Britain’s Mont Ventoux: climbing the Bwlch the hard way

Just like the ‘Giant of Provence’, the Bwlch in South Wales can be tackled three ways. Simon Warren joined two local pros to see if he could complete the trio in a single, epic day - Photographs by Daniel Gould

The Bwlch

(Image credit: Daniel Gould)

A couple of years ago I made the journey to Provence on a quest to join the Club des Cinglés, an establishment whose membership requires the completion of a single task, to ride all three ascents of the legendary Mont Ventoux in a 24-hour period.

Unlike other big events such as the Etape du Tour or the Marmotte, there’s no set date needed for your attempt, you just register online, receive your timing cards in the post, pick a day that suits and go for it. It’s such a fantastic ride that it got me wondering if I could devise a similar challenge here in the UK, to pay homage to this great event?

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