Chaos and calm on Mont Ventoux – Reflections from the Tour de France

Picture by Zac Williams/SWpix.com - 22/07/2025 - Cycling - 2025 Tour de France Stage 16, Montpellier - Mont Ventoux, France - The grupetto make their way to the summit.
(Image credit: Zac Williams/SWpix.com)

Colder than I expected. That's how I'd describe Mont Ventoux if you were to ask me right now. Lots of other things too – beautiful, eerie, iconic, brutal, exposed – but also cold.

I'm working on my first Tour de France as a journalist, so despite many years here as a fan, yesterday was my first day up the top of Ventoux. I'd been on the climb in 2016, but down in the woods, hearing news filtering through that Chris Froome was running (really?) up the climb, nowhere near the iconic top – in fact, the race hadn't even reached the summit in 2016.

Assistant Features Editor

Matilda is an NCTJ-qualified journalist based in the UK who joined Cyclingnews in March 2025. Prior to that, she worked as the Racing News Editor at GCN, and extensively as a freelancer contributing to Cyclingnews, Cycling Weekly, Velo, Rouleur, Escape Collective, Red Bull and more. She has reported from many of the biggest events on the calendar, including the Giro d'Italia, Tour de France Femmes, Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. She has particular experience and expertise in women's cycling, and women's sport in general. She is a graduate of modern languages and sports journalism.

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