Mont Ventoux

A brief collection of information relating to Mont Ventoux, especially in relation to the Cingles du Mont Ventoux challenge
May 16
“ 3 is a magic number. Yes it is. 135km and 4627m. Fuck me Paul Nixon on completion of the Cingles.
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Cingles certifcate with good, comedy goading to do the ‘4 times’ next year

Cingles certifcate with good, comedy goading to do the ‘4 times’ next year

May 11
Cingles Ride Report

AnOrdinaryCyclist’s report of the Cingles Challenge.
May 6
Mont Ventoux Weather

3-5 day weather forecast.
May 4
North-side ascent taken on the 4th May 2009.  You don’t have to be mad to cycle up there… but it helps!

North-side ascent taken on the 4th May 2009.  You don’t have to be mad to cycle up there… but it helps!

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Top Tips for the Cingles Challenge

Some tips from a seasoned rider

  1. Do the Sault ascent last, it is quite easy to get into a nice rhythm on it
  2. There is one dangerous corner midway down the descent to Malaucerne, coming after a real long straight bit, otherwise you needn’t use your brakes after the ski station
  3. I used a 39x27, but a 34x25 would be equally fine;
  4. Take kit for all eventualities, especially a tight fitting waterproof that you can stuff in your pocket. It is no fun being blown about by a flappy cagoule at the top
  5. Check the wear on your brake blocks before you go. You can wear through some rubber if it is wet day
  6. Obviously conserve your energy. You might be tempted to turn on the gas for a 1hr 20 ascent, but you may suffer later. Save the record attempts for the next day! (I was taking 1hr 40-50 on my trips, and trying to keep my HR at below 150 all day. I didn’t have a powermeter then, so no idea what that translates into. Even at that pace I was only overtaken by two riders the whole day and the next)
April 26
Bike Plus Cingles Report

Scans of the Bike Plus article on the Cingles ride from 2008.
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Cingles ride report

A great write-up of the Cingles ride.
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The Three Ascents

Some stats on the three ascents of Ventoux

In old money that’s a total of 43 miles of climbing and 14,425 feet!

For reference, the top of Mount Everest is at 8850 metres.

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“ Nineteen hundred meters up there is completely different from 1,900 any place else. There’s no air, there’s no oxygen. There’s no vegetation, there’s no life. There’s no life. Rocks. Any other climb there’s vegetation, grass and trees. Not there on the Ventoux. It’s more like the moon than a mountain. Lance Armstrong on Mont Ventoux
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VeloVentoux

Surely the best place to stay for access to the mountain!
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The Giant of Provence (courtesy of wikipedia!)

The Giant of Provence (courtesy of wikipedia!)

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9 Reasons why Mont Ventoux is a symbolic climb

1. The death of Tom Simpson
2. It dominates the region
3. The weather and the wind
4. It’s a climb of two halves
5. The Tour Jean-Francois Bernard almost won
6. The Pantani-Armstrong duel in 2000 
7. Eros Poli’s lone break
8. Mont Ventoux is not visited by the Tour very often
9. Lance Armstrong never won there
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Website of the Club des Cinglés du Mont-Ventoux

Translates as the ‘Madmen of Mont Ventoux’, a club for those that want to tackle the 3 ascents of Mont Ventoux in one day.