy after admitting he had been suffering with a slight cold.

"It's a legendary climb, there's no shelter on the tip, so that means the legs will do the talking.," he said of Mont Ventoux.

We've been carefully studying the weather for the stage.

It's between 25 and 28 °C in Montpellier and sunny, with little wind.

The wind is expected to increase as the riders near and then cross the Rhône valley.

Temperatures at the 1910 m altitude finish should be between 18 and 23 °C.

1 minute to the depart!

The riders are lined up for the start of stage 16.

As usual, all the jersey wearers line-up on the front of the start grid. There is time for a final smile and selfie but now it's race time.

C'est parti!

The mayor waves the flag and the riders roll out of Montpellier.

Cruelly, the rides face a neutralised ride of 13.2km to the official start outside of the city.

For now, the riders are tucked in the slipstream of the red race director's car.

When the flag drops, in around 10km of steady riding, the stage will official start and the first attacks will probably come.

The 2025 edition of the Tour de France will mark the 19th time that the peloton will race up Mont Ventoux, the so-called 'Giant of Provence' because it dominates the landscape of he area.

In this special feature, we have all the statistics and stories behind the mythical mountain in Provence which returns for stage 16.

Click here for the full story and information.

The riders ready to attack early are packed tight close to the back of the red car. Watch for them to jump away as soon as the flag drops in 3km.

A series of roundabouts keeps splitting the peloton, only raising the tension.

Allez! Here we go. Christian Prudhomme waves the flag and stage 16 to Mont Ventoux is underway.

2021 stage winner Wout Van Aert is one of the first riders to go on the attack.

Interestingly the sprinters and even Jonathan Milan are in the early attacks.

Milan is trying to get into the break because the intermediate sprint is after 112km of mostly flat racing.

That, plus other riders trying to win the stage and even more trying to plant riders for the climb of Mont Ventoux, means a lot of riders are on the attack.

160km to go

There are more attacks ands more chases as the stage starts faster, super fast.

Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious) is among the many riders trying to break away in these first kilometres.

We can see Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor) there too.

The peloton is a huge swarm of attacking riders as the moves are launched and quickly chased.

We have a first breakaway, as three riders go clear. The peloton seems to be hesitating.

Marc Hirschi and Marco Haller (Tudor) are away, with Xandro Meurisse (Alpecin-Deceuninck) but other riders are chasing them.

155km to go

Haller is trying to drag Hirschi away and the gap is up to 20 seconds.

The chasers are chasing down each other in classic early racing tactics.

Interestingly Visma are also chasing the moves at the head of the peloton.

The speed is super high, with the attackers rolling at close to 60km/h as they try to establish a gap.

There only hope is that the peloton eases but that seems unlikely with so many teams trying to get into the action.

The riders are blasting through the stunning Provence countryside, with fields of vines, small villages and twisting road.

Multiple teams are trying to get across to the trio and so the gap is falling. It is just 10 seconds now.

Wout Van Aert calls his team car as Valentin Madouas also needs service and a new rear wheel from his Groupama car.

It's fascinating to see how Tudor riders are trying to block the chase by sitting on the wheels and following the wheels.

Marc Hirschi and Marco Haller (Tudor) and Xandro Meurisse (Alpecin-Deceuninck) are pushing on but the chasers can see them.

140km to go

A number of other riders are coming across to the trio, using a short climb as a launch pad.

But the peloton is still lined out.

As soon as we note down the counter-attackers, they're caught by the peloton.

It's interesting to see Primoz Roglic is at the back of the peloton.

Movistar, Israel and Astana are all very active as they try to get riders in the break.

It's been a fast and hot start to the stage, so riders are already dropping back to team car to take on bidons.

132km to go

Marc Hirschi and Marco Haller (Tudor) and Xandro Meurisse (Alpecin-Deceuninck) are still clear but seem to be tiring. They've been out front for a fast 30 minutes now and are surely suffering.

The peloton is refusing to let them go.

We can see Tadej Pogačar in the middle of the peloton. He is happy to follow the wheels for now.

