The punishing route of the inaugural Mont Ventoux one-day race has been revealed.
Pros will tackle the brutal and beautiful summit in a single 185km event for the first time.
Mont Ventoux Denivelé Challenges, a new UCI 1.1 category addition to the calendar, is set for June 17 and will feature a gruelling 4,400metres of climbing.
Starting from Vaison-la-Romaine north of the iconic climb, the peloton will loop around the mountain via Reilhanette, Sault, and Gordes, before heading north to the town of Bédoin at the foot of the climb.
The route then follows the classic ascent to the summit of Ventoux.
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But the final climb is not the only test.
The parcours of the inaugural Mont Ventoux one-day race (Picture: Mont Ventoux Denivelé Challenges)
The race will kick off with a 5km, easy 3.7% climb, followed by Col des Aires at 3km and 5.4%.
After that comes the first real test for the peloton, the 11.6km Col de l’Homme Mort with an average of 4.9%.
Over the next 80km there are a few smaller ramps, before cycling’s most famous climb appears.
Mont Ventoux, which has featured in the Tour de France 16 times, is steeped in cycling history, both glorious and tragic.
In 1967, Brit Tom Simpson died on the slopes of the 21km climb.
The climb first featured in the Tour in 1951, but not as a summit finish.
A Ventoux finish line first appeared in 1958, with an individual time trial from Bédoin to the top won by Charly Gaul.
There have been 10 summit finishes atop Mont Ventoux in the Tour de France’s history.
At 8.7%, it is a brutal finale to the new one-day race.
Mont Ventoux Denivelé Challenges one-day race will take place at the end of the Mont Ventoux Cycling Festival, and will follow the Santini GF Mont Ventoux sportive.
The race’s 1.1 status means we will see WorldTour teams tackle the climb, as well as Pro Continental, Continental and possibly national teams.
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Alex Ballinger is editor of BikeBiz magazine, the leading publication for the UK cycle industry, and is the former digital news editor for CyclingWeekly.com. After gaining experience in local newsrooms, national newspapers and in digital journalism, Alex found his calling in cycling, first as a reporter, then as news editor responsible for Cycling Weekly's online news output, and now as the editor of BikeBiz. Since pro cycling first captured his heart during the 2010 Tour de France (specifically the Contador-Schleck battle) Alex covered three Tours de France, multiple editions of the Tour of Britain, and the World Championships, while both writing and video presenting for Cycling Weekly. He also specialises in fitness writing, often throwing himself into the deep end to help readers improve their own power numbers. Away from the desk, Alex can be found racing time trials, riding BMX and mountain bikes, or exploring off-road on his gravel bike. He’s also an avid gamer, and can usually be found buried in an eclectic selection of books.
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