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RNZ News
2 days ago
- Sport
- RNZ News
Mont Ventoux, one of the Tour de France's most famous and vaunted climbs with a deadly history
By Simon Smale , ABC Tadej Pogačar will be hoping to taste glory on the slopes of Mont Ventoux. Photo: AFP / Loic Venance Cycling's ability to assign its climbs into the legendarium of its own mythology is renowned. In a sport fuelled by tales of absolute heroism, utter villainy and the most epic of landscapes, the mythical is not such a giant leap, after all. Among the most mythologised locations of all is Mont Ventoux, which the Tour will visit for the first time since 2021 on Tuesday. Mont Ventoux holds a morbid hold over cycling. It was the scene - in 1967 - of one of the most horrifying and divisive moments in the sport's history, with the death of British former world champion Tom Simpson. On the 13th stage of that year's race - on 13 July - Simpson fell to the road in a state of delirium. As a result of a lingering stomach bug, the desperately oppressive heat and, of course, the potent mix of amphetamines and alcohol he had used to fuel his charge that day, the 29-year-old was well beyond his limit. Pierre Dumas, the Tour doctor, and Harry Hall, Simpson's team manager, attempted to resuscitate the stricken rider to no avail. He died a kilometre from the summit. There is a monument on the side of the road, at the spot where Simpson fell. British cyclists in the Tour down the years have often doffed their caps or thrown a bidon at it as an offering to go alongside the pain of their exertions, an attempt to pacify the gods who call this Alpine extremity home. Simpson's death was a brutal illustration of how the riders of the professional peloton were playing with their lives by ingesting a cocktail of drugs to push themselves harder and further than their bodies could take. Those times may be in the past, but Ventoux remains an extraordinary test. Tom Simpson died 24 hours after this photo was taken, a victim of cycling's doping culture and the punishing Mont Ventoux. Photo: AFP The Giant of Provence is not the steepest climb - it boasts an average gradient of 7.43 percent. It's not even the highest of summits, topping out at 1910m officially. It is by far the most intimidating, though. Its inclusion on the Tour de France route is far rarer than that of the other storied climbs of the Alps or Pyrenees. That scarcity adds to its mythology. After all, there is comfort in familiarity - and Ventoux is not a place for comfort.. The professional peloton has always been a kaleidoscope of colour as it winds its way through France every summer, a festival of athletic achievement and joie de vivre. On Ventoux, the palette seems, inexplicably, more muted, the multicoloured jerseys a jarring intrusion into this exposed, unnatural monument. Jacques Goddet, who directed the Tour de France from 1935 to 1986, wrote that when the Tour visited Ventoux for the first time, the riders appeared to be "these minuscule beings climbing a fiery Calvary with a backdrop of desolation". The entire mountain is crowned by glaring white limestone that looks like snow from afar, the moon from up close, and the white-hot coals of a furnace from within. Not everyone in the peloton would have visited its windswept summit, devoid of nature and frequently shrouded in ethereal clouds. It is so unlike the valleys below that as riders rise from the forested section it is as if they have been transported into some otherworldly realm. A realm where the only currency is sweat and pain and, yes, even a little fear. Provençal writer Frédéric Mistral recounted being told by a local that those who had been to Ventoux were wise not to return, but mad if they did. Madness and the Giant of Provence go hand-in-hand. France, Vaucluse, Provence, cycling on the Mont Ventoux, arrival at the top, monument in memory of Tom Simpson. Photo: AFP / Renault Philippe Whether it be riders raving in the madness of oxygen and glucose debt or Chris Froome running up the climb without his bike in 2016, the mountain seems to possess all those exposed to it. In William Fotheringham's book about Tom Simpson, Put me back on my bike, he wrote that the Ventoux, "has an aura which is not quite of this world". Its imposition across the landscape comes from its isolated position, visible for kilometres in every direction. Its shadow looms ominously for miles. Local legend says that the caves on the Ventoux lead down into hell. As the riders of the professional peloton dig deep into their personal reservoirs of resilience - legs and lungs screaming for respite - they might feel those legends have it the wrong way around. Hell is up. Any form of descent would be sweet relief. French philosopher Roland Barthes had his own views of the Ventoux, theatrically conveyed in his essay on the Tour de France in his book, Mythologies. "A god of evil, to which sacrifice must be made," he