ED'S LETTER

There are harder climbs than Mont Ventoux. At a distance of 21.4km and an average gradient of 7.6% it is certainly tough – anyone who has ridden up it will confirm that it’s a leg-sapping, soul-crushing beast – but it’s a long way from being the hardest. In recent issues we have had climbs that are higher, steeper and more brutal, so why did we pick Ventoux as the venue to do our test of climbers’ bikes on p88? In a word: notoriety. No climb is as simultaneously loved and feared as Ventoux. No climb can match Ventoux for stories and legends gleaned from its 66 years and 15 appearances at the Tour de France. No climb is as poignant, owing to the death of Tom Simpson near its summit 50 years ago, and no climb has generated as much hyperbole from writers who have suffered on its slopes. French philosopher Roland Barthes described Ventoux as ‘a veritable Moloch… it never forgives the weak and exacts an unjust tribute of sufferings. Physically, Ventoux is dreadful… a test site for the hero, something like a higher hell in which the cyclist will define the truth of his salvation’. Lance Armstrong called it ‘the hardest climb in the Tour. Bar none.’

Most of all, no climb looks like Ventoux. The classic roads of the Alps or Pyrenees all appear faintly similar, but Ventoux is instantly identifiable thanks to its barren moonscape, its red-and-white striped tower perched on top, and its endless views over the surrounding plains of Provence.

Perhaps more than any other climb on the planet, Ventoux is the one that every rider must tick off at some time, and it will almost certainly reward any attempt on its summit with a lifetime of tales to tell at coffee stops on weekend club runs.

If you haven’t already done it, now is the moment to start planning that trip to France. And if you need help choosing a suitable bike or place to stay, we might be able to help you there…

Ventoux is instantly identifiable thanks to its barren moonscape, its red-and-white striped tower perched on top, and its endless views over the surrounding plains of Provence