About Mont Ventoux & the Vaucluse:
The Mont Ventoux is a 1910-m high conical peak that's visible from far across the surrounding countryside. With its altitude and the cooling Mistral from the north, it's often snow-capped in April, while the cherry orchards below are in blossom and the fields are turning green (photo, past the village of Crillon-le-Brave).
The Mont Ventoux is only the highest part of a mountain range running from the village of Montbrun-les-Bains in the east to Malaucène in the west. Further to the west, the range raises up again as the Dentelles de Montmirail. Mont Ventoux peaks at 1912 m altitude, and stands guard over Provence. Ranked as UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, Mont Ventoux, known as the Giant of Provence », is home to outstanding flora and fauna. It is a legendary challenge to bikers and car racers, and its many paths are paradise for nature hikers.
The view from the top is truly magnificent, especially if a Mistral has cleared the air. From the northeastern lookout alone you can see most of the Alps, including the Vercors, Chaine de Belledonne, Mont Blanc, the Ecrins, the Queyras and the Mercantour. If you are going to the top of Mont Ventoux during a Mistral, or any time other than the middle of summer, a good windbreaker and gloves will be appreciated.
Bedoin
The village center is along the road at the base of the old village. Here you'll find a collection of terrace cafés under the shade of large plane trees. A small square just off the road, with a lovely old fountain, seems to be a favorite meeting place for some of the local inhabitants (photo).
The first thing you'll notice while approaching Bédoin is the huge, imposing church of Saint-Antonin, with its Spanish-looking style so different from any other in the Provence region. In fact, the style is Jesuit, built in 1702 and restored in the 19th century In spite of the strangely different style, the church does have a wrought-iron belfry (campanile) so typical of the region.
The houses of this compact, old village look small compared to the church, and are clustered up against the hill. At the top of the village hill, above houses and church alike, the tombstones from an abandoned and vandalized graveyard are scattered about in the tall grass.
The ruined graves evoke a bit of sadness that tempers the incredible view from this high spot. The hilltop village of Crillon-le-Brave is visible across the fields to the southwest, while the 1900m-high Mont Ventoux towers high above Bédoin to the northeast.
Bédoin-Malaucène Road
The twisty little D19 road from Bédoin to Malaucène goes through the forest on the southwestern slopes of Mont Ventoux. Along part of this beautiful drive there's a belvedere said to have the most fantastic view of the whole Mediterranean (it's been a bit too hazy the few times we've stopped there). One of the fine sights from here is of the ocre quarries down below, with the different shades of the red earth exposed.
Gorges de la Nesque
The Gorges de la Nesque cuts through the mountains between the Mont Ventoux to the north and the Plateau de Vaucluse to the south. The small D242 road that follows the gorges has one end at Villes-sur-Auzon to the west and next to Sault to the east.
The small Nesque river runs down through the gorges and valleys from near Sault, where it's at 620 m, to an area between Villes-sur-Auzon and Methamis, where it drops down to about 300 m.
The Tour de France and Mont Ventoux
Mont Ventoux has become legendary as the regular scene of one of the most gruelling climbs in the Tour de France bicycle race, which has ascended the mountain thirteen times since 1951. The followed trail mostly passes through Bédoin. Its fame as a scene of great Tour dramas has made it a magnet for cyclists around the world.
The mountain achieved worldwide notoriety when it claimed the life of the great English cyclist Tom Simpson, who died here on July 13, 1967 from a combination of amphetamines, alcohol and heat exhaustion. He began to wildly weave across the road before he fell down. He was delirious and asked spectators to put him back on the bike, which he rode to within a half mile of the summit before collapsing dead, still clipped into his pedals. Amphetamines were found in his jersey and bloodstream. There is a memorial to Simpson near the summit which has become a shrine to fans of cycling, who often leave small tokens of remembrance there. In 1970, Eddy Merckx rode himself to the brink of collapse while winning the stage. He received oxygen, recovered, and won the Tour. The last winner on the Ventoux was the French climber Richard Virenque.
Winners of the Mont Ventoux stage at the Tour de France
2002: Richard Virenque ( France)
2000: Marco Pantani ( Italy)
1994: Eros Poli ( Italy)
1987: Jean-Francois Bernard ( France)
1972: Bernard Thévenet ( France)
1971: Gonzalo Aja ( Spain)
1970: Eddy Merckx ( Belgium)
1967: Julio Jimenez ( Spain)
1965: Raymond Poulidor ( France)
1958: Charly Gaul ( Luxembourg)
1955: Louison Bobet ( France)
1952: Jean Robic ( France)
1951: Lucien Lazarides ( France) (from Wikipedia)
Club des Cinglés du Mont-Ventoux and the Galérien du Mont-Ventoux:
Think your strong? There is a reason this club translates as the "Nut" club. To become a member, you have to do all 3 ascents of Ventoux in 1 day. Not enough? Well, then add in the Galerien; which adds the ascent by mountain bike trail considered the most difficult of all. Bonne chance!
Read a first hand account by Joe Deyoung, a long time traveler with Cycling Classics and Discover France; this from his 2007 entry into the Nut Club!
