Mont Ventoux Turns Stage 16 into a Legendary Battleground
As we reach the final week of the 2025 Tour de France, all eyes are locked on one place — Mont Ventoux. It’s more than just a climb; it’s a myth, a symbol of cycling’s brutal poetry, and today, it’s the crucible in which champions will be forged or broken. Stage 16, stretching 171.5 km from Montpellier to the summit of this fearsome mountain, is a test not just of legs but of willpower, resilience, and sheer madness.
Tadej Pogačar enters this stage with a lead of over four minutes. It sounds comfortable — until you remember where he’s going. The Giant of Provence doesn’t play favorites. It humbles legends and elevates underdogs. The slope itself isn’t the steepest, with an average gradient of 7.43%, but its exposed summit, lunar-like terrain, and unpredictable weather create a psychological torment few riders forget.
Already, the day is a battlefield. Jonas Vingegaard has launched repeated attacks, trying to shake Pogačar, who seems unfazed — yet unsupported. He’s riding a lighter bike today, a tactical gamble he hopes will pay off as he eyes a fifth stage win and a historic victory atop one of cycling's most sacred grounds.
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Meanwhile, chaos unfolds behind them. Enric Mas leads with a determined push, followed closely by Ben Healy and Valentin Paret-Peintre, trading places and testing each other's resolve. Crashes, mechanical near-misses, and relentless gradients have turned this stage into a war of attrition. The ghost of Tom Simpson still haunts this mountain — the British cyclist who tragically died near the summit in 1967 — reminding us how far riders are willing to go for glory.
Mont Ventoux has never been a regular fixture in the Tour. Its rarity makes it mythical. Every time it returns, it demands sacrifice. Legends like Poulidor, Merckx, Pantani, and Froome have all danced with this demon. Froome even ran up part of it after a crash in 2016 — yes, ran . That’s how unpredictable and unforgiving this climb is.
Today, the mountain claims another chapter in its grim, glorious story. Vingegaard and Pogačar — the two modern titans — are set to etch their duel into the bedrock of Tour de France mythology. The last 20 kilometers will be savage. There’s nowhere to hide, no mercy from the wind, the heat, or the incline. Only suffering and, for one rider, redemption or supremacy.
As the peloton climbs higher into the misty silence of Mont Ventoux, the rest of us can only watch in awe. Because on this mountain, victory isn’t just about time gaps. It’s about surviving the impossible — and maybe, just maybe, defeating it.
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