wrote of the mountain. "A veritable Moloch, despot of the cyclists, it never forgives the weak and exacts an unjust tribute of suffering." The "accursed terrain … a higher hell in which the cyclist will define the truth of his salvation" is, he describes, only conquered in one of two ways. "He will vanquish the dragon either with the help of a god, or else by pure Prometheanism, opposing this god of Evil by a still harsher demon." Heady stuff. Barthes's argument held that the fearsome Alpine and Pyrenean passes the Tour regularly features were exactly that - passes from one place to another, a necessary hardship to traverse these mighty peaks. Climbing Mont Ventoux, on the other hand, gets you nowhere other than into a world of hurt and anguish. It is just pure sadism. Pogačar climbs Mont Ventoux during the 11th stage of the Tour de France cycling race in 2021. Photo: AFP / Anne-Christine Poujoulat Luxembourger Charly Gaul, l'Ange de la Montagne (the Angel of the Mountains), was the first rider to win on a Ventoux summit finish in 1958 and was whom Barthes assumed needed the assistance of a god to help him ascend its flanks. Louison Bobet, the at-times temperamental three-time Tour de France winner who won the stage the first time Ventoux was included in the Tour, was somewhat unfairly considered that "harsher demon". When France's most famous race ascended the climb for the first time in 1951 the fallout was near-catastrophic. Swiss rider Ferdinand Kübler collapsed just short of the summit, reportedly foaming at the mouth and still pedalling as he lay on the ground. He, somewhat incredibly, managed to remount and descend to the finish in Avignon, at which point he abandoned the Tour, never to return. "Ferdi killed himself on the Ventoux," he told the press, by way of explanation. That same day, French rider Jean Malléjac also collapsed and needed CPR. While being transported to hospital by ambulance by Dr Dumas, he had to be strapped down as he raved about being drugged against his will. Gaul too was nearly bought to a standstill on the climb. But, having paid his dues, he returned and won the 21km uphill time trial in 1955 - in a time that would not be bettered for 41 years. The list of summit finish winners on the Giant of Provence during the Tour de France include some of the sport's greatest names including Gaul (1958), Raymond Poulidor (1965), Eddy Merckx (1970), Marco Pantani (2000) and Chris Froome (2013). Although not in the Tour, Australia's own Cadel Evans has won on Mont Ventoux during the 2008 Paris-Nice stage race, out-sprinting Robert Gesink to the finish. So how hard is the climb? Merckx - still the sport's GOAT despite Tadej Pogačar's recent efforts to take that crown - was, reportedly, given oxygen at the finish following his victory, saying it was "impossible". Pantani's triumph, when "gifted" the win by Lance Armstong, holds particular interest, two quasi-tragic figures of cycling's appalling doping history going head-to-head up its most haunted climb. Lance Armstrong suffers in the Mont Ventoux during the 14th stage of the 89th Tour de France in 2002. Photo: AFP / Joel Saget Armstrong never won a Tour stage on Ventoux, punishment for the audacity he displayed in offering the win to his Italian rival that one time. Froome has had contrasting days on its slopes. In 2013, his dominance was equal to that of some of the all-time greats, an imperious climb towards his first overall title. But. in 2016, he was forced to run up the climb, in the yellow jersey, after a collision with a motorbike in the chaos of the crowds - surely one of the Tour's most remarkable moments. That day the race was shortened due to the blustering Mistral winds howling across the summit - one of the other dangers in this region. The Mistral, legends say, is the son of the Celtic god, Vintur, who was worshipped in pre-Roman times by the Albiques. It is said he playfully blows, causing mischief, unless that trickery no longer sates him and he becomes violent, whipping pebbles up from the ground and tossing them into unassuming adventurers. In 2021 the Tour came up Ventoux twice in a single day - an act of such boldness that surely it risked angering the cycling gods who hold sway in this impossible region. Incredibly, Belgian puncheur Wout van Aert - who also won the sprint on the Champs-Élysées and that year's time trial - claimed victory as behind him the favourites Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard laid gloves on each other. A puncheur winning on the climbers' biggest prize? Perhaps the gods do have a sense of humour after all. Vingegaard had the better of Pogačar when the road went up that day, but the Slovenian managed to regain contact before the race finish and went on to claim a second successive yellow jersey in Paris. As the peloton roars up its slopes for stage 16 on Tuesday, it will, again, be Vingegaard and Pogačar doing battle, adding their own layer of stories to this impossible mountain. The race will all be about Mont Ventoux - there are roughly 150km of almost pan-flat roads from Montpellier to the base of the climb proper in Bédoin. After that, the gloves will come off and the race will be on, this mythic monument ready to stamp its mark on another set of intrepid - and perhaps a little mad - riders. -ABC
