Soudal Quick-Step’s climber enjoyed a strong day at the front of the race.
Valentin Paret-Peintre was a man on a mission Saturday afternoon, as the Tour de France continued its journey through the Vosges, the famous mountain range that debuted at the race 121 years ago. Victorious on the Mont Ventoux one year ago, Valentin knew that the penultimate stage before the second rest day was an important opportunity to get to get his bid for the mountains classification underway.
Fifth in the KOM standings at the start of the stage, the 25-year-old from Annemasse booked a place in the 37-man group that formed as soon as the road went up and quickly began amassing points. Grand Ballon - where he became the first Frenchman at the top in more than three decades to win this climb that connects Cernay with Le Markstein winter sports station - Col du Page and Ballon d’Alsace were all won by Paret-Peintre, who thanks to this impressive effort became a contender for the iconic polka dot jersey.
A total of 25 points elevated Valentin to second in the climbers ranking ahead of Sunday’s stage which contains four classified ascents and as many opportunities to add to his tally.
“It was a nice day at the front. I felt good the whole day and I’m glad with the effort I did and with being in contention for the polka dot jersey. The small breakaway group I was part of did a good job, but with the peloton being just three minutes behind, not much was possible in terms of fighting for the stage win. I did my best and can be happy with how things went”, said Valentin in Le Markstein.
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