This is totally crazy …
It was on the third climb of Mont Ventoux that I really started to understand the naming of the club I was trying to join. We were on the ‘easiest’ route up the Giant of Provence from Sault. It was by now approaching the 9th hour since we left Malaucene early that morning. It being June it was also approaching 35 deg Celsius and we’d already ridden 115km and climbed 3,500m.
I’d felt pretty good all day up to this point, but now my group of Scottish friends were beginning to ride away from me, and I still had 15km to go to the top.
Early morning with our target in sight
We’d left that morning just after 6am full of metaphorical beans and filled up even more with a second breakfast in Bedoin while getting our Brevet cards stamped. We were to ride the toughest side first of the mountain once described by Felice Gimondi as the ‘evil beast’.
The ascent from Bedoin is 21.5km long with an average gradient of 7.2%. Which seems ok when you read it on the page. The problem is the mid-section through the forest which averages more like 9%.
We took it steady and were at the top around 9am – the clear skies meaning great views across what feels like the whole of southern France. But those clear skies also meant hot sun incoming! A quick dive into the café at the top to get the card stamped, and then down to Malaucene.
3x up to 1,911m
After a coffee and a swift turnaround, we were soon heading back up the way we’d come down. A slightly easier climb in theory (21km at 7.1%) the fact we already had one ascent done meant the legs were a little less sprightly now. We climbed as a group, helping pass the time enjoying the brilliant Scot’s accent and turns of phrase such as NOSE! (meaning a car is approaching from the front) and TAIL! (yep, meaning a car is coming up behind).
Thankfully there wasn’t too much shouting nose nor tail on our climb up to the famous mast. The views to the north are equally spectacular – on such a clear day we could see all the way to the Ecrins massif. My good friend Ally wasn’t feeling so spectacular when we reached the top. We solved his shaky hunger flat with a couple of cokes and some treats from the shop at the summit. Whilst the weather would have allowed us to spend time at the top enjoying the view we knew we still had the longest ascent ahead of us.
We descended towards Sault – turning at Chalet Reynard – and I must admit feeling that I never wanted the descent to end. Because I knew I was going to have to head ALL the way back up.
We grabbed some food at the bottom, got our cards stamped and set off for the final 26km climb back to the summit for the 3rd time. Personally I was now feeling very much in tune with the philosopher Roland Bartheswho wrote that Ventoux is ‘a veritable Moloch, the despot of the cyclist … it never forgives the weak and charges a unjust tariff of sufferance’.
I don’t think I was quite so eloquent as M. Barthes at the time – much more swearing under my breath and much less philosophising. But I was beginning to hate it all the same as the group slowly started to pull away.
Thankfully Ally (who was by now much recovered), his brother Roddy and a few of the others saw me in need and soft pedaled to allow me to catch them. We then all rode a steady tempo back up to Chalet Reynard, and once there I knew I was going to make it. It is still a long drag to the top – always in sight but never seeming to get closer. My way through these moments is to count my pedal revolutions – up to 100 then start again, breaking the ride down into tiny chunks. And surely enough, I made it and got the final stamp in my card certifying me as a member of the Club des Cinglés de Ventoux.
My mementos from the day
Literally translated it means the Crazies of Ventoux – and once we were down and enjoying beers at the bottom after eight hours of riding, I think we all agreed we must be some kind of crazy to have done this.
Earlier this week we got the great news that the Tour de France is making a return to Mont Ventoux in 2025. The last couple of visits have provided some memorable moments – Chris Froome doing the running man in 2016 and Wout van Aert showing that big guys can climb too in 2021. But a stage hasn’t hasn’t actually finished at the summit since 2013 when Froome rode Contador off his wheel to win.
We’re delighted to be running a trip based near the foot of Ventoux for the week that the tour visits. You’ll enjoy fully catered villa accommodation, plus all the usual Borne Cycling benefits. Find out more and book your spot today by clicking here.
What I’ve been listening to while writing
Beyonce – Crazy in Love – all time classic from Queen B with added Jay-Z brilliance.
Sault – 5 – I know I’ve mentioned them before but with Sault being one of the start points for climbing Ventoux I just had to listen to them while penning this.