ABC News
2 days ago
- Sport
- ABC News
Mont Ventoux, one of the Tour de France's most famous and vaunted climbs with a deadly history
Cycling's ability to assign its climbs into the legendarium of its own mythology is renowned. In a sport fuelled by tales of absolute heroism, utter villainy and the most epic of landscapes, the mythical is not such a giant leap, after all. Among the most mythologised locations of all is Mont Ventoux, which the Tour will visit for the first time since 2021 on Tuesday. Mont Ventoux holds a morbid hold over cycling. It was the scene — in 1967 — of one of the most horrifying and divisive moments in the sport's history, with the death of British former world champion Tom Simpson. On the 13th stage of that year's race — on July 13 — Simpson fell to the road in a state of delirium. As a result of a lingering stomach bug, the desperately oppressive heat and, of course, the potent mix of amphetamines and alcohol he had used to fuel his charge that day, the 29-year-old was well beyond his limit. Pierre Dumas, the Tour doctor, and Harry Hall, Simpson's team manager, attempted to resuscitate the stricken rider to no avail. He died a kilometre from the summit. There is a monument on the side of the road, at the spot where Simpson fell. British cyclists in the Tour down the years have often doffed their caps or thrown a bidon at it as an offering to go alongside the pain of their exertions, an attempt to pacify the gods who call this Alpine extremity home. Simpson's death was a brutal illustration of how the riders of the professional peloton were playing with their lives by ingesting a cocktail of drugs to push themselves harder and further than their bodies could take. Those times may be in the past, but Ventoux remains an extraordinary test. The Giant of Provence is not the steepest climb — it boasts an average gradient of 7.43 per cent. It's not even the highest of summits, topping out at 1,910m officially. It is by far the most intimidating, though. Its inclusion on the Tour de France route is far rarer than that of the other storied climbs of the Alps or Pyrenees. That scarcity adds to its mythology. After all, there is comfort in familiarity — and Ventoux is not a place for comfort.. The professional peloton has always been a kaleidoscope of colour as it winds its way through France every summer, a festival of athletic achievement and joie de vivre. On Ventoux, the palette seems, inexplicably, more muted, the multicoloured jerseys a jarring intrusion into this exposed, unnatural monument. Jacques Goddet, who directed the Tour de France from 1935 to 1986, wrote that when the Tour visited Ventoux for the first time, the riders appeared to be "these minuscule beings climbing a fiery Calvary with a backdrop of desolation". The entire mountain is crowned by glaring white limestone that looks like snow from afar, the moon from up close, and the white-hot coals of a furnace from within. Not everyone in the peloton would have visited its windswept summit, devoid of nature and frequently shrouded in ethereal clouds. It is so unlike the valleys below that as riders rise from the forested section it is as if they have been transported into some otherworldly realm. A realm where the only currency is sweat and pain and, yes, even a little fear. Provençal writer Frédéric Mistral recounted being told by a local that those who had been to Ventoux were wise not to return, but mad if they did. Madness and the Giant of Provence go hand-in-hand. Whether it be riders raving in the madness of oxygen and glucose debt or Chris Froome running up the climb without his bike in 2016, the mountain seems to possess all those exposed to it. In William Fotheringham's book about Tom Simpson, Put me back on my bike, he wrote that the Ventoux, "has an aura which is not quite of this world". Its imposition across the landscape comes from its isolated position, visible for kilometres in every direction. Its shadow looms ominously for miles. Local legend says that the caves on the Ventoux lead down into hell. As the riders of the professional peloton dig deep into their personal reservoirs of resilience — legs and lungs screaming for respite — they might feel those legends have it the wrong way around. Hell is up. Any form of descent would be sweet relief. French philosopher Roland Barthes had his own views of the Ventoux, theatrically conveyed in his essay on the Tour de France in his book, Mythologies. "A god of evil, to which sacrifice must be made," he wrote of the mountain. "A veritable Moloch, despot of the cyclists, it never forgives the weak