What’s Mont Ventoux? All that you must know concerning the ‘Bald Mountain’

The 2025 version of the Tour de France will mark the nineteenth time that the peloton will go head-on with Mont Ventoux. 

It is a mountain with seemingly limitless slopes that weave throughout the barren and lifeless panorama, setting Ventoux aside from different iconic climbs to characteristic within the Tour. 

When Ventoux appeared in 2021 with a spectacular double ascent, it culminated in Wout van Aert claiming a solo victory within the close by city of Malaucène. 

This stage additionally marked the primary battle between two of the game’s titans as Jonas Vingegaard locked horns with Tadej Pogačar – briefly distancing the Slovenian close to the summit of the monster climb.

For 2025, the organisers have reverted to a summit end – 12 years since a Tour stage final culminated on the high of the legendary peak.

Nonetheless, Mont Ventoux is on no account the best peak to grace the Tour, nor the longest or steepest. So why is it that biking followers the world over will likely be earmarking this stage as one that may’t be missed? 

Right here’s every thing that you must know concerning the ‘Large of Provence’.

The place is Mont Ventoux?

Located within the area of Provence within the southeast of France, Mont Ventoux is situated roughly 20km northeast of the city of Carpentras. Whereas outlined as being within the periphery of the Alps geographically, Ventoux is commonly seen as separate from the French Alps attributable to its remoted place.

Because the crow flies, Mont Ventoux lies 120km southwest of Alpe d’Huez – one other of the Tour de France’s iconic climbs.

Including to its legendary nature, it protrudes from the encompassing lowlands, making it appear all of the extra daunting of a problem to ascend by bike given its publicity to the weather.

As early because the twelfth century, deforestation for shipbuilding in Toulon helped to create a harsh panorama of gray stone. Sheep herding within the years since has added to the lifeless panorama. It is solely for the reason that Fifties that reforestation programmes had been launched, with a lot of the mountain under 1500m now hidden by timber as soon as once more.

Nonetheless, the ultimate few hundred metres to the height stay like a scene from one other planet. Limestone scree from constant storms and freezing circumstances ensures Ventoux appears like no different mountain to grace the Tour de France.

This lack of shelter on the higher slopes can usually add an additional merciless twist to the problem of ascending Ventoux.

As soon as above the tree line, there’s no place to cover from the dazzling sunshine and intense warmth. As Ben O’Connor advised Cyclingnews in 2021, “I do know what it feels prefer to be cooked within the solar, and I used to be cooked within the solar.”

Then there’s unrelenting wind – the mistral – that sits above 90km/h for greater than two-thirds of the 12 months. Therefore why some say the mountain’s identify originates from the French ‘venteux’ which suggests ‘windy’.

The grim panorama juxtaposed with the fantastic French summer time sunshine can create a considerably otherworldly scene.

How tough is Mont Ventoux?

Apart from the rarity of Ventoux’s inclusion in La Grande Boucle making it such an iconic a part of the race’s historical past, its problem additionally units it aside from different climbs that the organisers flip to once they’re planning these five-star, Tour-defining levels.

The summit of Mont Ventoux sits at 1,910m. It may be climbed from three separate instructions however has virtually at all times been tackled from Bédoin – which it is going to be as soon as extra in 2025. 

Essentially the most well-pedalled route rises 1,610m for 21.5km with a median gradient of seven.43%, nevertheless, there are a number of sections of this ascent which dramatically range in gradient. 

The primary 5 kilometres could be thought of a delicate warm-up for the battle to come back, not exceeding a median gradient above six per cent earlier than kilometre seven.

A quick reprieve at kilometre six, with the gradient dipping to three.1%, permits riders a second to prepared themselves earlier than the lonely highway kicks up for a second time. 

The common slope for the subsequent 9 kilometres is relentless – between 8.6% and 10.5%.

A second ‘plateau’ of six per cent gradients observe for a couple of kilometres earlier than the needle is turned up as soon as extra because the summit comes into view.

The ultimate three kilometres push each final ounce of power out of the rider, leaping from 8.3% as much as 10%.

Of the opposite two routes, the journey from Malaucène is comparable in general problem however with extra frequent modifications in gradient. 

In the meantime, the route from Sault has hardly been touched by professional biking over time. It’s longer than the opposite two ascents, at 26km, however shallower with solely 1220m gained. 

Why is Mont Ventoux so historic?

