Mont Ventoux Adventure

Mont Ventoux Adventure Highlights

> Take on one of the most iconic rides in the cycling folklore – Mont Ventoux
> Experience the ultimate soul ride in the Gorges de la Nesque
> Discover the Dentelles the Montmirail
> Enjoy the hospitality extended at our base in Provence
> Indulge in the fine wines of the Ventoux region
> Let us introduce you to the cycling around Mont Ventoux – you’ll be amazed at what is on offer
> Savour the delights of the Provençal gastronomy with meals at local restaurants and our base itself

Mont Ventoux Adventure Dates 2024

The dates above are the scheduled departures. However, note that this is our backyard, so we have plenty of flexibility to add dates. All tours and individual stages are available as a custom tour for your group – contact us for details.

Note that this is run as an event and not a regular Ride and Seek, so please refer to the details below on the inclusions and exclusions. The price point reflects that this is primarily a ride-only event.

Inclusions

>3 x Guided Rides
> Passionate, experienced and knowledgeable guides always on hand to help
>Mont Ventoux Cycling Club (MVCC) Jersey
> Friday Pasta Party at Pista Cafe
>Ride with GPS Experience
>Vehicle and Ride Captain support
> Coffee and Pastries at ride starts

Exclusions

> Room and Board – see Hotels tab for accommodation suggestions
> Shuttles – these can be arranged at an addiitonal cost to and from Avignon TGV and Marseilles Vitrolles airport
>Bike Rental – we have bikes available if you wish to rent

Deposit

We ask for a deposit of €100 to reserve a place on this tour.

Mont Ventoux Adventure Food and Wine

With a strong Italian and Spanish influence, the cuisine of Provence has a distinctive flair that sets it apart from more classic French fare. Blessed with an abundance of natural ingredients that flourish in the region, Provence is unsurpassed for the freshness of its produce and variety of its dishes. What better encapsulates the flavours of Provençal cuisine than the region’s herbs? Containing rosemary, marjoram, basil, savoury and thyme, as well as a variety of other aromatic plants, you’ll be awakened to their presence not just in the food but also in the air as you cycle along. And what about the tapenades? These go so well spread on fougasse – a flat bread with herbs, fig, olive and walnut. We like the original made of capers, black olives and anchovies but why not try the myriad of other options and discover your own favourite?

Provence is also one of France’s serious fine wine regions, on a par with Bordeaux and Burgundy. In contrast to the cultured power of Bordeaux and the elegance of Burgundy, Provençal red wines are earthier with an almost rustic flavour. In this respect, they are really interesting since quality commercial wine making is balanced by a real sense of identity. Our tour takes us into the heart of some of the regions finest wines and we’ll have the chance to compare and contrast the relative merits of Côtes du Rhône, Les Baux and Côtes du Ventoux. For dessert, we recommend the excellent Muscat de Beaumes de Venise – an almost floral, citrus bouquet making them both refreshing and full-bodied.

Mont Ventoux Adventure Accommodation

For the Mont Ventoux Adventure accomodation is not included in the package, but below, we have collated some of our favourite options for taking part in the event. We only choose places we have used over the years, so these are very much personal recommendations. Note a reference to the $ sign as a price guide.

Hotel des Pins (Bedoin) $$- This Logis Hôtel is situated at the base of Mont Ventoux and has a wonderful gourmet restaurant. Its name comes from the pine trees that surround it and reflects the fact it is slightly outside the hustle-bustle of the village which is a 10-minute stroll away. With a lovely swimming pool and shaded courtyard, it provides a wonderful sanctuary from which to explore the surrounding area. The massages offered by our ex Tour de France soigneur are an added bonus.

Clos Marceau (Bedoin) $$- This family-run B & B has become a firm favourite of ours in recent years. Offering a shared lounge and inner courtyard view, Le Clos Marceau is situated in Bédoin. The air-conditioned accommodation only has 5 rooms but also has a lovely outside terrace for dinner and serves a delectable breakfast.

Au Brabo (Mormoiron) $ – This friendly B & B is run by our friends Dominique and Renee in the village of Mormoiron – 6km from Bedoin. Boasting a great beer garden the guest house situated in a historic building and offers a great hot tub! Fresh pastries, fruits, and juice make up the breakfast, and guests can eat at the on-site restaurant, while packed lunches are also available upon request.

Hotel Crillon le Brave (Crillon-le-Brave) $$$$—If you’re looking for a bit of luxury, this is the premier hotel in the area, situated just 5km from Bedoin. They pride themselves on providing amazing service, and the 34 rooms and suites are full of character and charm. The serene atmosphere invites rest and luxurious relaxation throughout this 5-star hotel.

Mont Ventoux Adventure Ride Data 2024

Day 1 – Regular Ride – Gorges de la Nesque Soul Ride

Day 1 Extra Loop – St Hubert Loop

Day 2 Regular Ride – Ventoux Day (Bedoin)

This is the regular ride. Do note that we have multiple options on this day that incorporate riding the other two sides of the mountain as well.The primary guided option will the the classic out and back climb from Bedoin as shown above

Day 2 – The Cingles option – 135km & 4420m of elevation!

Day 3 Regular Ride – Dentelles de Montmirail

This is framed as a warm down ride on the Sunday morning. Longer or shorter rides can be facilitated depending on how you are feeling.

Mont Ventoux – An Overview

Below is a wonderful piece from Bas Steman in Soigneur about the Geant.