For a moment the peloton eased and UAE seemed to control things but then TotalEnergies kicked-off the attacks once more.

The peloton has slowed again, as Alexandre Delettre (Total Energies) tries to go across to the trio.

He is 40 seconds down, as the peloton is timed at 1:10.

51.9km/h.

That's the average speed for the first hour of racing.

We spoke too soon. Other riders are now trying to jump across to the attackers.

There are 30 or so riders in a chase group. This could be the move.

120km to go

The peloton is back together but has reduced the gap to 30 seconds. UAE seem keen to stop or at least deter more attacks.

Good luck with that.

UAE are on the front, with Tadej Pogačar also shoeing his yellow jersey and presence to persuade riders to ease up and stop the attacks.

115km to go

Tadej Pogačar's presence seems to have worked, the peloton has eased and the gap to the trio is up to 1:20. He also stopped for a natural break and that also slowed the attackers, as they respected the unwritten rule of never to attack when the race leader has stopped.

Almost everyone in the peloton seems happy for the drop in speed. The GC riders and climbers can relax, fuel and prepare for Mont Ventoux.

Mauro Schmid and Luke Plapp of Jayco try to go across the gap but UAE closing them down to control the racing.

Here are Marc Hirschi and Marco Haller (Tudor) and Xandro Meurisse (Alpecin-Deceuninck) on the attack.

They raced fast and hard from the start.

The riders pass through the first feed zone, with their staff holding out bidons and musettes.

105km to go

Nils Politt is 'bossing' the counter-attackers. He is chasing them down but also exchanging words.

We wanted to share this great shot from the start in Montpellier. This is the Tour de France and we expected huge crowds on Mont Ventoux.

We also like this shot of Tadej Pogačar, he has left his rivals seeing double so far in this Tour.

Back to the racing and despite Politt's pressure, the peloton is closing the gap on the trio.

And now Van Aert is on the front. We are surely going to see a change in the race very soon.

100km to go

The peloton can see and almost touch Marc Hirschi and Marco Haller (Tudor) and Xandro Meurisse (Alpecin-Deceuninck).

Marc Hirschi and Marco Haller (Tudor) and Xandro Meurisse (Alpecin-Deceuninck) are still up front but they have been joined by a quality group of riders.

The counter-attacks are still flowing and still chasing the race. There will be some tired legs when the riders get even to the bottom of Mont Ventoux.

It's no surprise to see Lenny Martinez at the back of the peloton after all the intense, high-seed racing.

Ben Healy, Enric Mas, Michael Woods, Ilan Van Wilder, Ewen Costiou, Pavel Sivakov and Marc Soler are in the attack but their leas is only 25 seconds.

The race is in a slightly hillier sector and that is helping the riders get away.

90km to go

The peloton eases again and so the attackers have a lead of 1:00. Will it stick? Is this the move?

Ben Healy of EF has sneaked into the attack and that has made other riders and teams unhappy.

There are 34 riders in the attack, including Mas, Arensman and Healy.

The peloton has eased once again, with Politt riding tempo on the front. Visma are lined out behind him, with Vingegaard visible in the line.

90km to go

There are now 36 riders in the move, after some late, desperate attackers got across.

This is the list:

UAE Team Emirates-XRG: Sivakov, Soler

Visma-Lease a Bike: Benoot, Campenaerts

Soudal Quick-Step: Eenkhoorn, V. Paret-Peintre, Van Wilder

EF Education-EasyPost: Healy

Bahrain Victorious: Buitrago, Wright

Ineos Grenadiers: Arensman

Intermarché-Wanty: Barré

Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe: Van Dijke

Lidl-Trek: SkujinsGroupama-FDJ: Russo

Alpecin-Deceuninck: Meurisse

Tudor: Alaphilippe, Haller, Hirschi, Trentin

Arkéa-B&B Hotels: Costiou, Garcia Pierna

Movistar: Mas, Barta, Muhlberger

Cofidis: Aranburu

XDS Astana: Champoussin, Velasco

Total Energies: Burgaudeau

Picnic PostNL: Bittner

Israel Premier Tech: Woods, Neilands

Lotto: Drizners, Van Moer

Uno-X Mobility: Abrahamsen, Leknessund

Jonas Rickaert and Emiel Verstrynge (Alpecin-Deceuninck) are trying to cross to the big attack but are at 30 seconds.

