We flew into Marseille on Sunday where I had intended to get on the bike as soon as I arrived and ascend the Mont Ventoux. Unfortunately this was scuppered by our plane breaking down as we taxied away from the stand, meaning that we were delayed by 4 hours.
When we finally arrived, we were picked up by Jerry from VeloVentoux and set off into the heart of Provence. Upon sighting the Ventoux, Emily was sure that it looked bigger than last year (although we were later to find that it had shrunk by a metre!)
With my planned ride scuppered, I headed out with Emily and Jerry for a leg-loosener of 32km, which finished with a blast up the 9 hairpins of the Col de Propiac.
500m climbed and a great introduction into the week ahead. Arrived back at the lovely guesthouse to meet our fellow cyclists for the week - a fantastic bunch which included Team Sky's number one fan Rusty Morris:
Day two took us on a 80km ride around Provence, which included the climbs of the Col de Fontaube, Col d'Aulan and another crack at the Propiac. 1,100m climbed and everyone was raring to go for the big one the next day. Fuelling came courtesy of the pizza van parked at the end of the VeloVentoux driveway, and a huge bowl of pasta made by Vicky. Lots of nervous excitement around the table that night!
Day 3 - Cingles du Mont Ventoux
After a fitful nights sleep, we were up at 6am for a huge breakfast before rolling out in a notably quiet group in the direction of Bedoin, the start of the most famous and arguably hardest route up Mont Ventoux.
When attempting to complete the Cingles challenge (ascending all 3 routes of the Ventoux in a single day), evidence of your achievement comes in the form of a small card which you need to get stamped at the 3 towns at the bottom of each ascent, and once in the shop at the top.
Finding somewhere in France that is open at 8am that will stamp your card can be tricky, but eventually the surly proprietor of the local tabac obliged us and we were away. We set off in good spirits, and hopeful that the mist covering the deforested top of the mountain would disappear before we got there.
I climbed well, and eased my way through the tough forested section. At the end of this you reach Chalet Reynard, where you are exposed to the elements. For me this meant freezing fog and a Mistral wind in the region of 50-60km/h. The headwind was brutal and almost blew me backwards on a couple of occasions, the fog meant that I could only see the 5 metres of tarmac in front of me, and the cold made my fingers go numb even though the blood was pumping hard from the effort of climbing.
I dug deep and kept going, practically crawling past the memorial to Tom Simpson with 1km to go. Eventually I rounded the final hairpin and crested the summit. I quickly checked in with our support van to fill my bidons and grab some food, then it was over the other side for the descent to Malaucene. This was the worst part of the entire ride - the wind blew the bike across the road, the lack of visibility made any sort of speed very dangerous, and the cold made my fingers so numb that I had no feel for the brakes, it was impossible to change gear and it brought on searing cramps in my tired legs.
It did get warmer as I got lower down the mountain, but I was still shivering when I got to Malaucene to get my card stamped. It was tough to turn straight back around and head upwards once more, and I resolved to just spinning in granny-gear to try to clear the lactic acid in my legs. Halfway up I began to feel really weak, and realising that the banana I'd eaten after the first ascent probably wasn't enough, I pulled over to the side of the road to consume an energy bar. Immediately after this pit-stop the road ramped up for a brutal 4km where the gradient was always between 11 and 13%. After having already climbed the mountain once, this was a tough section which was probably the hardest riding I've ever had to do. I wound my way up the mountain and back into the freezing mist again, desperately looking for the next kilometre marker.
To say I was elated to summit the mountain a second time is a gross understatement, knowing that I had only the easiest ascent of the Ventoux left, and the promise of lunch in Sault before attempting it. The descent (once out of the fog) was a lot of fun, as it's the quietest road on the mountain, and it was resurfaced with billiard table-smooth tarmac last year.
I found a cafe in Sault that would provide me with food and stamp my Cingles card, and having inhaled a chicken supreme and 2 cokes, I set off on the final leg.
The ascent between Sault and Chalet Reynard averages only 4.5%, given that it's longer and starts from a higher point than the other routes up the Ventoux. It felt like a 10% average when faced with a headwind however, but when I turned through hairpins and got the wind on my back I was flying, and actually contemplated shifting to the big ring! All good things come to an end though, and upon reaching Chalet Reynard you rejoin the road from Bedoin and the final 6km of the road used in the Tour de France. The fog had lifted a little and the temperature had increased slightly as a result, but it took all of my remaining energy to keep the bike moving forward. As on the etape, the kilometres seemed to tick by at the same rate as ice-ages, but eventually I passed Tommy's memorial again and made the final couple of bends to hit the summit for the last time.
And that was it. I was a member of the Cingles club.
Riding time for the 3 ascents and 2 descents was 7:40 so was very pleased with that. With a lunch stop, pit stops at the summit (including doing the final few metres again for the benefit of the camera!), card-stamping time and riding to/from the mountain, the day was a lot longer.
Ascent from Bedoin: 01:51
Descent to Malaucene: 00:41
Ascent from Malaucene: 02:12
Descent to Sault: 00:49
Ascent from Sault: 02:07
I rolled off down the mountain for the last time, and met up with a few of the other guys for a victory beer in Malaucene before riding home. By the end we had ridden 174km, climbed 5,100m, and had smiles as broad as the Forth Bridge.
Day 4 was a great recovery ride with the whole group through the vineyards of Provence with a steak & chips lunch-stop and a final blast up the hill to Faucon to conclude my riding for the trip.
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A great end to a great trip, where I'd achieved one of my two goals for this year. Very encouraging to chat to a couple of guys who did the Marmotte last year and were both in agreement that the Cingles was a harder ride to do.
VeloVentoux
Although the purpose of this blog is to log all my training efforts in pursuit of the goals I've set, I felt I must just put in a word for Craig & Vicky at VeloVentoux. These guys have a great reputation in cycling circles for their hospitality and it is totally deserved. This was the second time Emily & I have stayed with them, and once again we had a brilliant time - the accommodation is first class, the cycling is beautiful and challenging, the people you meet are incredibly friendly but most of all Craig & Vicky are wonderful hosts. We will be returning again. And again.
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| Craig & Vicky - chapeau to them |
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