The peloton shimmers off in the distance. A solo shadow appears on the barren, windswept horizon. The road winds up to a white tower. Reach it, and you’ll kiss immortality. You’ll strike another classic from your list. All the best riders have struggled here. Mont Ventoux is to cycling what Wembley Stadium is to football.

The mountain’s menace can’t be captured by statistics, although they are impressive, with more than 20 kilometres of climbing, from 300 metres of elevation up to 1,900 metres, and long gradients at more than 12%. Even the pros suffer. You can suffer anywhere though. In the Alps and the Dolomites, there are mountains of equal magnitude, but Mont Ventoux is the mythical climb. To come to terms with the Ventoux, you have to see it as more than mountain. You can’t reduce it to an elevation profile, a promise of lactic acid. 7.7% doesn’t tell you very much. Mont Ventoux has a story, a history. It’s almost a character in itself. Its stories are woven into cycling’s DNA. Every kilometre is another chapter.

Mont Ventoux sits alone, rising out of the countryside, ruling over the land as if it were its sacred kingdom. It flirts with the status of Mount Fuji and Kilimanjaro. Ever since man first put his thoughts to paper, he’s attested to his fealty. For centuries, people spoke of a god who lived at the summit of the Ventoux, commanding awe. He withstood storms and torturous heat. Wolves roamed his slopes, hunting for food. Few were reckless enough to take on the ‘Scala Paradisi’. The poet Petrarch, who defied borders with his love, was one of them. He wrote about his experience in 1336.

“TO SUCCEED, WILL IS NOT ENOUGH; YOU NEED DESIRE.”

Nowadays, there is a road, a ribbon of asphalt draped over the bald flank of the mountain. And so long as there is a road, people will climb it on bikes. The Tour first arrived on Mont Ventoux in 1951. The peloton departed for the moonlike landscape from Malaucene and climbed the northern slope of the mountain, which is even more treacherous than the ascent to the south. Lucien Lazaridès was the first to the top. The Tour director Jacques Goddet wrote, “Under a burning sky, the vast plains of loose white pebble stones that form the deserted slopes of Mont Ventoux have served as the theatre for an act of the 58th Tour de France.”

A year later, the Tour returned, this time taking on the mountain from the south, via the town of Bédoin. A Provençal winegrowers’ village, where Grenache and apricots are traditionally cultivated, Bédoin would have been passed over by time had the Tour not taken on Mont Ventoux. Cycling breathed new life into the myth. People no longer spoke of gods or wolves. Heat, without shadow, and empty air drove riders to their limits. Mallejac rode himself senseless. In 1955, Kubler finished the climb speaking in tongues. Charly Gaul brought the record down to one hour and two minutes in 1958. From Bédoin, an inviting stretch of false flat leads up through the vineyards. It’s nothing to worry about. Whoever wants to set a good time can gain a minute here. But anyone who’s not sure how he’ll fare against the Ventoux had best keep his powder dry. After five kilometres, just past the first switchback to the left, the stairway to heaven rises up. The trees become denser, the road smaller. It hugs the cliffs, without ever offering you a breath of relief. Ten kilometres at ten percent are followed by seven kilometres at seven, then the road pitches up at more than eleven.

In high summer, the route is filled with a procession of cyclists — pilgrims on bikes, searching for grace. Everyone follows the same path in his own way. It’s an act of personal confirmation. The Ventoux is a continuously unfolding story, onto which anyone can inscribe his own myth. Anyone who takes it on rides through history. Film after imaginary film is added to the montage. Between your eyelashes, you see Anquetil ride past with hollowed-out eyes. Merckx struggles for breath. Armstrong dances on the pedals. Then, there is the great Italian, Eros, named for desire. A non-climber, he’s minutes ahead, just enough to claim the prize.

Whoever strives to live a full life is bound to come close to death. Between the trees, where, for ten kilometres, the road rises at ten percent, it creeps up behind you. It bites into your legs, gnaws at your spleen. Go too deep here and you’ll die on the moon. Just past the Chalet Reynard, lies emptiness. The mountain deceives you. Rarefied air, heat, and wind conspire against you. Above, the chalky stones whirl. You stand on the pedals, collapse. The white tower is further away than your eyes lead you to believe. To your right, a monument looms. Here, in July 1967, the rider with the Union Jack on his shoulders left his life behind in the Tour. He was felled by fame, the heat, dehydration, and madness.

The last kilometre is merciless. As Petrarch wrote, “To succeed, will is not enough; you need desire.”

One last vicious right-hand corner, a few more metres, and there’s the white line. As soon as you pass it, your wheel ticks off another item from your bucket list.

Bas’s account chronicles his experience climbing from Bedoin but there are actually 3 ways up the mountain. Below are the elevation profiles of these 3 ascents. The ‘classic’ is the ascent from Bedoin which is the way the Tour de France typically climbs the mountain. However, the other two also have their merits and our Mont Ventoux weekend gives you the chance to take them on too.

The climb from the north side is from Malaucene and is in our opinion on a par difficulty wise with the Bedoin climb. Whereas the climb from Bedoin comes up through the trees until Chalet Reynard the Malaucene ascent is a lot more open with expansive views of the Alps in the distance. The so called ‘easy’ ascent is from Sault and is arguably the most picturesque. Do all 3 in a day and you can join the Cingles club.

The Bedoin ascent elevation profile

The Malaucene ascent elevation profile

The Sault elevation profile