The 36 ahead are not waiting for them, with Politt and Red Bull on the front of the peloton behind them.

The average speed for the stag so far is a painful 49.8 km/h.

The intermediate sprint is coming up in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, the area famous for Rhône red wines.

Jonathan Milan and Biniam Girmay tried to jump across to the attack but soon realised they had missed the move andf so eased up.

Their chance will come on stage 17 to Valence and so it is wise to rest up for Wednesday.

Julian Alaphilippe was not happy with many riders in the attack not working nd so has sparked an attack with his Tudor teammate Matteo Trentin.

Alaphilippe, Trentin, Mas, Velasco, Eenkhoorn, Wright, Arensman and Abrahamsen have jumped away in an interesting move.

Is this a sign that Julian Alaphilippe wants to try to win the stage?

60km to go

The riders are near the Rhône Valley now and know there is a risk of cross winds.

Jonas Abrahamsen wins the intermediate sprint, with only Velasco trying to beat him.

Eenkhoorn has dropped back and so Wright, Arensman, Alaphilippe, Trentin, Mas, Velasco and Abrahamsen are up the road, with a 30-second gap on the chasers from the attack, that includes Ben Healy.

The peloton is at 5:00. It could be a sign that Tadej Pogačar is ready to let the break fight for the stage victory.

Jonas Rickaert and Emiel Verstrynge (Alpecin-Deceuninck) have joined the attackers, only to discover there are seven riders up the road. That's the hard life of the Tour de France breakaways.

50km to go

There are 50km to go nd so 35km to ride before the start of the climb fo Mont Ventoux.

40km to go

The Pogačar peloton is at 6:00 now. Can he really close the that gap to Alaphilippe and Mas on Mont Ventoux?

Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious) flatted and so dropped back from the seven-rider attack to help his teammate and great climber Santiago Buitrago.

However the Healy, Buitrago group is losing ground and is 1:40 down.

This could be a historic chance for Enric Mas or Julian Alaphilippe.

25km to go

Nils Politt is doing all the work on the front of the peloton for UAE but the gap is growing and is now 6:40.

Matilda Price is at the summit of Mont Ventoux for Cyclingnews to capture all the rider reaction and atmosphere of the stage.

The publicity caravan has just passed and the crowds are growing.

This is the final corner that leads to the finish line at the very summit of Mont Ventoux.

Jackie Tyson is a Cyclingnews North American Production editor and describes Mont Ventoux as the 'Beauty and beast' after riding to the summit a few years ago.

Click here to read her special story and advice for a day on Mont Ventoux.

20km to go

The seven attackers are just 20km from the finish now but 15.7km are the climb to the Mont Ventoux summit.

The stage is about to change dramatically.

As the lower slopes of Ventoux start to bite, Trentin is dropped. Soon after LouLou Alahpillippe accelerates.

He is soon caught but the race for the stage victory is on.

And then there were four: only Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor), Simone Velasco (Astana-XDS), Enric Mas (Movistar) and Thyman Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers) are left up front.

15.7km to go

The climb of Mont Ventoux officially begins now.

The fast pace is hurting everyone. Matteo Jorgenson is suffering in the peloton.

This is the profile of Mont Ventoux. It shows the hard, constant gradient but does not show the real difficulty of the climb.

Now there are three: only Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor), Thyman Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers), Enric Mas (Movistar) are up front, cheered along by the huge crowds.

Suddenly there was just one: Enric Mas (Movistar) surges clear.

Arensman and Alaphilippe are trying to stay close to Mas but his gap is at 20 seconds.

The peloton is at 5:40, with Visma leading with Kuss and Simon Yates.

Matteo Jorgenson was reportedly dropped before the start of the climb. Pogačar has Wellens with him and just one other UAE rider.

It seems difficult for the Pogačar GC group to catch Mas but we can still expect attacks.