There isn’t one defining purpose why Mont Ventoux has develop into a mainstay in Tour de France folklore. As talked about earlier, it isn’t the best peak to characteristic within the race, nor the steepest or longest. But, its harsh, otherworldly setting and legendary nature have left a mark on many riders’ careers, for higher or worse.

Ventoux first graced the Tour de France route again in 1951 – by way of the route from Malaucène – with Lucien Lazarides the primary rider to crest the highest. A climb that organisers appreciated the look of, it returned 12 months later when Jean Robic tackled the Bédoin climb on his technique to stage victory down in Avignon.

Nonetheless, the climb left its first lasting mark on the race in 1955. Louison Bobet powered clear with the observatory in sight and was not seen once more till the end line 60 kilometres later.

His margin of victory was six minutes, all however wrapping up his third maillot jaune. 

It wasn’t simply the Frenchman’s GC grasp that was bolstered that day although, so too was Mont Ventoux’s presence throughout the material of the race. A number of riders had been put to the sword by the mountain’s unforgiving circumstances and, as would develop into even clearer within the years to come back, their dicing gamble with primitive efficiency enhancements.

The ‘Bald Mountain’ has an uncomfortable hyperlink to biking’s doping drawback, with no clearer tie than the dying of Tom Simpson on its higher slopes in 1967.

Simpson collapsed twice after being dropped by the lead group on stage 13 of the 54th version of the race. He was pronounced lifeless by the point he was airlifted off the mountain, with amphetamines discovered his in jersey pockets.

A 12 months after the British rider’s dying, the earliest anti-doping measure was launched at Le Tour when drug testing befell. 

When the race subsequent visited in 1970, Eddy Merckx powered previous a monument erected in Simpson’s honour on his technique to victory on the summit. But, maybe one of many largest testaments to Mont Ventoux’s standing was that the Belgian needed to be given oxygen in an ambulance after the end. Uttering “No, it is not possible,” as he crossed the road.

It chewed the Cannibal up and really practically spat him out entire. 

A hiatus of 13 years between 1974 and 1987 noticed the mountain step again from its position of creating or breaking yellow jersey tilts. 

But when it returned, its impact was nonetheless there – even when Jean-François Bernard thought he’d received the higher of the ‘Large of Provence’. 

The Frenchman moved into the maillot jaune after storming the mountain time trial held on the climb and seemed set to jot down his identify into Tour’s roll of honour. That was till he haemorrhaged 4 minutes on the next stage, sinking to fourth within the standings. He may solely recuperate sufficient for third on GC. 

Italian rider Eros Poli gained the stage with an emphatic 171km solo when Ventoux subsequent featured on the route map in 1994 – and one of many few events it didn’t sign the stage end.

Nonetheless, it was one other Italian who completed tenth that day elevating his arms the subsequent time a Tour stage completed at 1,900m – even when he wasn’t notably completely happy about it.

Marco Pantani got here to the road alongside Lance Armstrong in 2000, but as a substitute of duelling it out for the stage, Armstrong – the yellow jersey holder – gifted it to the Italian. 

The Pirate was lower than happy by the gesture.

Armstrong could have regretted that generosity two years later when he may solely muster third on the stage, gained by Richard Virenque. “That mountain would not like me,” the Texan – whose efforts could be struck by means of a decade later when he misplaced all of his Tour wins and was banned for all times for doping – bemoaned afterwards.

When Chris Froome powered to victory in 2013, so dominant was his show that he confronted comparisons with the now-outcast Armstrong. But for his managed ascent of the mountain throughout his first yellow jersey-winning version, leaving the likes of Alberto Contador and Nairo Quintana in his wake, he needed to overcome obstacles past his management in 2016. 

Breakaway specialist Thomas de Gendt could have gained the stage that day – which completed 7km down the mountain at Chalet Reynard attributable to sturdy winds – but it surely was overshadowed by occasions within the GC pack. 

The shortened stage meant the decrease slopes had been overwhelmed with followers and Froome, alongside Richie Porte and Bauke Mollema, collided with a TV motorcycle amidst the chaos. 

It resulted in one of the crucial iconic pictures in current Tour historical past. Froome, within the maillot jaune, working up Ventoux’s slopes with no bike in sight.

The Group Sky chief initially misplaced the yellow jersey and two minutes on his rivals, just for the race officers to later reverse the time gaps and maintain the Briton on the high of the standings.