Lessons from Mont Ventoux

Mont Ventoux (1912 m or 6273 ft) is an isolated peak in the Provence region of France known at "The Giant of Provence."  The top of the the mountain is barren limestone and there is a 50 m telecommunications tower on the summit.  "Venteux" means windy in French, and they have recorded winds as high as 320 km/hr (200 mph) at the summit.  Fortunately, there was only a slight breeze on the two days that I was there.

Mont Ventoux was originally forested but was stripped bare of trees to meet the demands of shipbuilders beginning in the 12th century.  There has been quite a bit of reforestration lower down the mountain, but the top of the mountain remains barren.  The ecology of Mont Ventoux is different from anything that I have ever seen.  There are even some species of butterflies and spiders that are unique to Mont Ventoux.

There are three routes to the top of Mont Ventoux.

• South from Bédoin: 1617 m over 21.8 km. This is the climb used in the Tour. The fastest time to date is that of Iban Mayo in the individual climbing time trial of the 2004 Dauphiné Libéré: 55' 51". Mortals do the climb between 1:30 and 3:00.  Eddy Merckx needed oxygen at the summit after winning the stage in 1970.  Tom Simpson collapsed and died one kilometer from the summit during the 1967 Tour.  There is a monument to Simpson at that point.  The forest is the hardest part of the climb.  The 8 km below Chalet Reynard averages well over 9%.  This is where Froome attacked the peloton to win yesterday's stage and put a virtual strangle hold on the 2013 yellow jersey.

• Northwest from Malaucène: 1570 m over 21.5 km.  This is about as difficult as the Bédoin ascent but is better sheltered against the wind.
• East from Sault: 1210 m over 26 km. The easiest route. After Chalet Reynard, the climb is the same as the Bédoin ascent. The average gradient is 4.4%.

I am very glad that I had an opportunity to see the Mont Ventoux stage of the 100th edition of the Tour de France on Bastille Day, but this was crazier than watching the Tour on the Col du Tourmalet in the Pyrénées.  Too many crazy fans and that wall of people that seems to part just before riders actually happens.

There is just enough room to get the team cars through.  I'm surprised a lot of riders aren't injured.

So what are the lessons learned.

• Stay in Sault and not in Bédoin.  If you want to go up the "easy" side of Mont Ventoux, it's right there.  If you want to ride the hard side, you can ride through through the Gorge de la Nesque to Bédoin to climb Mont Ventoux from the hard side and then take the easy and much less crowded descent back to Sault.  Sault is also smaller and seems more friendly.  I am staying at the Hotel Albion, a great find.  If you don't speak French, they do speak some English.

• The ride through the Gorge de la Nesque is spectacular and highly recommended.  You will see very few cars. On Ventoux itself, going through the 8 km forest section (9+%) up to Chalet Reynard was pretty brutal.  There were hundreds of cyclists on the road, and more than a few were walking.  I only stopped once to eat something.  Well, I stopped two more times to avoid getting run off the road by camping vans.  Mont Ventoux may not be the hardest climb that I have done, but it definitely ranks in the top 5. As far as suffering goes, I made a conscious effort to stay within myself, so today didn't even make the top 40 as far as hardest days on the bike.  Mont Ventoux should probably be on everyone's bucket list, but I didn't find the climb all that pleasant because of the huge number of both cyclists and cars.  For this reason, I doubt that I will ever repeat the climb.  Chalet Reynard is a good place to stop for a break.  Actually, it's the only place to stop for a break.

• Standard advice for Mont Ventoux.  Get the lowest gear that your bike will handle.  I used a 34 x 32.  Take a jacket or vest for the descent even if it is hot in Bédoin.  Fill up with water in the little town right before the forest.
• Watching the Tour on Bastille Day on Mont Ventoux is worth it, but only once.  The fans are a more than a little crazy.  Even getting down on the Sault side afterwards was pretty difficult.  One idiot managed to wedge a camper van in the single lane between the two lines of parked cars.  It was stuck worse than the Orica GreenEdge team bus.  One cyclist got even into a fist fight with a pedestrian.  I would much prefer to hang out with the Basques on the Col du Tourmalet in the future.
• The lavender fields in July are fantastic!

Tomorrow it's Albertville and the Alps.