Discussion
Has anyone on here done Mont Ventoux? A couple of friends and I are flying out with the bikes to Nimes on Sunday for a week's cycling and Ventoux is on the to-do list. I've read up a fair bit on it and we'll go up starting from either Bedoin or Carpentras. I'd be interested to read some first hand accounts!
Done it from the Carpentras side last year..
Took me about an hour and three quaters, we were up the road a bit from the main village.
It was 42 degrees C when i left the bottom though.....
Should just about perfect this time of year, although make sure you have some warmer
clothes for the decent, as you will get very cold when reaching over 50mph on
a bike !!!!!
1st 2 thirds were up a forest road, then it opens up to moon rock there after..
It's a 'must do' for any keen roadie !!!
G.
Took me about an hour and three quaters, we were up the road a bit from the main village.
It was 42 degrees C when i left the bottom though.....
Should just about perfect this time of year, although make sure you have some warmer
clothes for the decent, as you will get very cold when reaching over 50mph on
a bike !!!!!
1st 2 thirds were up a forest road, then it opens up to moon rock there after..
It's a 'must do' for any keen roadie !!!
G.
I've done all three ascents from Bedoin, Sault & Malaucene. It's pretty long overall and there are some fairly long sections (six miles at a time) of 10% gradient on the climbs out of Bedoin & Malaucene but if you're fit I wouldn't worry about it being particularly hard. Of the three routes Bedoin was definitely the most enjoyable and Sault almost too easy! 
When I rode it it was the end of June / beginning of July so it was fairly hot once you leave the wooded section and get to the limestone bit nearer the top. I imagine this won't be so much of a problem at this time of year. The only thing to watch out for is the wind and if it's really bad I'd pick another ride to do that day and try Ventoux a day or so later. On the day we did the Malaucene route it was blowing so hard that when we went to come back down I had to walk down the first 50m or so from the top before it was safe to even try and get on my bike. Descending wasn't much fun that day.
What bottom gear do you have? I found a 39x26 double to be low enough and my bro had a 39x27 but a lot of people seemed to have triples. Personal preference I guess.
Only other useful advice I can think of is there's drinking water on the left in the village just before it starts to get steep (St. Colombes I think) and again outside the cafe at Chalet Reynard where the limestone starts. There's also a gift shop at the top!
Good luck!
When I rode it it was the end of June / beginning of July so it was fairly hot once you leave the wooded section and get to the limestone bit nearer the top. I imagine this won't be so much of a problem at this time of year. The only thing to watch out for is the wind and if it's really bad I'd pick another ride to do that day and try Ventoux a day or so later. On the day we did the Malaucene route it was blowing so hard that when we went to come back down I had to walk down the first 50m or so from the top before it was safe to even try and get on my bike. Descending wasn't much fun that day.
What bottom gear do you have? I found a 39x26 double to be low enough and my bro had a 39x27 but a lot of people seemed to have triples. Personal preference I guess.
Only other useful advice I can think of is there's drinking water on the left in the village just before it starts to get steep (St. Colombes I think) and again outside the cafe at Chalet Reynard where the limestone starts. There's also a gift shop at the top!
Good luck!
Mission accomplished! We went up today, my mate did it in 2 hrs dead and I was a little behind a 2.20, but I'm full of cold so couldn't breathe properly. I was grateful for my bike having a compact chainset, it was easily doable in a 39t, I can't remember what the rear is (07 Dura Ace) but I was two or three clicks down from top most of the way. I think with a triple it would actually be faster to walk!
It was 25 degrees in Bedoin and about 5 degrees at the top - it was very misty up there and winds of about 100 mph, maybe more. What an experience though - the forest section seems to go on for ever and ever, Chalet Reynard seemed to take a very long time to reach but it's not so bad once you get there save for the last 2kms. The mountain does seem to play tricks with you though, several times you can see the top (in between the clouds that is) and it looks like you could touch it when in reality you are kms away still.
I took some photos, I'll post them up once I get home on Sunday.
Thanks for all the advice!
Phil.
It was 25 degrees in Bedoin and about 5 degrees at the top - it was very misty up there and winds of about 100 mph, maybe more. What an experience though - the forest section seems to go on for ever and ever, Chalet Reynard seemed to take a very long time to reach but it's not so bad once you get there save for the last 2kms. The mountain does seem to play tricks with you though, several times you can see the top (in between the clouds that is) and it looks like you could touch it when in reality you are kms away still.
I took some photos, I'll post them up once I get home on Sunday.
Thanks for all the advice!
Phil.
Well done Phil. Hope you enjoyed it. It feels great when you get to the top doesn't it? I thought the last section was the worst, once you've passed Chalet Reynard and can see the control tower at the top but it doesn't seem to get any nearer no matter how far you've gone or how fast you pedal! That final hairpin is a killer as well, it must be about a 45 degree gradient mustn't it?!I remember on the first ascent I did I was resting at the top and an old guy arrived and was greeted by a round of applause from his friends and broke down in tears once he'd stopped. Maximum respect to anyone who makes it I say.
neilski said:
Well done Phil. Hope you enjoyed it...... That final hairpin is a killer as well, it must be about a 45 degree gradient mustn't it?........We've moved from St Tropez where we were staying and we're in Avignon tonight. We fly back home tomorrow afternoon, so the plan is to take another run up there in the car in the morning to see if we can actually see the view - plus we have some unfinished business at the Tommy Simpson memorial, I'm afraid the weather was so bad we didn't get time to stop on the way up or down. Visibility was extremely poor and obviously the wind and very low temperatures didn't encourage you to hang around.
Looking back on the climb, I'm amazed at how relentless the road is. There are less steep bits, but it just goes up and up and up some more all the way - there really is no respite. I think it's fair to say that it's the most physically demanding thing I've ever done - even more so considering I only got back into cycling again at the beginning of the summer having not turned a pedal in anger in some 10 years!
Just reading a book on Le Tour and to this day Ventoux is the only climb to have claimed a life in the event (although the supposed amphetamine/brandy mix may have played a part)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-77axBdYmE
Tom Simpson - RIP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-77axBdYmE
Tom Simpson - RIP
Well done that man!
IIRC Lance Armstrong described it as the most difficult climb used in the tour de France.
The sense of achievement when you finally make it to the top is fantastic, especially on a windy day.
The decent is a lot of fun as well, at least on a still day. On one occassion, my cycle computer said max 102km/hr, although I have no idea where that happened.
IIRC Lance Armstrong described it as the most difficult climb used in the tour de France.
The sense of achievement when you finally make it to the top is fantastic, especially on a windy day.
The decent is a lot of fun as well, at least on a still day. On one occassion, my cycle computer said max 102km/hr, although I have no idea where that happened.
Marcellus said:
MTBR said:
Well done that man!
On one occassion, my cycle computer said max 102km/hr, although I have no idea where that happened.
SUre you didn't mis-read and that was avg hr? On one occassion, my cycle computer said max 102km/hr, although I have no idea where that happened.
Banter aside, one of the unusual, although by no means unique, features of Mout Ventoux, compaired with a lot of the other "classic climbs" is that it is well surfaced, with good sight lines, (at least above the chalet) and this allows you to really let loose on the way down.
Average of over 100kph? doubt you could do that with 300 Hp
Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff