Can an amateur complete the Mont Ventoux Dénivelé Challenge?

With two ascents of the mythical Géant de Provence, the Mont Ventoux Dénivelé Challenge is one of the most unique races on the professional cycling calendar. Featuring upwards of 4,400 metres of elevation gain over the 155km route, this French one-day race is a tough undertaking, even for the professionals. But could an amateur complete this gruelling route and conquer Mont Ventoux not once, but twice? Our intern Joseph Lycett went out to France two weeks ahead of the race to find out…

The day started in the car park of a Lidl supermarket, as all great adventures do. An early start meant that I was feeling a bit tired ahead of the ride, but I knew that I’d be fine once I got going. Having taken the bike out of the car and performed all of my usual pre-flight checks, it was just a matter of replacing my flip-flops for a pair of cycling shoes before getting underway.

Rolling down to where the start line would be for the race in just a couple of weeks' time, I loaded my route onto my Wahoo bike computer and saw the dreaded number pop up telling me how far I’d have to ride. 155km to go.

Leaving the start town of Vaison-la-Romaine was a fairly straightforward matter and was simply a case of navigating a couple of roundabouts and a fairly busy junction before I was on the road towards Malaucène.

The rolling roads in this region allowed me to warm up the legs nicely, getting out of the saddle on a couple of small rises, before settling back into my rhythm and continuing to keep the kilometres ticking over.

Having been able to acquaint myself with the surrounding roads in the days leading up to this ride, the main road leading into Malaucène with a line of trees on either side had become somewhat of a familiar sight by this point. However, it wasn’t long before I was turning off that road and onto a couple of short kickers before the first real climb of the day, the Col de la Madeleine.

Joseph Lycett

Not to be confused with its more infamous alpine namesake, the Col de la Madeleine marks the first categorised difficulty of the Mont Ventoux Dénivelé Challenge

At just under 2km in length and at an average gradient of around 4%, the Col de la Madeleine is not the place to spend your energy, but it marked a good opportunity for me to test the legs and stand on the pedals through a few of the steeper pinches.

As I reached the summit of the climb, I took a few sips of water from my bidon, as it would be important to stay hydrated throughout the ride, but as I was putting the bidon back into my bottle cage a French rider came flying past me and I sprinted to catch up to him.

Once I was up to speed and onto his wheel, I followed him all the way down the narrow and technical descent of the Madeleine. Fortunately for me, it was clear that this guy was familiar with these roads, as we flew down and into the town of Bédoin. We alternated turns for a while until I turned off towards the village of Flassan, while he began his ascent of Mont Ventoux, which I still had ahead of me.

Entering Flassan, the road immediately turned uphill, as I passed through this antiquated little village and began the second categorised climb of the day, the Col de la Gabelle. At 8km in length at just over 5%, this climb may not seem like too much of a challenge on paper. However, the incredibly rough and bumpy road surface meant that it sapped energy from my legs and left me with barely any feeling in my hands by the summit.

Joseph Lycett

The rough road surface turned the Col de la Gabelle into an unforeseen challenge

Once I had reached the top of the climb, there was around a kilometre of false flat downhill before I reached a junction and turned right to begin the rapid descent towards Villes-sur-Auzon.

It was here where I reached my top speed of the day, clocking 75km/h on this wide and relatively untechnical descent, with several sweeping bends that allowed me to carry my speed through the corners without pulling on the brakes.

My moment of feeling like Tom Pidcock descending down the Col du Galibier soon came to an end though, as when I entered the outskirts of Villes-sur-Auzon, I took a sharp left turn and began climbing towards the Rocher du Cire along the Gorges de la Nesque.

At 18km in length, and at an average gradient of just over 2%, the Rocher du Cire is a continuous drag that allows you to put the power down and stay in the big ring for the majority of the climb.

However, it is not the road itself that will make you want to take on the Rocher du Cire, but the scenery instead, as this climb offers amazing views of the Gorges de la Nesque and is one of the few roads that I have ridden on where I have seen more cyclists than cars.

Joseph Lycett

The incredible scenery along the Gorges de la Nesque is the main reason why it is so popular with cyclists

At the top of the climb, I paused briefly to look at the scenery before beginning the winding descent towards Monieux. This narrow and fairly technical downhill meant that I had to be alert and cautious while descending, with my top speed only reaching 55km/h.

Once I reached Monieux, it was a case of getting my head down and keeping the kilometres ticking over towards Sault, from which I would begin the first of two ascents of Mont Ventoux.

The steep ascent up to the hilltop town was another unexpected difficulty and left me somewhat out of breath by the summit. However, the biggest challenges were still yet to come, which meant that it was important for me to refill my bottles and take onboard another energy gel before heading off to face the Géant de Provence.

While it is the longest of the three ascents of Mont Ventoux at 25km in length, the ascent from Sault is by far the easiest, as at an average gradient of 5% it pales in comparison to the 7-8% averages seen on the ascents from Malaucène and Bédoin.

Joseph Lycett

The grey clouds overhead provided an ominous warning for what was to come

The climb is fairly open for the first few kilometres, passing through lavender fields with little to no tree cover. Once you do enter the trees though, the gradient begins to rise towards 6% for a few kilometres and you start to have to put some pressure on the pedals. It was here that the fatigue started to catch up with me, as I began to feel a fair bit of pain in my knees, back and feet.

With around 8km to go until Chalet Reynard, the gradient began to level off, easing to around 3.5%, which allowed me to get into the big ring and start building up some speed.

With the gradient easing off more and more, it wasn’t long before I reached Chalet Reynard, where I took a short break and attempted to resolve some of the issues that I had been having throughout the climb.

After taking in another energy gel, it wasn’t long before I was back on the bike and onto the toughest section of the climb, surrounded by the iconic lunar landscape of Mont Ventoux.

It was here that I was passed by a professional rider from EF Education-EasyPost (clearly here to train ahead of the race in a couple of weeks), but in spite of my competitive side telling me to jump onto his wheel and try to follow him up the climb, I kept my own pace, knowing full well that doing something like that would essentially be suicide on gradients such as this.

With the meteorological tower getting ever nearer as I approached the final kick-up towards the summit, it wasn’t long before I was giving a tip of the hat to Tommy Simpson’s memorial and onto the steepest part of the climb on the long drag to the top.

As I took the final right turn, I was met by what felt like a wall of rough paving slabs that had been joined together to form the most punishing final few hundred metres of any climb in the world. With the sign denoting the summit within sight, I put in one more effort out of the saddle and I finally made it to the top. The first ascent of Mont Ventoux was done.

Joseph Lycett

A picture with the sign at the summit is obligatory for any cyclist who climbs Mont Ventoux

I had a brief moment to admire the view and put on my long-sleeved jacket before setting off downhill towards Malaucène along a fast-paced descent with very few sharp corners where you have to scrub off speed.

Arriving in Malaucène after the descent, I did away with my jacket and began to try to get back into a rhythm after several kilometres of freewheeling. Navigating my way through the town, I once again arrived at the foot of the Col de la Madeleine and paced myself up the climb in an attempt to save as much energy as possible for the second ascent of Mont Ventoux.

After the climb, I descended into Bédoin once again, picking my line perfectly so that I would have to do as little pedalling as possible.

I knew that it would be important to stay on top of my fuelling with such a long effort coming up, but by this point, my stomach couldn’t bear to take on another gel and I was practically crying out for some real food, so I quickly ate a banana and I began to climb once again (albeit from a different direction) towards Chalet Reynard.

Just as I was beginning my second ascent of Ventoux, the heavens opened and I began to feel spots of rain falling on my back. For many, this would make the ride even tougher and might even cause some to give up, but as someone who enjoys climbing in the rain and had been suffering with the heat for most of the day, these little droplets falling through the trees were pleasantly welcomed.

With the threat of rain seemingly scaring off anybody who had planned to climb Mont Ventoux that afternoon, I barely saw any riders during the entire ascent and it was as if I had the road completely to myself. The wind in the trees, the birds chirping and my laboured breathing were the only sounds to be heard across the whole of the mountain.

This combined with the incredibly steep gradients made this ascent as much of a mental challenge as it was physical, as I had to find ways of keeping myself motivated throughout the entirety of the climb. With certain kilometres averaging over 10%, these slopes to Chalet Reynard were even more challenging than the ones to the summit and the kilometres seemed to tick down at a snail’s pace, which only added mental fatigue to the physical exhaustion.

Having battled through steep hairpins where my front wheel was lifting off the ground and stretches of road that seemingly never ended, I eventually reached Chalet Reynard on the verge of collapse. As the rain began to stop, I took my final moment of rest and ate my last energy gel before taking on the climb to the summit.

Joseph Lycett

In complete contrast to what I had grown up watching at the Tour de France, there was barely a soul on the slopes of Mont Ventoux during my final ascent of the day

In the silence, Mont Ventoux was like nothing that I had ever experienced before on a bike. No cars, no other cyclists and most bizarrely of all, barely a breath of wind. Once I had reached Tommy Simpson’s memorial, it was another tip of the cap, before I pushed on in the knowledge that these would be my final pedal strokes of the day and that I could leave everything out on the road.

As the summit neared for the second time, I stamped on the pedals up the wall once more and as I passed the sign at the top a wave of happiness and relief came over me, knowing that I had finished this brute of a ride and that I could finally relax.

With nobody else around, I lay down on a nearby bench and tried to recover my breath. I had finished what was unquestionably the toughest ride that I had ever done and had proven that an amateur could complete the Mont Ventoux Dénivelé Challenge.

Five things I’ve learned from the Mont Ventoux Dénivelé Challenge

Fuel your ride and eat regularly

On a long ride such as this, having a fuelling strategy is imperative in order to get through the entire route, as you have to keep topping up your energy levels so as not to blow up on a climb. Therefore it’s important to constantly be eating things such as energy bars and gels throughout the ride to make sure that you do not suffer from a hunger knock. Though they may feel sickly after a while and leave you craving real food, gels and bars are packed full of carbohydrates, which will give you enough energy to continue riding for hours.

Stay hydrated

Over such a long effort, your body is going to lose a lot of fluid through sweat during the day. Therefore it is important to remain hydrated for the duration of the ride and take regular sips from your water bottle. This can be easier when the temperature is high, as the heat makes your body feel more dehydrated, which means that you instinctively drink more, but it is also important to stay hydrated even when it is cold and raining as well.

Stick to your own pace

Occasionally, riders will overtake you and it can be tempting to try to jump onto their wheel and follow them, but this can be costly if you go above and beyond your limit, as if you go into the red on a steep climb, then it can be difficult to recover. Therefore it is better to ride at your own pace in order to keep your heart rate regulated and not push yourself into the red. However, if a rider seems to be riding at a steady pace that you think you can maintain, then riding together can be mutually beneficial, especially on the flatter terrain.

Don’t go too hard too early

Whether it’s at the beginning of your ride or at the start of a long climb, it’s important to not go too hard too early. Pacing a long effort can be difficult, but it’s always good to keep some energy in reserve for when you inevitably reach a tough moment. Even if you feel like you’re holding yourself back, you can always unleash any last bit of energy as you near the end of a ride or a climb.

Ignore the numbers

On a difficult climb, it can be easy to become discouraged as you look down at your bike computer and see your speed drop into single figures as the average gradient goes into double figures. There were points on my ascent of Mont Ventoux from Bédoin where I was going so slowly that my Wahoo actually auto-paused my ride, as I was tackling gradients so severe that my front wheel was lifting off the ground. Furthermore, when the small waymarkers on the side of the road were telling me that the average gradient for the next kilometre would be over 11% it would become extremely disheartening. However, you have to put the numbers to one side and just continue to keep the pedals turning over in the knowledge that you will eventually reach the top.