KOM history made: Tadej Pogačar sets new record on Mont Ventoux during stage 16 of the Tour de France

Tadej Pogačar may not have won Stage 16 up Mt. Ventoux, but he did earn himself the crown. The Strava crown, that is. With a time of 53:47, the man in yellow is now the KOM holder of the verified 20.74km Strava segment from Bédoin to the weather tower atop one of cycling’s most iconic climbs.

First included in the Tour de France in 1951, the paved route from Bédoin gains 1,569 meters of elevation at an average gradient of 8.3%. Nicknamed the Giant of Provence, the mountain’s steep ascent and barren, wind-swept summit have long been a proving ground for legends of the sport, and the site of much cycling lore. But today’s ascent of the icon was so fast, the Strava leaderboard was almost completely rewritten. The top six fastest times ever up this segment were all set during Stage 16 thanks to perfect conditions, tactical aggression and raw firepower.

Behind Pogačar on the KOM leaderboard is rising talent Oscar Onley (Picnic PostNL), with a time of 55:32 at an average of 373 watts. Rounding out the top three is Kevin Vauquelin (Arkea B&B Hotels), whose 395-watt effort brought him to the summit in 56:45. All three riders averaged well over 21 km/h, which a blistering pace given the sustained gradient and altitude gain.

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The stage itself was shaped by a massive early breakaway and a French fairytale finish, with Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal Quickstep) outsprinting Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) at the summit for his first Tour stage win. But all eyes were on the GC battle behind, where an aggressive Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike) launched four attacks in the final kilometers, trying to distance Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates XRG) and chip away at his Tour lead.

The Slovenian responded coolly to every move, and even managed to eke out a two-second gap over his Danish rival by the line. The yellow jersey stays firmly with Pogačar, who now leads the general classification by a commanding 4:15.

Here’s a look at the Top 10 KOM times on Mont Ventoux (Bédoin to Summit), as of July 22, 2025

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Rank

Name

Speed

Power

Time

1

Tadej Pogačar 

23.1 km/h

—

55:47

2

Oscar Onley

22.4 km/h

373W

55:32

3

Kevin Vauquelin

21.9 km/h

395W

56:45

4

Jordan Jegat

21.8 km/h

—

57:09

5

Sepp Kuss

21.4 km/h

—

58:13

6

Ilan Van Wilder

21.4 km/h

—

58:17

7

Richard Carapaz

20.9 km/h

347W

59:28

8

Alexey L

20.9 km/h

386W

59:36

9

Oscar Rodriguez

20.9 km/h

—

59:41

10

Tobias Johannessen

20.7 km/h

343W

1:00:00

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