Beauty and beast – How to make Mont Ventoux the best place for a Tour de France trip

On Tuesday, July 22, the 'Giant of Provence', Mont Ventoux, comes into focus for riders and fans alike of the Tour de France. The exposed mass of white limestone is a singular punctuation on the landscape of southern France, named for the 'mistral' winds that sweep across the barren top third of the mountain.

The enormous protrusion from the surrounding forests and lavender fields tops out at 1,913 metres, and on clear days it offers expansive views to the Alps in the north and the Mediterranean Sea to the south.

It is a place of legendary weather (winds have been clocked over 300 kph at the summit) as well as legendary terrain that has spotlighted feats and defeats by pro cyclists. On Bastille Day in 2016, high winds forced Tour organisers to shorten stage 12 and move the finish line from the summit to 6km below at Chalet Reynard, a former ski refuge now a restaurant.

Beauty and beast – Mont Ventoux is both.

When the world's most popular bike race isn't there, it's a great tourist destination without an abundance of large crowds. The climb of the mountain can be done by car, by foot or by bicycle, with an abundance of quaint towns in the area with overnight accommodations, tasty wineries and every lavender-themed keepsake imaginable.

When the Tour is there, as it is this year for the 19th time in its history, it takes a lot more planning, patience and persistence to not only make it to the top, but make the journey enjoyable. Here is some information to help you wrangle the beast, whether it is to find a great spot to watch the Tour next week or to strategise for a future trip.

For more about the history of the mythical mountain in the Tour de France, read our feature with all the statistics and stories.

Climbing paradise?

There's a special allure for cyclists to climb Mont Ventoux. Many professional and amateur cycling events include the mountain on their routes, with the Tour first including a pass over the top in 1951 and then having a first summit finish in 1958.

It's been four years since the Tour last included Mont Ventoux on the route, which was an epic double ascent in 2021, won by Wout van Aert with a downhill finish in Malaucène. This time, a summit finish comes directly after the second rest day of the Tour to light up the final week of racing.

There are three roads that lead to the top of the region's notorious climb - from Bédoin, Sault and Malaucène – with the traditional southern ascent from Bédoin amping up the action in the 172km stage 16.

Each morning, I wake up to a photo of Mont Ventoux on the wall, taken from Entrechaux, where we stayed for several days. My husband, Jack, and I have been blessed to have travelled and ridden our bikes in that area several times. My all-time favourite road ride was a 100km route around the Ventoux, passing lavender fields, wineries and cruising through the Gorges de la Nesque. We've learned to watch the pros pass while we enjoy a picnic near a small town, and we ride our bikes in the days after the race has moved on. It's a lot less stressful that way.

It's been a dozen years since my husband made the solo climb of Mont Ventoux, as I succumbed to stomach issues that morning after several days in the saddle and opted to drive to the top. I still thank what was probably lactose intolerance for my change of plans.

Even in the car, I couldn't believe how the road never levelled out. Driving from Bedoin through the pine forest of the lower slopes, the road rolled left and right and up and up and up. There were no tight switchbacks, so no reprieve in the gradient. I've never seen so many people walking their bikes on a lower section of a climb, road bikes and mountain bikes alike.

The ascent is 15.7km long, and the average gradient comes in at about 8.8%. The first section through the forest is one of the toughest, with 3km at a consistent 10%. After Chalet Reynard, the shade disappears, but not the pitch of the road. Referred to as 'a surface of the moon', the next 6km average 8% gradient. With the weather station at the top of the mountain always in sight, the climb then gets tougher, reaching pitches over 9% across the final 1.7km.

I passed Jack and waved to him out the window. What I didn't realise is that his 'wave' in my rear view mirror was really a plea for assistance, but he soldiered on.

He had 5km to go, just after stopping for water at Chalet Reynard, the only flat section of the entire 21.5km climb. His legs still moved, and he is forever my hero for making it to the top.

Jack uses one word to describe the climb, 'relentless'. That visit, too, was in a July without the Tour using the same roads, so I was able to drive to the top and park without issues.