and exacts an unjust tribute of suffering." The "accursed terrain … a higher hell in which the cyclist will define the truth of his salvation" is, he describes, only conquered in one of two ways. "He will vanquish the dragon either with the help of a god, or else by pure Prometheanism, opposing this god of Evil by a still harsher demon." Heady stuff. Barthes's argument held that the fearsome Alpine and Pyrenean passes the Tour regularly features were exactly that — passes from one place to another, a necessary hardship to traverse these mighty peaks. Climbing Mont Ventoux, on the other hand, gets you nowhere other than into a world of hurt and anguish. It is just pure sadism. Luxembourger Charly Gaul, l'Ange de la Montagne (the Angel of the Mountains), was the first rider to win on a Ventoux summit finish in 1958 and was whom Barthes assumed needed the assistance of a god to help him ascend its flanks. Louison Bobet, the at-times temperamental three-time Tour de France winner who won the stage the first time Ventoux was included in the Tour, was somewhat unfairly considered that "harsher demon". When France's most famous race ascended the climb for the first time in 1951 the fallout was near-catastrophic. Swiss rider Ferdinand Kübler collapsed just short of the summit, reportedly foaming at the mouth and still pedalling as he lay on the ground. He, somewhat incredibly, managed to remount and descend to the finish in Avignon, at which point he abandoned the Tour, never to return. "Ferdi killed himself on the Ventoux," he told the press, by way of explanation. That same day, French rider Jean Malléjac also collapsed and needed CPR. While being transported to hospital by ambulance by Dr Dumas, he had to be strapped down as he raved about being drugged against his will. Gaul too was nearly bought to a standstill on the climb. But, having paid his dues, he returned and won the 21km uphill time trial in 1955 — in a time that would not be bettered for 41 years. The list of summit finish winners on the Giant of Provence during the Tour de France include some of the sport's greatest names including Gaul (1958), Raymond Poulidor (1965), Eddy Merckx (1970), Marco Pantani (2000) and Chris Froome (2013). Although not in the Tour, Australia's own Cadel Evans has won on Mont Ventoux during the 2008 Paris-Nice stage race, out-sprinting Robert Gesink to the finish. So how hard is the climb? Merckx — still the sport's GOAT despite Tadej Pogačar's recent efforts to take that crown — was, reportedly, given oxygen at the finish following his victory, saying it was "impossible". Pantani's triumph, when "gifted" the win by Lance Armstong, holds particular interest, two quasi-tragic figures of cycling's appalling doping history going head-to-head up its most haunted climb. Armstrong never won a Tour stage on Ventoux, punishment for the audacity he displayed in offering the win to his Italian rival that one time. Froome has had contrasting days on its slopes. In 2013, his dominance was equal to that of some of the all-time greats, an imperious climb towards his first overall title. But. in 2016, he was forced to run up the climb, in the yellow jersey, after a collision with a motorbike in the chaos of the crowds — surely one of the Tour's most remarkable moments. That day the race was shortened due to the blustering Mistral winds howling across the summit — one of the other dangers in this region. The Mistral, legends say, is the son of the Celtic god, Vintur, who was worshipped in pre-Roman times by the Albiques. It is said he playfully blows, causing mischief, unless that trickery no longer sates him and he becomes violent, whipping pebbles up from the ground and tossing them into unassuming adventurers. In 2021 the Tour came up Ventoux twice in a single day — an act of such boldness that surely it risked angering the cycling gods who hold sway in this impossible region. Incredibly, Belgian puncheur Wout van Aert — who also won the sprint on the Champs-Élysées and that year's time trial — claimed victory as behind him the favourites Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard laid gloves on each other. A puncheur winning on the climbers' biggest prize? Perhaps the gods do have a sense of humour after all. Vingegaard had the better of Pogačar when the road went up that day, but the Slovenian managed to regain contact before the race finish and went on to claim a second successive yellow jersey in Paris. As the peloton roars up its slopes for stage 16 on Tuesday, it will, again, be Vingegaard and Pogačar doing battle, adding their own layer of stories to this impossible mountain. The race will all be about Mont Ventoux — there are roughly 150km of almost pan-flat roads from Montpellier to the base of the climb proper in Bédoin. After that, the gloves will come off and the race will be on, this mythic monument ready to stamp its mark on another set of intrepid — and perhaps a little mad — riders.