Will Vingeggard hurt Pogačar or will the yellow jersey again impose his authority on the race and is big rivald?

Kuss is hurting everyone in the GC group. Felix Gall (Decathlon) has been dropped, so has Ben O'Connor (Jayco).

10km to go

The riders have done a third of Mont Ventoux but still face 10km, with the final kilometres exposed in the wind and sun.

Enric Mas pushes on and extends his to 45 seconds on Arensman and Alaphilippe.

The Healy group is at 1:20, with the Pogačar GC group of just ten riders at 5:10.

In the absence of Jorgenson, Kuss is doing a superb job for Vingegaard.

Pogačar only has Adam Yates with him.

Up front, Mas powers on, as Healy, Paret-Peintre and Buitrago close the gap to Alaphilippe and Arensman.

Mas will have to go all out, all the way to the summit finish to win the stage.

Attack by Carlos Rodriguez from the GC group. This is interesting as he fights to climb up the GC from ninth.

7km to go

Healy is leading the chase of Mas and thew gap is falling.

Behind the GC group is at 5:00.

Boom! Vingegaard attacks!

Tadej Pogačar is able to go with him but for a moment seeme to be suffering.

Suddenly the gap to mas is only 4:00 as Tiesj Benoot falsl back from the break to pace Vingegaard and Pogačar.

Behind them other riders are trying to linit their losses or even close the gap.

All of this when the riders are still in the trees. They still have to climb pass Chalet Reynard.

Attack number 2 from Vingegaard!

Tadej Pogačar responds and sits on his wheel.

Their speed and attacks has reduced the gap to Mas to just 3:20.

5km to go

With 5km to go, Enric Mas leads the Healy group by just 25 seconds. Did he go too early?

Behind Victor Campenaerts is here to pace Vingegaard and Pogačar for a moment. Visma are rolling out some excellent tactics for Vingegaard. Can he finish it off and distance Tadej Pogačar?

Ben Healy and Valentin Paret-Peintre join Enric Mas but race radio shouts out that Vingagaard and Tadej Pogačar are only 2:40 behind.

They're closing in fast.

Healy attacks!

Valentin Paret-Peintre goes with him but they can't hold back and play games.

Attack number 3 by Vingegaard!

Tadej Pogačar is able to get on his wheel and they blast up the lower exposed slopes of Ventoux.

The cross winds on the exposed sectors of Ventoux will play a huge role in deciding the stage winner and the GC battle.

2km to go

Valentin Paret-Peintre attacks Ben Healy but the EF rider responds.

Watch out guys, Vingeggard and Tadej Pogačar are only 1:50 behind.

Valentin Paret-Peintre and Ben Healy have slowed and so Mas and Buitrago join them.

Vingegaard and Pogačar are only 1:45 behind.

Attack by Tadej Pogačar!

Vingegaard joins him and attacks him again! That's Vingagaard's 4th attack.

Suddenly they are only 40 seconds behind Healy, Valentin Paret-Peintre and Buitrago!

Last Kilometre

This stage could go any way!

The gap to Vingegaard and Pogacar is only 35 seconds.

But the race for the stage win explodes! Healy attacks first.

Sprint to the summit!

Valentin Paret-Peintre wins, edging clear of Healy in the final metres!

Pogacar attacks Vingegaard in the final metres but only opens a small gap as they hit the line, 45 seconds after Valentin Paret-Peintre.

Valentin Paret-Peintre wins for Soudal-QuickStep but also gives France their first stage win of the 2025 Tour.

Primoz Roglic escorts Lipowicz to the finish to help him strengthen his third place on GC.

That's a huge win by Valentin Paret-Peintre and rightly celebrates with teammate Ilan Van Wilder, who came back to help him in the final kilometre.

Ben Healy lead out the sprint to the finish but Valentin Paret-Peintre was able to follow him and then kick past him before the line.

The provisional stage results shows that Pogacar gained two seconds on Vingegaad on the surge to the finish on Ventoux.

Vingagaard says after the stage that a photographer ran in front of him after the finish and caused him to crash. He was not happy.

