ANALYSIS | The greatest Mont Ventoux moments as the mountain returns to the Tour de France

Mont Ventoux, often called the Giant of Provence, is one of cycling’s most legendary climbs. This towering mountain in southern France has been the scene of some of the Tour de France’s most dramatic, inspiring, and even tragic moments. It’s a climb that riders respect and fans revere, with its barren, moonlike summit and notorious winds. The Tour doesn’t visit Ventoux often, its rarity on the route only adds to the mountain’s mystique. In fact, today’s Stage 16 marks the first ascent in four years, since 2021, reminding us how special a Ventoux stage truly is.

As the peloton tackles Mont Ventoux again, it’s the perfect time to look back at a few of the greatest moments that have made this climb so famous in Tour history.

One of Mont Ventoux’s most storied moments is also its darkest. In the 1967 Tour de France, British rider Tom Simpson collapsed and tragically died on the slopes of Ventoux during Stage 13. It was a scorchingly hot July day, and Simpson, a former world champion and one of Britain’s most beloved cyclists, was pushing beyond his limits, helped along by a mix of amphetamines and alcohol common in that era.

Nearing the summit, wobbling and delirious, he fell off his bike. Despite the frantic efforts of medics, Simpson died just one kilometer from the top of the climb. His death sent shockwaves through the sport, it was one of the Tour’s darkest hours and a grim wake-up call about the dangers of doping. The winner of the Tour of Faders, Milano-Sanremo, and Il Lombardia would now forever be entwined to the mountain itself.

Today, Simpson’s memory lives on at Ventoux: a small stone memorial stands by the road where he fell, and many riders passing by still doff their caps or leave a bidon in his honor. This tragic episode, while heartbreaking, has become an integral part of Mont Ventoux’s legend, a reminder of the mountain’s unforgiving nature and the very human limits of endurance.

If Ventoux can humble even the toughest, it also highlights true greatness. In 1970, cycling legend Eddy Merckx, often considered the greatest of all time, took a memorable victory atop Mont Ventoux. That year’s Tour de France included a summit finish on Ventoux, and Merckx, in dominant form, attacked to win the stage on his way to his second Tour overall title.

But even “The Cannibal” felt the mountain’s bite. Merckx rode himself to the brink of collapse in the thin Provençal air. Famously, he needed oxygen at the summit after crossing the finish line, utterly spent. The Belgian star reportedly said the effort was “impossible,” reflecting just how extreme Ventoux was even for a rider of his calibre.

If Merckx says something is impossible, then you know just how hard it truly was. Perhaps the man who is challenging Merckx’s ‘GOAT’ status, Tadej Pogacar, is planning his own assault on the mountain today…

Mont Ventoux has also played host to some epic showdowns between greats of our sport. One of the most famous (and controversial) Ventoux moments came in 2000, when Lance Armstrong and Marco Pantani faced off in a dramatic duel.

Armstrong was in the yellow jersey, dominating the Tour as its leader, while Pantani, a pure climber and winner of the Giro-Tour double in 1998, was fighting to prove himself. On the steep upper slopes, the two went head-to-head, leaving all other riders behind.

In an unexpected twist, Armstrong chose not to sprint for the win, instead allowing Pantani to cross the line first. It was widely perceived that Armstrong gifted Pantani the stage victory on Ventoux. Armstrong later said it was a gesture of goodwill, though Pantani reportedly felt insulted rather than grateful, sparking tension between the two. The Armstrong-Pantani Ventoux finish has become legendary, especially now considering the darker truth that was hidden in that moment.

In hindsight, the moment is tinged with the era’s realities: both men were later entangled in doping scandals, and Pantani tragically died in 2004 after his career unravelled. Armstrong, of course, is one of the most infamous figures in sport, and his doping is the tale of the 1990s and 2000s, and is a story which the riders of today are still struggling to overcome.

In the modern era, Chris Froome has had two very different dates with Mont Ventoux, each memorable in its own way. The first was in 2013. Froome, on his way to winning his first Tour de France, delivered a towering performance on Ventoux’s slopes. He attacked and rode away from all his rivals, soloing to the summit finish in a display of dominance that echoed the feats of all-time greats, and showed that he was the main man that year. That day, Froome turned the screw on his competition and cemented his hold on the yellow jersey, a performance so strong that it even sparked debates and awe among fans and pundits.

Fast forward three years to 2016, and the scene on Ventoux was something no one could have predicted. Due to extreme winds, the stage finish was moved partway up the mountain, leading to chaotic crowds on the road. In the midst of this chaos, a television motorbike suddenly stopped, causing a pile-up that broke Froome’s bike and entangled him with other riders right near Chalet Reynard.

In a moment of pure improvisation (and arguably, panic), Froome started running up the mountain on foot, in his cleated cycling shoes and yellow jersey. It was a surreal sight, the race leader jogging uphill through throngs of fans, desperate to minimize time loss until he could get a replacement bike.

This bizarre episode became one of the Tour’s most unforgettable moments, and one we will undoubtedly be reminded about on our television screens during today’s race. Froome eventually got a new bike and was retroactively allowed to keep his race lead, but the image of “Froome running Ventoux” will forever be part of Tour. Together, Froome’s 2013 triumph and 2016 chaos show the two faces of Mont Ventoux: one day it crowns a dominant champion, another day it reduces even the best to scrambling on foot!

These moments, Simpson’s tragedy, Merckx’s heroic victory, the Armstrong-Pantani duel, and Froome’s two extremes, are just a few highlights from Mont Ventoux’s rich Tour de France history. The question is now whether today will be the day that Tade Pogacar ticks off another iconic climb on his list of incredible wins.