Le Mont Ventoux

[Amsterhammer]

Ok, technically this should be in general, but hardly anybody goes there. I thought it would be cool to have a topic just about the mountain, the many stories, the myths....what makes this one so damn special apart from Tommy Simpson?

So please, this isn't about riders or tomorrow's race, but about the place itself. Hopefully a neutral topic can remain free of aggro.

French tv tonight estimated that there will be HALF A MILLION people on and around the Ventoux tomorrow. That's a pretty gobsmacking figure.

Dutch tv rode up and down tonight filming - caravans (trailers) everywhere, every bend full, gendarmes at a loss what to do with the traffic, people still cycling up (thousands do so every day)!!!

What is the magic? What attracts so many people? Discuss.

 

[frizzlefry]

If its anything like the TT up Alpe D Huez a few years ago, its going to be very exciting. And scary for the riders. I see fans effn up somebodies day.

 

[RightWingNutJob]

It does have that mythical feel about it. How that comes about over the years I have no idea. But similar to Alpe D'Huez it just has that special feeling.

 

[RdBiker]

It does have that mythical feel about it. How that comes about over the years I have no idea. But similar to Alpe D'Huez it just has that special feeling.

Many professional riders have said that in their mind the climb is the hardest one in France. So that may be one reason.

 

[frizzlefry]

Many professional riders have said that in their mind the climb is the hardest one in France. So that may be one reason.

that and it killed somebody.

 

[Amsterhammer]

that and it killed somebody.

Oh no, it wasn't the mountain, t'was something else that killed the Simpson (to slightly paraphrase King Kong).

See, now with all the silliness going on, a potentially interesting topic like this, where I hoped to see some stories I hadn't heard before, is almost down to the next page. C'mon people, hit me with some good stuff.

 

[psychlist]

Little known fact, it is where they actually filmed the apollo moon landing. Not in a soundstage in reseda.

 

[pedaling squares]

See, now with all the silliness going on, a potentially interesting topic like this, where I hoped to see some stories I hadn't heard before, is almost down to the next page. C'mon people, hit me with some good stuff.

It's hard to state anything but the obvious. The Ventoux juts out above all its surrounding land instead of being one more col tucked in a mountain pass. The climb is not the steepest nor the longest, but it is relentless. It is a stark, barren land so the riders cannot seek shade. Nothing grows there and only the foolhardy venture. The mistral has been recorded at 320 km/h, thus the name Ventoux. The heat in July with the lack of vegetation makes this mountain like an oven. This would be a hard mountain to ride up, but a real beast to race up. Wish I could be more poetic, but this is just a badass mountain that has earned its reputation.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

What is the magic? What attracts so many people? Discuss.

It's a beautiful sport, in the most beautiful arena, and one of if not the only sports where you can reach out and touch the competitors.

Dehydration killed Simpson as much as anything. Back in those days they limited the amount of water you could take on. Crazy, I know, but it's true.

 

[knewcleardaze]

I've always enjoyed the TdF just a bit more when Mont Ventoux is in the route.
I think part of the appeal is the barren, moon-like landscape. It definitely separates the contenders from the pretenders. I also like the fact that often the first 20 or so guys on the mountain tend to get strung out. This offers multiple battles for position, and exciting racing. It blows my mind the strength these riders have. This after sixteen days of racing. It hurts just to watch them struggle up this berg.
I heard Armstrong comment several years ago that every cyclist or every fan of cycling has to see the Ventoux in person.
Hopefully the "fans" will not cause any incidents.

 

[knewcleardaze]

It's a beautiful sport, in the most beautiful arena, and one of if not the only sports where you can reach out and touch the competitors.

Dehydration killed Simpson as much as anything. Back in those days they limited the amount of water you could take on. Crazy, I know, but it's true.

In junior high school many years ago, we endured two and a half hours of soccer practice, sans water. I suppose the coach was toughening us up. Progress is a good thing.

 

[davidg]

This would be a hard mountain to ride up,

yes it is - unrelenting

 

[fulcrum]

French tv tonight estimated that there will be HALF A MILLION people on and around the Ventoux tomorrow. That's a pretty gobsmacking figure.

Not that high. There was an estimated 1 MILLION people in the Pla d'Adet queen stage that Hincapie won a few years back. I was there, and the traffic jam to get out of the valley was of epic proportions. Even 6 hours after the end of the race.

 

[davidg]

Little known fact, it is where they actually filmed the apollo moon landing. Not in a soundstage in reseda.

Photo is here on the web, so it must be true!

http://www.cyclingfans.net/images/ventoux_moon.jpg

Ironically the headline was "40 years ago, Armstrong landed on (Mt Ventoux) the moon"

 

[frizzlefry]

Tom Simpson's last meters.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtAyGvZqiwk

 

[davidg]

Tom Simpson's last meters.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtAyGvZqiwk

Always very sad to watch.

 

[workingclasshero]

tbh i didn't quite get what is so fantastic about this one

for one thing it is not pretty - tbh i guess what it's all about, it does have character.

