Tour de France 2025 Favourites stage 16: Dominating Ventoux

foto: Cor VosThe race to Mont Ventoux is a mythical and this year also a fairly straightforward challenge. It all comes down to the final climb, where a breakaway rider is expected to dominate. (Slideshow route/profile)

This year’s Ventoux stage is typical of many at La Vuelta. A quiet day spent rolling over mostly flat terrain, before everything is turned on its head by a brutal climb to the finish.

The riders tackle Mont Ventoux from Bédoin, which is the classic — and toughest — side. For the first 10 kilometres, they are sheltered by the forest, but at the same time the average gradient in the first 8 kilometres is a hefty 9.2%. In the 2 kilometres before Chalet Reynard, it eases off to 7.5%, and after passing the former refuge, the easiest kilometre begins (5.5%). But this also marks the start of the exposed section of Ventoux, meaning the wind has free rein from here on. After the 5.5% kilometre, the climb averages just under 8% for 3 kilometres, and in the final 1.7 kilometres, Mont Ventoux serves up an average gradient of 9.4%.

With such a flat approach, the race is easy to control. Which can go two ways. The teams of the GC teams let a group of riders who pose no threat to them get away to fight it out for the stage win. Or they keep the attackers on a leash so that the battle on Ventoux will be between the yellow jersey contenders. We’re leaning towards the first scenario.

How the race unfolds depends on the standings, so we’ll be updating this article during the Tour.

Favourites 16th stage 2025 Tour de France

*** Ben Healy, Felix Gall, Santiago Buitrago, Thymen Arensman
** Michael Woods, Michael Storer, Mattias Skjelmose, Lenny Martinez
* Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Simon Yates, Adam Yates, Oscar Onley

Another interesting read: route 16th stage 2025 Tour de France.