Mont Ventoux
A year in 20 photographs – cycling on Mont Ventoux
Mont Ventoux in Provence is one of the mountains where I most love to guide and support other cyclists. I have ridden it numerous times from base to summit on all three sides. Many ascents have been in the dark, arriving at the top with the sun just rising behind the Alps.
My first ever visit to Mont Ventoux was when I worked on a trip with a colleague and friend, Merv. Sadly that trip was the last ever trip I would do with Merv as he passed away early the following year. That first year on Ventoux was when I made my first sunrise ride to the summit. Every year I have worked there since, I have made a pilgrimage to the top and had a moment remembering Merv as the sun rises.
Mont Ventoux is also one of those mountains that just seems incessantly photogenic. And so it was again in 2024. One of the riders on that trip has been on numerous other trips with me and we have become good friends over the years. He also always seems to be in the right place at the right time for a photo opportunity. So much so that my colleague on that trip joked that the rider was like a photogenic muse to me. I had taken one photo of him in 2023 on the Col du Tourmalet (see below). That day, I had taken numerous pictures of other riders. None of them had turned out the way I wanted them to. But then I got this final shot.
Again in 2024 he was in the right place and I managed to get several great snaps of him on his ride up to the summit of Mont Ventoux from Malaucène. The light was perfect, the road was quiet and as he emerged through the mist and cloud, I took the shot. I didn’t think I’d managed to get anything special until I checked later and realised I’d got a great photo. I’ll be back on Mont Ventoux with more riders and looking forward to another sunrise ride and more great photo opportunities.