This is the first image of Valentin Paret-Peintre realising he had won on Mont Ventoux.

This image is emblematic of the Tadej Pogačar- Jonas Vingegaard battle on the stage and at this year's Tour.

Wow, as the dust settles on the stage, it's difficult take it all in.

We saw a tense and tactical battle for the stage victory, a first French stage winner, and then Vingegaard attacking Pogačar four times!

The UAE rider leads by over four minutes but Vingegaard seems determined to fight all the way to Paris.

Tadej Pogačar pulled on a new yellow jersey on the podium and then also took the polka-dot mountains jersey.

Jonas Vingegaard stopped to speak post stage and revealed he had crashed. beyond the finish.

"Some photographer were just ran straight out of in front of me, straight after the finish line. I don't know what he was doing," he said.

"I went down. I think people in the finish area, they should use their eyes a bit more."

Vingegaard confirmed that he is feeling stronger and promised to keep taking the race to Tadej Pogačar.

"I was feeling very good today, so happy with the feeling today, and happy with the attacks I tried to do," he said.

"I didn't gain any time today but I take a lot of motivation today."

"We wanted to have somebody in the break, and the team did really amazing today. Everybody worked with everything they had. It was really a commitment from everyone, and everyone was doing super great. So thank you to all my teammates."

"He (Pogačar) followed me every time I attacked, and I followed him when he attacked. So I don't know if I could see any any weaknesses today. But at least it gives me some motivation how good I felt today.

"And as I said earlier, I will keep trying."

These are the top 10 from stage 16 of the Tour de France.

Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal-Quick Step) spoke to French television after his victory.

"It's extraordinary, but that wasn't the plan!" he said.

"I really thought that Pogacar was going to want to win and that he was going to lock down the race. I said to myself that if there was a big group, why not be in it but I wasn't really focused on the start, telling myself that today, it was for the breakaway."

Paret-Peintre realised he had a chance of victory when he saw who was with him in the breakaway.

"When we found ourselves in front with Sivakov and another guy from UAE, I told myself that they had put two guys in front and that they were going to want to play with the breakaway, so we were going to take the field and try to play for the victory," he said.

"I felt really good, I had two teammates and I told them that in this group, I really had my chances to win."

Paret-Peintre was very emotional.

"I can't believe it! A victory on the Tour is extraordinary but on Mont Ventoux, it's something else again.

"That's what I was saying to myself in the final. Ben Healy was really strong with his attacks, but I was telling myself that it was a victory on Ventoux.

"You can't give up, even in the last 100 meters to overtake him, I really struggled but I said to myself 'You have to do it, you can't give up!'"

Tadej Pogačar admitted that he did suffer at some points during the stage, probably when Vingegaard attacked him on the Ventoux.

Today Jonas really tried. They worked very well as a team together and paced the climb super well. Luckily I didn't have the same legs as 2021, so it was a good performance from my side and I kept the yellow jersey," Pogačar said, refering to the 2012 Tour when Vingegaard hurt him.

"There were of course some points where I was suffering but today was one climb, one effort and it was more or less full effort from the bottom to the finish line. I think the next few days will be more and more tiring for the body."

Pogačar seems ready for more attacks from Vingegaard in the Alps

"We'll race until Paris and we'll see who will be the winner. Today was a proper hard day after the rest day for me. I've got good motivation for the next few days," he said.

It was an high-speed, tactical battle on the road to Mont Ventoux and then to the summit finish. These are the stage highlights.

To understand exactly what happened during stage 16 to Mont Ventoux, read James Moultrie's full stage report. It has the story on how the break formed at high speed, how they stayed away and how Vingegaard attacked Pogačar four times on the slopes of Ventoux.

Click here for the full report.

We'll have more news, reaction and analysis from Alasdair Fotheringham and Matilda Price in France and from our global team in the hours ahead.

Thanks for following our live coverage of stage 16. We'll be back on Wednesday for stage 17 from Bollène to Valence.

It includes some early climbs that will inspire the attackers but should suit the sprinters who survive.