Mont Ventoux, that towering beast of a climb peaking at 1910 metres, has three equally soul-crushing routes. The Cinglés 3 Way challenge demands a cyclist to tackle all three ascents in a single day. That’s about 4,400 metres of climbing over 137km (we’re convinced it’s more, but the French are sneaky). You can start from Malaucène (brace yourself), Bedouin (brace yourself harder), or Sault (brace yourself just a bit less). 

So, naturally, our intrepid NFCC members Graham F and Bill Mayes decided to give it a go. Graham had a two-week window to pick his perfect day. Bill, on the other hand, had a narrow three-day window early in July, starting on the 6th.

Graham’s adventure:

Forecast for 5th July looked good, forecast for 6th-8th July (Bill’s window of opportunity) looked a bit flakey.  Of course Graham, being a true team player decided to take advantage of the calm (but hot) forecast on 5th July and went for a solo effort, setting off at about 0715 in the morning.  

Climb 1 – Fuelled by a pot of courage coffee it was Malaucène first, a beautiful climb with little traffic or cyclists, just clear blue skies, magnificent views and a few wandering goats for company.  Graham enjoyed a serene 21km with 1564 metres climb at an average gradient 7.5%. Then a descent to Bedouin with a coffee turnaround in preparation for climb 2.  

Climb 2 – Now crowded with cyclists, and with the temperature nudging 30 degrees. Graham’s legs began to whisper, “Are you serious?” But 1594 metres of climb (7.7% average) and another 21km later, he reached the summit again. More wonderful views across to the Alps and then a descent down into Sault.  

Climb 3 – And now the temperature has really climbed – probably about 34 degrees in Sault, so lots of fluids, coffee, refuel and off again for climb 3. About 25km, 1204 metres climb, average gradient 4.9% – so that’s got to be easy (by comparison), right?  Maybe not, bizarrely the Sault climb was very much “shutuplegs” territory. But still, the scenery was gorgeous: lavender fields, alpine woods, and sweeping views of Provence. 
A much needed respite at Chalet Reynard and then the final 6km, (8% average gradient) to make the summit for the 3rd time.  And of course, the opportunity to stop off on the way and pay respects at the Simpson monument. Graham was a bit concerned by the cyclist vomiting at the roadside, next to the Simpson monument – surely he could have found somewhere else (although it did give a significant boost to morale !).  

Climb 3 achieved and then a descent back down to Malaucène completed the ride and ensured Graham’s entry into the Cinglés database. 

Bill’s adventure:

Although the weekend forecast promised some rain and thunderstorms, Bill’s limited window of opportunity meant a Sunday (7th July) attempt at the Cinglés with an early start in an attempt to avoid the rain.  So, equipped with a few extra layers Bill set off on the same route as Graham, starting at 0600 in the morning.  

Climb 1 – Bill’s mantra was to control the pace and manage the effort, with the first ascent via Malaucène, bagged by 0900.  The weather was behaving, with clear blue skies on the summit.  But all was not as it should be!  Bill found that he now had to do battle with thousands (well quite a lot anyway) of nutters doing a running marathon up and down the road climbs.  

Climb 2 – Herds of support vehicles and buses for our running friends made it a busy ascent from Bedouin. But we said Graham was a team player! And he joined Bill for climb 2 and took all responsibility for being rude to runners, cars and buses as Bill successfully completed climb 2 despite the challenging traffic conditions.  The weather still held good, although some beautiful rolling cloud formations could now be seen around the summit.  A respectful stop at the Simpson monument (no vomiting cyclists today), and a final push to the summit to complete climb 2.   Then a nice steady descent into Sault (Graham now on his way back down via Malaucène  to appease Mrs F!).  Time for Bill to take a long lunch and a special intake of IPA (amount drunk can’t be revealed ), and then on to the final assault.  

Climb 3 – No sign of the dreaded thunderstorms or rain. Maintaining that controlled effort Bill set off from Sault and on arrival at Chalet Reynard took a few minutes to simply relish the mountain cycling vibes and recharge (just coffee this time), ready for the final 6km to the top.  No issues to report on that final slog, and on arrival at the summit Bill layered up for a rapid, but chilly (no rain, no thunder) descent back to Malaucène where he was also able to celebrate entry on the Cinglés with……an IPA of course!

Bill and Graham’s highlights:  Wonderful, iconic climbing challenge, amazing views, brilliant cycling comradeship on the mountain (including shout outs to NFCC), availability of IPA (not too much!), lots of excellent coffee and the privilege of sampling all three road climbs of a cycling classic.

 Hats off to Graham and Bill for their achievement representing the club; Check out their names on the Cinglés database ...anyone for next year?