BBC News
04-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
What do the different colour jerseys signify at Tour de France?
There are four different jerseys used to differentiate the classifications at the Tour de are yellow, green, polka-dot and white and are handed out at the end of each stage with the leader in each category wearing it during the next will battle it out for the respected jerseys over 21 stages, involving a mix of flat, hilly and mountain stages, across a distance of 3,338.8 km. Yellow jersey The yellow jersey (maillot jaune in French) is worn by the leader of the general classification - the rider who has taken the lowest accumulated time over the course of the was chosen for the jersey because the race's original organiser, French newspaper 'L'Auto', was printed on yellow race leader is presented with the yellow jersey at the end of each stage and will wear it the following Simpson was the first British rider to wear the yellow jersey, having moved into the overall lead of the 1962 race after stage riders won six out of seven yellow jerseys, with Sir Bradley Wiggins the first in 2012. Chris Froome won four titles (2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017) while Geraint Thomas won the yellow jersey in riders have won a joint record five Tours de France: Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault of France, Belgium's Eddy Merckx and Miguel Indurain of 2024, Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar won his third title, finishing the race, six minutes clear of second place Jonas Vingegaard. Green jersey The green jersey (maillot vert in French) represents the points is handed to the rider with the most points at the end of each stage and overall at the end of the jersey, which was created for the tour's 50th anniversary in 1953, is often considered the sprinters' are awarded for the top 15 finishers on flat, medium mountain, high mountain and individual time trial are also points available in an intermediate sprint on each stage - this is a specific point of the route where riders will sprint for additional most points are awarded at the finish of flat stages, with 50 points for the first over the can be lost for dangerous sprinting, irregular conduct and violating Peter Sagan won a record seven titles between 2012 and 2019, while Britain's Mark Cavendish claimed the green jersey in 2011 and rider Biniam Girmay made history in 2024 by becoming the first black African winner of the Tour de France points classification. Polka-dot jersey The polka-dot jersey (maillot à pois rouges in French) is awarded to the rider who collects the most points to lead the mountains classification. The rider who wears this white jersey with red polka dots is referred to as the 'King of the Mountains'.Each climb is categorised from one, most difficult to four, least difficult - the tougher the climb, the more points are available. There is also a fifth category which is reserved for the most challenging climbs, known as 'hors categorie' and are typically the big mountain of the event decide which climbs will be included and what category of difficulty they will fall King of the Mountains classification has been won a record seven times by Richard Virenque of France and was claimed by Ecuador's Richard Carapaz in 2024. White jersey The white jersey (maillot blanc in French) is awarded to the fastest young rider and was first introduced in riders in with a chance of winning this jersey must be 26 years old or has been won twice by British riders, twins Adam and Simon Yates, who won in 2016 and 2017 Evenepoel won the white jersey at last year's tour. This article is the latest from BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team. What is Ask Me Anything? Ask Me Anything is a service dedicated to answering your want to reward your time by telling you things you do not know and reminding you of things you team will find out everything you need to know and be able to call upon a network of contacts including our experts and will be answering your questions from the heart of the BBC Sport newsroom, and going behind the scenes at some of the world's biggest sporting coverage will span the BBC Sport website, app, social media and YouTube accounts, plus BBC TV and radio. More questions answered... How do athletes manage sleep?Could I qualify for Wimbledon?Who are the most expensive sports teams in history?
