Issue 142, August 2023, of Cyclist magazine is on sale now. Subscribe to Cyclist here or buy issue 142 at the Cyclist Shop
Ventoux. It only needs one word. No more explanation required, not even a ‘Mont’. That name alone evokes all the history, the pain and the beauty of the Tour. Such is the dominance of Ventoux – both physically and culturally – that it seems to leave no space for anything else.
Its massive bulk looms over the flat Provence landscape, generating its own weather and looking like it has been dropped from another planet, with its pale, rocky summit so out of keeping with the fertile plains below.
Its history is so stuffed with stories that the mountain acts like a magnet for cyclists, drawn to its slopes with tales of Tom Simpson’s tragic death in 1967, Eros Poli’s remarkable breakaway victory in 1994, Pantani and Armstrong racing to its summit at unfathomable speeds in 2000, or Chris Froome running up its slopes in 2016 after a crash left him temporarily bikeless.
It feels as though there is no inch of Ventoux that has not been sweated over, analysed and committed to Strava. And there is no moment on Ventoux that has not been packaged into a neat anecdote and retold endlessly in the cycling media (not least by us).
It would be easy to assume that the Giant of Provence has revealed all her secrets and that there is nothing new to discover. But for all those riders who have been there, ridden to its striped summit tower and ticked it off the list, we have got something new to offer this issue.
While the hordes leave the town of Bédoin and immediately turn left to begin the ascent of Mont Ventoux’s southern slopes, we take a right and discover a ride of empty roads, vertiginous gorges, towering rock walls and roughly-hewn tunnels.
The Tour has never come this way, so it remains a secret gem. Best of all, it still leads to a back-door ascent of Ventoux by the eastern approach.
It may be the most celebrated climb in cycling, but it seems Ventoux can still offer a few surprises.
Photo Matt Ben Stone
What’s in issue 142?
New view on Ventoux: It’s possibly the most famous climb in cycling, but Mont Ventoux still has some surprises in store, including this route that takes in the stunning and rarely visited Les Gorges de la Nesque
Everything everywhere: Over the past 12 years, Italian racer Elisa Longo Borghini has established herself as one of cycling’s great all-rounders. She tells Cyclist about her sporting upbringing, how she conquered her self-doubts, and how she hates coming second
What we ride: Behind every cycling journalist is a long history of bikes. Some come and go – test bikes, first bikes, stolen bikes, I’m going to get into BMX-ing now bikes – but some stay, for their practicality, their dreaminess or just for the joy they elicit. Here are three of the Cyclist team’s personal favourites
Susten Pass: The supersized Swiss climb
Ready to race: Starting on 23rd July, the Transcontinental Race will see riders tackle 4,000km across Europe, carrying everything they need on their bikes. Cyclist caught up with three competitors to find out their kit lists for the mammoth challenge
For all this and much more, pick up your copy of Cyclist issue 142, on sale now.
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