BUT:

the climb is hard with not a lot of rest when it finally starts asking you to put your foot down (very easy first few k's) but far from impossible for any person on a bike

i did it myself on friday on the back of a morning run, didn't have to step off the bike, did not need any energy gels, didn't have to take my helmet off or owt

and i'm not even a hobby cyclist. and i saw loads of fat fúckers climbing it as well, not to mention people cycling up with their tents on their backs, their sons in a wagon behind them.

seriously wtf is the score with this mountain? aye i've seen all the stuff about the wind, the heat, tommy simpson's exit etc but still i don't get it

 

[LugHugger]

Ventoux stands isolated as the Rhone starts to widen into it's alluvial plain. There are no other significant mountains surrounding it and this means that if you approach from east, south or west you just have to watch it as you pedal towards it. It really does LOOM at you as you get close. It's how I imaging Mordor looked in the Lord of the Rings. If you ride the approach that the Tour took this year, this plays on your mind, the weight of expectation and the white topped mountain reflecting light at you like a lighthouse. Except that you know that you can't avoid the rocks and that you've got to haul your **** up there to the summit. As you pass Bedoin, the summit disappears and the gradient kicks up as you ride through the forest. It's hard, steep and hot and the aerobic effort kicks in and cements the mental pressure that you've been trying to keep a lid on for the last 30kms. Once your at Chalet Renard it's actually quite a steady ride but it's the combination of mental and physical effort combined with the exposure that makes the last 5 km hard. Not forgetting the Mistral that can blow at 80-100kph on what looks like a relatively benign spring or autumnal morning. If you go over the top and down towards Malaucene, the Mistral effect can almost make it feel as though your are descending more slowly than the ride up!

Having said that, the euphoria is difficult to describe at when you reach the transmitter. And if the wind isn't blowing, it's a descent that will have you grinning from ear to ear. And did I mention that Chateauneuf du Pape is only 25k from the bottom?

 

[RigelKent]

Having said that, the euphoria is difficult to describe at when you reach the transmitter. And if the wind isn't blowing, it's a descent that will have you grinning from ear to ear. And did I mention that Chateauneuf du Pape is only 25k from the bottom?

Chateauneuf du Pape! Arggglglgl. . .

The way it dominates the surrounding landscape on a clear day is amazing. It isn't often that the final climb is visible for an entire stage.

 

[uphillstruggle]

The idea of the massive winds always gets me, I have never ridden the Ventoux but even small climbs near me that are half the length of this and half as steep are hell in the wind. This article is a nice, if literary, account of the ventoux.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/jul/25/tour-de-france-mont-ventoux-stage-20

 

[davidg]

tbh i didn't quite get what is so fantastic about this one

for one thing it is not pretty - tbh i guess what it's all about, it does have character.

BUT:

the climb is hard with not a lot of rest when it finally starts asking you to put your foot down (very easy first few k's) but far from impossible for any person on a bike

i did it myself on friday on the back of a morning run, didn't have to step off the bike, did not need any energy gels, didn't have to take my helmet off or owt

and i'm not even a hobby cyclist. and i saw loads of fat fúckers climbing it as well, not to mention people cycling up with their tents on their backs, their sons in a wagon behind them.

seriously wtf is the score with this mountain? aye i've seen all the stuff about the wind, the heat, tommy simpson's exit etc but still i don't get it

Mmmmm!

V is consistently rated as one of the toughest climbs in the world. Glad you found it so easy - well done.

 

[davidg]

It really does LOOM at you as you get close. It's how I imaging Mordor looked in the Lord of the Rings.

Like that - good one

 

[runninboy]

Mmmmm!

V is consistently rated as one of the toughest climbs in the world. Glad you found it so easy - well done.

Hard to believe
I remember the tour a few years back when it had a TT up Ventoux,
nobody looked good but i remember Jean Francois Bernard crossing the finish mouth wide open gasping for breath sweating like crazy. Kinda scary thinking he might keel over like Simpson.

Paul Sherwen mentioned that besides the stark landscape, and the heat even though the elevation is not too high he said it was always hard to get ones breath.
I have to say I usually find it easier to breath in a mountain enviroment with trees than say hills with only sagebrush.
Might be just psychological

 

[workingclasshero]

Mmmmm!

V is consistently rated as one of the toughest climbs in the world. Glad you found it so easy - well done.

mmmmm!

did you even read the post mr. i've-read-about-how-tough-it-is-on-the-internet?

of course us normal people use a lot more time than the doped up pros but i just don't get that it is that more difficult than a longer and steeper mountain elsewhere

 

[Marmot]

I rode it a few years ago from Sault. I know it is the easiest of the three directions on paper, but there is a pretty nasty snarling dog at the big left hand bend just after you cross the valley from Sault. You need to put in a fairly sustained attack if you want to crack him.

For me, the weather was perfect, not a breath of wind or a cloud in the sky. The last 7k is fairly hard going, but without the wind and heat, it didn't seem as tough as many of the other famous climbs.

The descent is brilliant. With no trees, few hairpins, and a great road surface on the top 7k, you can really fly. Needless to say, the dog couldn't get near me on the way down.

There is an artist with a studio in Sault who does various paintings of Provence, but seems to do a lot with Mont Ventoux in them. If you are passing that way and want a souvenier, you might want to check it out.