Unfortunately for Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet, the days of the Tour de France look a bit alike. Still looking for his best form, the leader of Groupama-FDJ was once again forced to fight hard just to limit his losses on the summit finish of Mont Ventoux on Tuesday, in stage 16. Supported by Valentin Madouas until the finish line, he lost nearly nine minutes to the day’s winner but maintained his thirteenth place overall. On Tuesday, the peloton heads to Valence for a possible bunch sprint.
The peloton of the Tour de France was set to tackle an iconic climb this Tuesday. Mont Ventoux indeed loomed before the riders in a sixteenth stage whose sole challenge was the famous Giant of Provence, after 171 kilometres of racing. During the quite flat and straightforward first part of the race, the fight for the breakaway took place for nearly seventy kilometres. “The strategy was to go up the front, especially for the climbers,” explained Stéphane Goubert. “The plan was to be in the break if there were fifteen riders in front, and that Guillaume should follow if there were a few more. The guys were involved from the start of the race.” Three men led the way for the first hour and a half, before a regrouping took place and a move of around forty riders managed to go clear. Only Clément Russo, however, managed to catch the right group. “They tried to correct the situation, they joined a strong chase group, but unfortunately they were caught, and only the previous move left,” Stéphane added.
The peloton then struggled to control such a large and well-organized group, which came at the foot of Mont Ventoux with a lead of nearly six minutes, which seemed enough to fight for victory. Ultimately, Valentin Paret-Peintre did take the win after the sixteen-kilometre climb ahead of Ben Healy, while the yellow jersey, Tadej Pogacar, finished 43 seconds later. Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet, who was distanced in the first kilometres of the “Bald Mountain”, made do with the day’s legs to reach the summit as quickly as possible, while being supported by Valentin Madouas in the second part of the climb. “Guillaume wasn’t at his best today,” Stéphane confirmed. Having finished 8’54 behind the day’s winner, the French rider nevertheless held onto his thirteenth place in the general classification. Before returning to the mountains on Thursday, an easier route will be on the menu tomorrow. “On paper, it’s a stage for sprinters, but it’s not certain that we’ll have a sprint,” concluded Stéphane. “We’ll be careful and stay ready for the fight.”
