Three ascents of the Bwlch, one epic day,

Just like the ‘Giant of Provence’, the Bwlch in South Wales can be tackled three ways. Simon Warren joined two local pros to see if he could complete the trio in a single, epic day

A couple of years ago I made the journey to Provence on a quest to join the Club des Cinglés, an establishment whose membership requires the completion of a single task, to ride all three ascents of the legendary Mont Ventoux in a 24-hour period. Unlike other big events such as the Etape du Tour or the Marmotte, there’s no set date needed for your attempt, you just register online, receive your timing cards in the post, pick a day that suits and go for it. It’s such a fantastic ride that it got me wondering if I could devise a similar challenge here in the UK, to pay homage to this great event?

I began the search for a suitable venue, a climb big enough and with enough routes to the top to fit the bill. We aren’t blessed with anything near the scale and grandeur of Ventoux but after a little page-turning, a candidate presented itself in South Wales. Due north of Bridgend, sitting high above the Rhondda Valley stands the Bwlch, and just like Ventoux there are three distinctly different routes to its summit.

The word ‘bwlch’ (approximately pronounced ‘b-oo-lch’) is Welsh for ‘gap’, or pass, and you’ll see this appendage on many notorious roads such as the Bwlchy-groes, but this hill, this is simply named ‘the’ Bwlch. Well known to locals, the climb has attracted national fame more recently due to its inclusion in the Dragon Ride sportive. Over the years, as the route has evolved, it has taken competitors up and down all three of its challenging ascents on its way to and from the wilds of the Brecon Beacons.

Three-pronged attack

With the location sorted, it was time to rustle up a couple of riding partners, so who better than local Jlt-condor pros, Jon Mould and Tom Moses? I say local, Moses is actually from Keighley in West Yorkshire but has recently relocated to South Wales to live with his girlfriend. Mould, though, was born and bred in Newport, home to the famous velodrome — handy as he’s one of the country’s best track riders — and he’s also an authority on the hills in the region.

The three bases of the Bwlch lie in Treorchy to the north, Pontrhydyfen to the west and to avoid the chaos of Bridgend, Sarn to the south. And like the Ventoux challenge, you can start your ride on whichever side you desire, so long as you ride all three.

I chose Sane as our starting point to tackle first the southern flank, then the western side to Pontrhydyfen and back, before finishing with the ascent from the north.

Now, I know the first 11 kilometres on the road from Sarn to Price Town are far from spectacular but I was keen to pack in as much altitude as possible and riding it this way will give you a total distance of 85km with an altitude gain of 1,815m, which adds up to a substantial amount of climbing.

With the congestion of the early roads out of the way and with legs warmed up, the proper climbing starts in Price Town with a nasty ramp up away from the old clock tower. I let the two young guys set the pace up here and just sat in behind but once the steep gradient faded I rolled up to the front.

Climbing with the pros

Holding pace up a serious climb with two of the country’s top riders and being able to hold a conversation was never going to be easy, but I had to give it a go. Etiquette dictated that Mould should choose the pace — he’s the pro, he’s the one with a training plan to follow, they are his roads I am visiting. The key is to stay calm, appear to be able to speak freely on the surface but paddle like hell underneath, breathing through every available orifice in order to act as if you’re just pottering along when in reality you’re hanging on for grim death.

I started by asking them what they liked about the hills of South Wales. Moses was straight in with his