TheGiant of Provence
With so few events to report from, it’s time to look back over a spectacular French event and look forward to its hopeful resumption.
Increasingly popular in the UK, pedal cycles now are ever-more in evidence on the roads every weekend, with individuals enjoying the great outdoors and keeping fit, as the UK catches up with the rest of Europe, where the sport of cycling has dominated roads every day for years.
National sporting events such as the Giro d’Italia
(won incidentally by a Brit, TaoGeogheganHart, in 2020, for only the second time ever) and the Tour de France, attract tens of thousands of spectators each year to name just two. In the Tour de France event several particular mountain climbs have become legendary, one beingMont (Mount) Ventoux in Provence, in the South of France.
Often known as the ‘BaldMountain’ or the ‘Giant of Provence,’ Mont Ventoux is well known in pedal cycle circles as one of the most challenging climbs in the annual Tour de France. Geologically, themountain is part of the Alps, although it stands alone with its limestone peak looking as if it is covered in snow all year round.
Ventoux actually means windy, somewhat apt as the famous ‘mistral’ wind often manages 200mph on its peak standing just short of 2000 metres (6218ft) high and the wind speed is above 56mph for 240 days of the year. At the summit isameteorological station built in 1882, which created the need for an access road on the mountain.
Just short of this isamemorial to the British cyclist Tommy Simpson who died there in 1967, from heat exhaustion and dehydration, but even now there is still some speculation as to the exact cause of his death; amphetamines were found in his bloodstreamand his race jersey.
It happenedwhile Simpson was making the ascent in a race and he fell off after weaving across the road for no apparent reason. Although delirious, he persuaded spectators to put him back on the bike, which he then managed to ride within a half mile of the summit, before dropping down dead, still clipped into his pedals. All of which is quite well known, but what is not so well known is that the mountain has an impressive motorsport
history that includes quite a few British riders of note, including inaugural world sidecar champions Eric Oliver and Denis ‘Jenks’ Jenkinson.
Themotorsport history starts in 1902, just two years after the twisty road that zigzags up the mountain from Bédoin and down again toMalaucène was opened. The road has approximately 120 bends including several hairpins, with an average gradient of 1 in 11 with a maximumof 1 in 7½. The road initially had a 45 degree banked hairpin on the way up to help vehicles maintain speed. Even today at road legal speeds it is a challenging climb onamodern motorcycle, let alone a pedal bike, despite the road surface being in good fettle compared to its historic past.
At the turn of the last century, hill climbing was a popular sport on the continent and Ventoux provided yet another challenge of racing up one side and then surviving the drop the other side, with primitive brakes barely slowing the rate of descent.
So on Tuesday, September 16, 1902, a number of competitors gathered to meet the new challenge, split into three classes, although the event was just a run up to the observatory (1908 metres) at the summit from Bédoin and did not have the drop included. However, it was a significant enough event for Michelin to sponsor it and a large crowd gathered.
Overall, it was won by a Frenchman named
Chauchard driving a 13.7 litre Panhard Lavasior, his average speed being 47.501kph.
In what is described as the ‘motorcyclette class’, a rider called Derny riding a Clement averaged 30.960kph – not too bad in comparison, given the difference in engine size. The record book shows the second placemachine, a 2¼hpWerner, was nearly an hour behind him.
Despite the success of the eventwhich was primarily for cars (as itwas for the duration) it was not runagain until 1904, whenaVitesse (speed) class was introduced for the solos. Spasmodically run for bikes fromthen on with the number of motorcycle classes changing each year, the entrants were mainly French, aswere the machines.
In 1912 a Rudge-Whitworth came second in the
500cc class, but British bikes were never to dominate, or for that matter feature that highly in the results on a regular basis. In 1913, three classes of sidecars based on machine engine capacity were introduced for the first time, but the First World War interrupted play and any more revisions to the programme.
It was in fact not until 1921 that themotorcycle event was run again and Harley-Davidson dominated the sidecar class and a year later won the solo class. Their main rivals in the USA, Indian, cleaned up in the main sidecar event. But while there was nowmore variation in the list of manufacturers, it was still predominantly
At the turn of the last century, hill climbing was a popular sport on the continent.”
a home event in all respects. Certainly home manufacturer Terrot used their four solo class wins there in 1927 to dominate their advertising campaign of that year, although BSA and AJS powered the two sidecar class winners. More British bikes were starting to appear, no doubt as local concessionaires convinced the locals to move away from the home products for ‘something better...’
To give you some idea of how the event was viewed in the car world over the years, many prominent manufacturers added their names to the winners roll call, such luminaries as Bugatti, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Ferrari and latterly BRMand Cooper-Climax taking their turn on the top step when it movedmore to single seat racing cars.
