Tour de France | Mountain flea defeats giant: France celebrates on Mont Ventoux

It took a while, but finally France could also have a laugh at this Tour de France . Valentin Paret-Peintre conquered the mythical Mont Ventoux – the first to do so. The mountain flea, at 52 kg and 1.76 meters tall, the lightest professional in this race, prevailed in a thrilling breakaway duel against Irishman Ben Healy. "I was simply hungrier than he was," said the cyclist, who grew up in Annemasse in eastern France, describing the situation with a view to his rival, who had already won the 6th stage and worn the yellow jersey for two days.

Both attacked each other repeatedly on the long climb, with a force that could easily rival that of the ever-closer pair of favorites behind them , Jonas Vingegaard of Denmark and Tadej Pogačar of Slovenia. Paret-Peintre even demonstrated some gambling skills. "Yes, I knew they were getting closer, but I didn't really care. I thought we'd play it out among ourselves. And if the favorites then come along, it was just bad luck," he said.

The skinny guy from Savoy thus redeemed the Grande Nation. Up to that point, there had not been a single victory by a local rider in this Tour . 380 days since the last stage win by a Frenchman, Tour organizer Aso counted down the sad countdown. It had taken 23 years before a Frenchman triumphed on Mont Ventoux again. Richard Virenque had done it in 2002 – the mountain flea's predecessor, so to speak, but one with a thick doping record. This detail was better omitted amid the roaring celebrations on Tuesday. The fans celebrated – whether as presenters in the French television camp at the foot of Mont Ventoux, reliving the stage once again, or as loud spectators who besieged the TV camp.

And there was even more to celebrate: 24-year-old Paret-Peintres won almost exactly 60 years after the first Frenchman took the lead on the "Giant of Provence." In 1965, the nation's darling, Raymond Poulidor, won here. Reasons to celebrate galore, then. This also erased the memory of the rather involuntary hilarity that another French darling had caused on the stage before the rest day: Julian Alaphilippe threw his arms up in the air after the sprint to the finish in Carcassonne. He hadn't realized, however, that two other riders, Belgians Tim Wellens and Victor Campenaerts, had already crossed the white finish line , thus forfeiting the stage victory.

In defense of two-time world champion Alaphilippe, it must also be mentioned that he had previously crashed, dislocating his shoulder and then immediately putting it back in place, and the team radio hadn't worked since then. However, on Mont Ventoux, he was able to count properly. As a member of the breakaway group led by fellow countryman Paret-Peintre, he crossed the finish line in eighth place – and he certainly noticed that Pogačar and Vingegaard had flown past him.