Mont Ventoux

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Mont Ventoux
North side of the summit of Mont Ventoux
Elevation	1,909 metres (6,263 feet)
Location	Vaucluse, France
Range	periphery of the Alps
Coordinates	44°10′N 5°17′E
First ascent	Prior to Petrarch; probably ancient
Easiest route	hike

Mont Ventoux is a mountain in the Provence region of southern France, located some 20 km north-east of Carpentras, Vaucluse. On the north-side, the mountain borders the Drôme département. It is by far the biggest mountain in the region and has been dubbed the "Giant of Provence".

As the name might suggest (venteux means "windy" in French), it can get windy at the summit, especially with the mistral; windspeeds as high as 320 km/h (193 mph) have been recorded. The road over the mountain is often closed due to high winds. The real origins of the name are thought to trace back to the 1st or 2nd century AD, when it was named 'Vintur' after a Gaulish god of the summits, or 'Ven-Top', meaning "snowy peak" in the ancient Gallic language. In the 10th century, the names Mons Ventosus and Mons Ventorius appear.

Mont Ventoux, although geologically part of the Alps, is often considered to be separate from them, due to the lack of mountains of a similar height nearby. It stands alone to the west of the Luberon range, and just to the east of the Dentelles de Montmirail, its foothills. The top of the mountain is bare limestone without vegetation or trees. The white limestone on the mountain's barren peak means it appears from a distance to be snow-capped all year round (its snow cover actually lasts from December to April). Its isolated position overlooking the valley of the Rhône ensures that it dominates the entire region and can be seen from many miles away on a clear day. The view from the top is correspondingly superb.

1 History
2 Flora and fauna
3 Road cycling
- 3.1 Tour de France
  - 3.1.1 Winners of the Mont Ventoux stage at the Tour de France
4 External links

[edit] History

The mountain first gained fame as the site of Petrarch's 1336 ascent, which he recorded in a letter to a friend. This letter is viewed as one of the earliest products of Renaissance and Humanism, as the ascent is inspired by a passage in Livy's History of Rome. Petrarch is considered the father of alpinism, as he expressed the desire to climb Mont Ventoux merely for the joy of seeing the view. He climbed the mountain on April 26 together with his brother and two others. He knew the region well as he lived in Avignon from 1333 to 1349.

The 15th century saw the construction of a chapel on the top, dedicated to the Holy Cross.

In 1882, a meteorological station was constructed on the summit, though it is no longer in use. In the 1960s a 50m-high telecommunications mast was built.

[edit] Flora and fauna

View of Mont Ventoux from Mirabel-aux-Baronnies

Originally forested, Mont Ventoux was systematically stripped of trees from the 12th century onwards to serve the demands of the shipbuilders of the naval port of Toulon. Some areas have been reforested since 1860 with a variety of deciduous trees (such as holm oaks and beeches) as well as coniferous species, such as Atlas cedars and larches. A little higher, junipers are common.

The mountain comprises the species boundary or ecotone between the flora and fauna of northern and southern France. Some species, including various types of spiders and butterflies, are unique to Mont Ventoux. It is a good place to spot the Short-toed Eagle (Circaetus gallicus).

Its biological distinctiveness was recognised by UNESCO in 1990 when the Réserve de Biosphère du Mont Ventoux was created, protecting an area of 810 square kilometres (200,150 acres) on and around the mountain.

[edit] Road cycling

For road bicycle racing enthusiasts, the mountain can be climbed by three roads.

South from Bédoin: 22 km over 1610 m. This is the most famous and difficult ascent. The road to the summit has an average gradient of 7.6%. Until Saint-Estève, the climb is easy, but the 16 remaining kilometres have an average gradient of 10%. The last kilometres have strong, violent winds. The ride takes 2-3 hours for trained amateur individuals, and professionals can ride it in 1-1.5 hours. The fastest time so far recorded has been that of Iban Mayo in the individual climbing time trial of the 2004 Dauphiné Libéré: 55' 51". The time was measured from Bédoin for the first time in the 1958 Tour de France, in which Charly Gaul was the fastest at 1h 2' 9".

North from Malaucène: 21 km over 1570 m. A little easier than the Bédoin ascent, better sheltered against the wind.

East from Sault: 26 km over 1220 m. The easiest route. After Chalet Reynard (where the "lunar landscape" of the summit starts), the climb is the same as the Bédoin ascent. Average gradient of 4.4%.

Every year there are amateur races to climb the mountain as quickly and often as possible in 24 hours. On May 16, 2006, Jean-Pascal Roux from Bédoin broke the record of climbs in 24 hours, with eleven climbs, all of them from Bédoin ^[1].

[edit] Tour de France

Memorial to Tom Simpson on 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.