Top drivers from the car world also took part – like Rudi Caracciola driving a supercharged Mercedes SSK in 1931 – such was the lure and challenge. Three years later another German, Hans Stuck, took a rear-engined, supercharged V16 Auto-Union Grand Prix Silver Arrow up the road leading to the top of the ‘Giant of Provence’ setting a new record, as one might expect.
Motorcycle classes finished running long before the start of the SecondWorld War, but started again 1947, when a Vincent outfit won the three-wheeled class, with a Norton taking the solo class a year later. As before, all the winning riders were still French, despite there now beingmore competitors from all over Europe taking part in all manner of competitivemotorsport events.
In 1949 though, the British pairing of Oliver and Jenks were to – albeit briefly – stop the home dominance, and get their names added to the roll of honour, despite the well-known French racers like Behra, Houl and Collet being part of the large entry.
At that time the organisers, the Automobile Club Vauclusien, likemany others, were paying start money and the Oliver and Jenks team, along with others, entered in between championship commitments to earn some ‘wages’ to continue financing their racing on the continent. The irrepressible duomanaged to win both the sidecar classes by not stopping at the top in the under 600cc event, instead riding through the finish and down the other side of themountain to reach the bottom of the valley, before blasting back to the start to do it all again in the over 600cc class. It should be borne in mind that the return route to the start was 22 miles of similar going!
Not content with that, they repeated the exercise and then rode in the solo classes on a Velocette KTT for more money, with Oliver actuallymanaging a third despite the gruelling schedule. Jenks later said that the event ‘…was a real-earner and we dined on steak that night.’
It was the best year ever for Brits, as apart from the above, another four riders from the Continental Circus made the 350cc results and two featured in the 500cc class as well, with many records being broken. Phil Heath actually gives a detailed account in the 1950 version of the ‘The Racing Year’ edited by Geoff Davison. According to the overall motorcycle event results, it is also the only year the Brits ever won.
Norton did well asamanufacturer for the next few years, but 1952 was the last motorcycle event until 1963, despite the car classes continuing to run. AMatchless
took the solo win on the return, with Norton managing to take the top podium step for the next two years, but it was to be the last time a British make featured in the top placings.
After that, Ducati took the honours for the next two years and then the Japanese brands dominated, as they did at the end for the sidecar class, until it all stopped with a Kawasaki taking the title as the fastest solo. However, from 1963 until 1972, BMWruled the threewheeled class andworld champion Max Duebel won in 1964, averaging 92.969 kph.
In 1976, the last competitive hill climb event was run on the course which had seenmany changes over the years, including the introduction of banking on more corners to allow speeds to bemaintained. But the course was now shorter and costs of running the event had risenwell beyond the organisers’ pockets. No doubt the heavy costs of the high number of Gendarmes (allegedly 480 were required) needed to control the increasing crowds and ensure their safety, contributed as this had to be paid for by the club.
Add in the fire and rescue services on standby, along with other things like insurance and safety aids, these were just the final straw for the historic climb that had once featured in the European Hillclimb championships. Well, the end, at least as far as cars were concerned.
So, apart from the inclusion in cycle racing, and a few rally stages, in the main the ‘Giant’ had been left to sleepwithout having an engine on full chat disturbing the slumber. But in 2008, the Asso-MC2A motorcycle club started a classic event from the Malaucène end of the road. Not a full blooded competitive event, but a demonstration style run, split into 14 classes up a
2.3k section of closed road to celebrate the history of motorcycles on themountain. Despite quickly establishing itself and attracting a large entry, it too now has become a victimof the current economic climate, not helped of course by the current pandemic.
Last time I was there a few years ago, a look down the programme and around the paddock showed many bikes that may well have taken part in the original event. A 1927 Alcyon, a 1934 New Map – a brand that won in 1928, a Terrot and Magnat-Debon from the home teams, to mention just a few of the immaculate bikes in the paddock. As you would expect, many British machines likeManx Nortons and Velocettes also featured strongly in the entry, many having a weekend off from the racetrack as they would have in the past.
There was fair sprinkling of modern classics– many manufactured after the hill closed in 1976 – like the FrenchGodier Genoud Kawasakis that dominated endurance racing in the 1980s. In fact, the whole event was just a wonderful celebration of classic bikes in a classic setting re-creating at least in part, what must have been a truly impressive event in its heyday.
Hopefully this taste of the past may get another lease of life; if it does I strongly recommend a visit to see somemachines not often seen at events in the UK. As well as taking in the event, the weather in Provence in mid-April is generally better (at least at the bottom of Ventoux…) than here in the UK, the wine is still cheaper and the challenging ride to the top gives access to a panorama you won’t forget.