Cinglés measure

Fiona Broome shows there are no limits to ambition in cycling

This was the year the Lionesses showed the nation that women could play great football and the year I joined the Club des Cinglés du Mont Ventoux at the age of 60. So, what’s the connection? Well, it got me thinking about the underrepresentation of women in the many sports that we are so capable of performing well.

As a member of two local cycling clubs, I know that women are very much in the minority, making up around 12% of members. Most of the big sportives have a similar percentage of female participants. Why is this? Little girls or boys will be given their first bike at a similar age, so when do women decide that cycling is a sport for men?

Rather than a lack of ability, could women be suffering from a lack of self-belief? This might include having the confidence to buy their first bike, the knowledge to cope with a roadside puncture or believing we can become strong enough to keep up with the group, which, with club numbers like mine, are full of blokes.

My own test of that self-belief was my attempt to join the Club des Cinglés du Mont Ventoux. Members of the ‘Crazies Club’, founded in 1988, have completed the challenge of the three road ascents of the iconic Mont Ventoux in southern France, from Bédoin, Malaucène and Sault, within 24 hours between midnight and midnight. Current membership stands at 17,894.

As my plans crystallized, eight friends agreed to join me in the attempt. What better challenge for my milestone 60th year? Our group included four women: Kate, Fran, Julie and me, with ages ranging from 57 to 62.

Training began in earnest in the winter of 2021. We are all capable club cyclists, but in no way serious athletes. We added indoor sessions to our winter training and, by spring, we were cycling 10+ hours a week with a mixture of longer, low-intensity rides, sweet-spot training and intervals out on the road. We have some great short hills in the South Downs, but nothing to prepare us for the 12 miles of uphill we’d encounter on each Ventoux ascent.

We were all set for 6 June. With the church bell ringing at 5am, we set out in the dark from the village square in Bédoin. The first ascent on the deserted road went well. The Bédoin climb has an average of 7.6%, but the forest section surprised us with its 9-10% gradient over several miles and it was here the scale of our challenge hit home.

By 7.30am, under blue skies surrounded by fabulous views, we reached the famous Chalet Reynard with the iconic red and white meteorological station visible above us. Just below the summit we stopped at the Tommy

Simpson memorial to lay the flowers we had carried up the mountain to pay homage to the British rider who died here during the 1967 Tour de France. Finally, our first summit and the obligatory photos under the summit sign.

Then the long descent in to Malaucène for coffee. The roads are wonderfully smooth, with spectacular views. As we started the Malaucène ascent, the famous heat of this region was setting in. Julie and I were cycling together and beginning to feel slightly sick from all the high-energy foods we were eating, but we dug deep to the summit, and took stock on the descent into Sault.

The third ascent is the easiest of the three climbs, with an average gradient of 4.9% but the 30° heat was the real enemy. By Chalet Reynard, we were within three miles of the final summit. I was exhausted and close to tears, but sure of finishing, even if it was on foot. Eventually, we turned the final corner and we were there! Hugs and photos followed before we enjoyed the final descent back to Bedoin. We’d done it! We stopped our computers: for me, the data read 138km, moving time 9 hours, 22 minutes and elevation of 4,262m. Over 34 years, 17,126 people have completed the challenge but only 1,310 are women. I am so proud to be one of them.

What did I take away from the experience? You have to be willing to risk failure or you’ll never take that step outside your comfort zone. There are so many challenges in cycling, whether it’s your first sportive, time trial, or puncture that you fix. We need more women enjoying this amazing sport and we need to support and encourage each other to take the first steps to the next personal goal. Cycling, more than most sports, is one almost without restrictions of gender or age, and as women, we have to start believing just what is possible.