Irish Times
03-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Best golf courses in Co Louth: Bucket list courses and hidden gems from Baltray to Ardee
Bucket Lists The drive from Drogheda along the River Boyne to the village of Baltray is one which heightens expectations of what awaits at the mouth of the river. County Louth Golf Club – a fine, traditional links – has earned its place among the top courses in the country . Originally designed in the 1890s by a Scottish professional with the wonderful name of Mr Snowball, the man most responsible for leaving his imprint on this seaside course – where Shane Lowry won the Irish Open as an amateur in 2009 – was the noted golf course architect Tom Simpson and his assistant Molly Gourlay. [ Fairways to Heaven - Ireland's Ultimate Golf Guide Opens in new window ] The links itself is a true test from start-to-finish, as it weaves its way in different directions but still consists of two loops. The most dramatic run of holes comes on the back nine, with the run from the 10th to 13th comprising arguably the best sequence of four successive par-fours anywhere. The 14th is the shortest of the par-fours but one of the best, playing from the elevated tee with the final destination of a green planted into the sand hills. In every sense, Baltray – the traditional home of the men's East of Ireland championship – is a links that will reward and captivate, while being at all times challenging. Its clever design, utilising the terrain that is primarily flat before delving into the sand hills from the 12th to the 14th, entices and demands attention on every shot. READ MORE The 17th hole prior to the Irish Legends 2023 at Seapoint Golf Club in 2023. Photograph:As part of the bucket list, it is worth factoring in a round at the adjacent Seapoint links – designed by Des Smyth and Declan Branigan – which has matured wonderfully, especially the back nine which takes in views of the Irish Sea from a number of vantage points. The best is probably left to last at Seapoint. The 18th hole running along the coastline back to the clubhouse where the spirit of the 19th hole welcome is very much in play. Co Louth Golf Club, Baltray, Drogheda, Co Louth, A92 HK03; 041-9881530 Seapoint Golf Club, Termonfeckin, Co Louth; 041-9822333; email: ed@ Hidden Gem Greenore is a long established course dating back to the 1890s but remains one of those hidden gems, primarily because its location on the Cooley peninsula overlooking Carlingford Lough ... but it is very much worth discovering as a fine test of golf in a wonderful setting with views across to the Mournes. Wind, given its location, is invariably a factor but the layout is open with the challenge set before the player off the tee with no hidden surprises. Although flat, the loughside course has its challenges with tidal water in play, most notably on the sixth and seventh holes. The tee to the Par 3 sixth is located on a disused railway line and plays downhill to the green, while it is followed by a demanding Par 4 with a tee shot over water. Greenore Golf Club, Greenore, Dundalk; 042-9373212 Honourable Mentions Dundalk Golf Club is a classic parkland course with a reputation for its wonderful greens. Located above the picturesque village of Blackrock, the treelined course has three distinct segments with an opening stretch of four tough Par 4s, then a stretch to the 12th that includes four Par 5s and a tough finishing run all the way to the 18th which is known as 'Harrington's Challenge,' in honour of three-time Major champion Pádraig Harrington who won the Dundalk Scratch Cup in 1995. Dundalk Golf Club, Blackrock, Dundalk, County Louth; 042-9321731; email: manager@ Ardee Golf Club has matured into a lovely tree-lined course and, with the Tain Trail part of the local history, has connections with Cuchulainn in the names of the 1st (Cuchulainn's Crown) and the seventh (Ferdia). The stretch of holes from the 11th to the 14th is very demanding, with the short 13th that has water in play from tee to green showcasing the picturesque nature of the entire layout. Ardee Golf Club, Townparks, Ardee, Co Louth; 041-6853227; email: office@
Times
09-05-2025
- Sport
- Times
Barry Hoban obituary: Cyclist with eight Tour de France stage wins
Barry Hoban assumed his fellow Briton was momentarily beaten by the heat when he rode past the prone figure of Tom Simpson as the 1967 Tour de France snaked its way up the sweltering slopes of Mont Ventoux. But the 29-year-old's collapse was fatal, caused by a combination of heatstroke, dehydration, a stomach illness, alcohol and amphetamines. The death in Provence of his teenage hero turned friend and rival proved a defining event in Hoban's life. The following day the peloton decided to pay tribute to Simpson by letting a British rider win the next stage. Though it appeared they had Simpson's close friend Vin Denson in mind, amid the fog of grief it was Hoban who emerged at the front for his maiden Tour