On July 22, you won't have the luxury of parking at the top or the Chalet. The road from Bedoin is supposed to be open until 1:00 p.m. local time (see below), so get on your bike early to beat the heat; the crowds will already be there.

Pampered plan

How do you make it to the two top-prioritised viewing locations on Mont Ventoux - Chalet Reynard or the finish line at the top - without being frazzled from congested roadways, finding parking and then walking or riding to the top? With planning (sorry, this is for the next time the Tour comes to Ventoux), skip the circus and just commit to a "pampered" experience.

One US couple, Kelly Sisario and Roger Register, have travelled extensively in North America and abroad to ride bikes on holidays, striking out on "do-it-yourself" journeys as well as packaged tours with groups. One trip with an authorised travel partner of the Tour de France a few years ago was all they needed as an excuse to return to the Grand Tour.

Simply put, "We want to be pampered," Register said. "We can experience Hautacam, Mont Ventoux and see the finish in Paris. Be right there and follow the Tour without hassles."

The retired couple will be able to ride their bikes up the climbs, but said they enjoyed having a place to change clothes, with beverages and food waiting for them, and a reserved spot to watch the riders in the Tour pass close by. They also get access to team paddocks and podiums at select stages.

They won't miss any of the action, as guests in the Mont Ventoux and Alps trip will be transferred by TGV high-speed train from Lyon to Paris and watch stage 21 on the Champs-Élysées.

For Mont Ventoux, they still have to ride that day up the mountain to reach private hospitality, but they'll have some modern comforts while they wait.

"We've done the climb before. I am more freaked out this time because I now bandit it is," Sisario admitted. "You see the stone markers with the distance and % gradient on the climb. Your eyes can't help but see them."

It might be more of a monetary investment to join a travel operator, but Register said it added up to big savings for more time to enjoy the experience itself and let others do the work. His advice to others was simple, "Do not do it on your own – the traffic! People on the mountain climbs have been there for three days!"

Stage 16 details

If you are locked and loaded to be in the area for stage 16, you can see the Tour enter the Vaucluse via the Roquemaure bridge before passing through the towns of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Courthézon, Sarrians, Aubignan, Caromb, Modène, Saint-Pierre-de-Vassols and Bédoin.

Consider minimising hassles with transportation and arrive in Bedoin by using a ride service from another town, or use the train that goes to Carpentras (15km away) to then ride your bike.

Here are some tips from a press kit for the Vaucluse Department provided by organisers A.S.O. on accessing the course around the mountain so you can safely be part of the revelry:

• Parking motorised vehicles along the roads leading to Ventoux will be prohibited.
• Parking will be possible in designated areas in the villages of Bédoin, Sault, Malaucène, and the Mont Serein station.
• Starting Monday, July 21, motorised traffic will be prohibited on the RD 974 from the Saint-Estève bend (Bédoin), from Malaucène and on the RD 164 (Road from Sault), from the Ventouret (except for locals and services).
• On the RD 974 towards Mont Ventoux, motorhome parking will only be allowed in three parking areas: on the southern side, at the Ermitants and the bike park (ski chairlift and bike parking) from Wednesday, July 16 at 12:00 p.m. and on the northern side at the Mont Serein parking lot. They will be closed once full (on Monday, July 21 at the latest).
• On the day of the stage, Tuesday, July 22, RD 164 will be temporarily reopened from 5:00 a.m. until 10:00 a.m. local time (at the latest), allowing light vehicles exclusively to park at La Frache parking lot, via the reserved track (you may access Chalet Reynard or the summit on foot, following a marked trail).
• On the south side, pedestrian and cyclist access on July 22 will remain possible until around 1:00 p.m. local time, about one hour before the passage of the advertising caravan.
• Amateur cyclists who made it to the summit on July 22 will be able to descend the side they came from about 15 minutes after the passage of the broom wagon. The road will be fully reopened at around 8:00 p.m. local time.

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