{"id":1916,"date":"2016-07-14T13:24:29","date_gmt":"2016-07-14T04:24:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/slingadventures.com\/?p=1916"},"modified":"2018-08-20T06:31:43","modified_gmt":"2018-08-19T20:31:43","slug":"mont-ventoux","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/slingadventures.com\/destinations\/france\/mont-ventoux","title":{"rendered":"Mont Ventoux"},"content":{"rendered":"`\"They're pointing to his bike, he needs a bike...\" claimed legendary Tour de France commentator Phil Liggett. Yellow jersey holder and defending champion Chris Froome is running in cycling cleats through a throng of crazed fans. Each draped in flags of their respective country. \u00a0Each having camped out for days to grab a glimpse of\u00a0the best in the business scale 'The Best of Provence', Mont Ventoux.\r\n\r\nIt is Bastille Day in France. The French National Day. While 180 professional cyclists perform the annual lap of France on expensive bikes a whole other tour is occurring. This is the Tour de Fans that follow in campervans, tour buses, motorcycles and even bicycles themselves. Bastille Day is bang in the middle of the tour. Mont Ventoux is the beginning of the Alps where the serious contenders come out to play.\r\n\r\n
\"A

A view of the 'Beast of Provence' from Avignon.<\/p><\/div>\r\n\r\nWe have based ourselves near\u00a0Bedoin at the base of the 'Bald Mountain'. Yet another name for this iconic peak\u00a0towering over the south of France. This was our\u00a0second stop on the 2016 tour after a brief interlude in Andorra<\/a>. We had got into the cadence of what it took to be a Tour de France spectator in Andorra, however in Bedoin at the base of Mont Ventoux we were looking to find the balance between the intense crowds, Bastille Day vibe and a picnic in the\u00a0fields with views of the passing cyclists.\r\n\r\nTravelling from the delightful and historic Avignon we arrived at the foot of the mountain a day before the professional cyclists. Our Airbnb host Antoine delegated the check-in duties to his Grandma while he finished up a shift in the family bakery. After many gestures\u00a0and my failed French linguistics, we settle in to our apartment with a mezzanine-level bed set on the rising escarpment. Best of all it was\u00a0only 500m down a dirt road to the Tour de France cycling route planned for tomorrow.\r\n\r\n

\"The

The town of Bedoin and vehicles dressed up for the Tour and Bastille Day.<\/p><\/div>\r\n

A reconnaissance mission<\/h2>\r\nUsing the same routine as in\u00a0Andorra, we took a drive along the route toward the summit to scope out a suitable position for the next day. After passing a few small towns we were soon in a pine forest. A\u00a0littering of campervans had already lined the route. Amateur cyclists of all shapes and sizes were pushing their pedals up the summit. Within the forest campervan numbers intensified. Deck chairs were out, wine was flowing, many looked settled in for Bastille Day celebrations.\r\n\r\nA few kilometres from the summit everything came to a grinding halt. The campervans were now 3 deep from the edge of the road. Tarps strewn between trees, flags hung from awnings and there were as many people as there were trees. It resembled an apocalyptic scene with survivors taking\u00a0refuge in vans up a mountain hiding out in the forest.\r\n\r\nWe reach Chalet Reynard, the final town before the summit. Here the forest ends and the scenery changes to a moonscape. With Mont Ventoux once at the bottom of a pre-historic ocean it has since been pushed up by\u00a0geological forces to 1912 metres above the sea. The exposed limestone caused from howling winds. Any trace of foliage has been blown from the summit leaving only grey rubble behind. Closer to the summit, gusts of wind shook the car\u00a0at each turn. We parked on the only remaining space. A precarious precipice. Opening the door into the wind was nearly impossible. I half expected the car to have been blown off\u00a0the cliff\u00a0upon out return.\r\n\r\nThe summit contained little infrastructure except\u00a0small souvenir stall and a summit sign clad in stickers from all over the world. We felt a little sheepish\u00a0posing for a photo by the sign dressed in civilian clothes. Qualification seemingly required one to summit on two wheels not four! Given the traffic, I felt our trip up Mont Ventoux was slower and more arduous. Our descent down Mont Ventoux however was made much more enjoyable by taking an alternate route down the other side of the mountain. Some cyclists still\u00a0did it much quicker passing us in the car at a nail biting 80kph!\r\n\r\n
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A small window in between 'qualified' cyclists to get a summit sign selfie.<\/p><\/div>\r\n\r\nOur Airbnb host Antoine kindly invited us to join him and his family and friends for a drink in their back garden. Language barriers were overcome with a few bottles of wine. Antonie and friends were looking to trek up the mountain as far as they could go the next day and get amongst the crowds. We had settled on staying in our local village of Sainte Colombe to catch the action. A little more subdued than further up the mountain. Sitting out having a picnic in the sunshine close to home appealed after an intense week on the road and a 5am departure planned the next morning.\r\n

Race day<\/h2>\r\nA leisurely stroll up to Sainte Colombe and a patch of grass was found to set up camp. The town was already abuzz with people lining the road and setting up a few hours before the cyclists arrived. The official team cars, buses, vans and sponsor caravans passed us in a steady stream to the summit. A jovial atmosphere with the one hotel in town setup with an outside bar doing a roaring trade.\r\n\r\n
\"Anxiously

Anxiously awaiting the riders in Bedoin<\/p><\/div>\r\n\r\nNews from the tour was that the winds we had experienced at the summit had intensified and forced the organisers to cut short the finish at Chalet Reynard. The\u00a0crowds gathered above this point had made their way down to what was going to be a very congested finish area. The Tour de France crowds had already gained some flack for interfering with the cyclists on the mountain stages. These notorious crowds part only seconds before the cyclists arrive. It must be quite a daunting prospect for riders constantly plowing\u00a0into a sea of people. Well, this sea just got a lot more choppy with the shortened finish!\r\n\r\nThe now familiar police motorcycle escorts led the riders up the mountain. A few\u00a0riders had made a short break although the peloton, containing the\u00a0main contenders, were gaining\u00a0quickly. Team Sky, the team in support of the race leader and defending champion Chris Froome, led the peloton when they arrived and passed us toward the brewing maelstrom awaiting them further up the mountain.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nCrowds in Sainte Columbe quickly moved to the hotel and gathered in a courtyard around a TV hastily propped up in a window. Seats filled quickly and all eyes were glued to the screen.\r\n\r\nAs we arrived Aussie Richie Porte crashed into the back of the camera motorbike after the bike was caught in the intensifying crowds. Froome and Dutchman, Bauke Mollema\u00a0immediately joined the pile up. Porte\u00a0and Mollema\u00a0were able to get back on their bikes but Froome's was a right off. A support vehicle is usually close behind but had been held up with the crowds. Froome's only option was to run.\r\n\r\nAs soon as the race result was known, like Andorra, the sea of humanity descended the mountain in one raging torrent. It was like a city fun run. The roads thick with people except\u00a0cars were honking to get through. A streaming chaos that would continue for many hours into the evening. We had been settled in our BnB for many hours before we heard Antoine and his sister come past the window. He looked absolutely spent having trekked 20km to the finish and return. Mont Ventoux is that kind of stage!\r\n\r\n

\"Gathered

Gathered around the TV in Bedoin for the closing stages.<\/p><\/div>\r\n

Following the Tour to Mont Ventoux?<\/h2>\r\nDepending on the tour route year to year your options may change. However the following may be useful:\r\n