Mont Ventoux sits alone. No massif, no range, no neighbouring peaks to soften the profile. It rises out of the lavender fields of Provence like a geological misprint — 1,912 metres of limestone dropped into a landscape that has no business containing it. Above the treeline at 1,600 metres, the vegetation disappears entirely and the road crosses a white moonscape of scree and wind-blasted rock that looks more like the surface of another planet than anything in the south of France. On a clear day you can see the Mediterranean. On a Mistral day you can barely see your front wheel.
Every serious cyclist climbs Ventoux at least once. You ride from Bédoin through the forest, you pass the Tom Simpson memorial, you grind across the moonscape, and you stand at the summit feeling like you have done something worth doing. The Cingles asks a different question. It asks whether you can do all of that — and then do it twice more from two other directions, on the same day, with the Provence sun cooking the tarmac to 50C and the Mistral threatening to blow you off the exposed ridgeline. Three ascents. Three descents. Roughly 4,500 metres of climbing. The word "Cingles" translates loosely as "the crazy ones," and the riders who have earned the title tend to agree with the translation.
The challenge separates the rider who can climb from the rider who can climb tired. Fresh legs will carry most fit cyclists up any single side of Ventoux. But the third ascent — after 3,500 metres of climbing and six to eight hours in the saddle — tests a different system entirely. Muscular endurance, heat tolerance, fuelling discipline, pacing intelligence. The Cingles is not a race. It is a personal test, and the mountain does not care about your FTP.
Key Takeaways
- The Cingles du Mont Ventoux demands three ascents totalling roughly 4,500m of climbing and 140-150km of riding — the volume is equivalent to a mountain stage of a Grand Tour, compressed into a self-paced day.
- Bédoin is the hardest ascent: 21.5km at 7.5% average with a relentless 10km middle section through the forest at 9-10% that breaks riders on fresh legs, let alone on the second or third attempt.
- Provence heat is the hidden course. Valley temperatures of 35-40C combined with exposed climbing above the treeline creates a heat and hydration management problem that most Northern European riders underestimate.
- Order matters: Bédoin first (hardest, on fresh legs), Malaucène second (technical, steep, but slightly shorter), Sault third (longest but gentlest gradient, a fatigued rider's best friend).
- Target 3.2 W/kg minimum for completing all three ascents inside 10 hours of moving time. Below 3.0 W/kg, the third ascent becomes a survival exercise in the dark.
- A 14-week build with progressive long climbs, heat acclimatisation, and at least two training days of 3,000m+ climbing prepares the specific muscular endurance the Cingles demands.
- The Mistral wind on the exposed summit section above 1,600m can add 20-30 minutes to an ascent. Check the forecast, time your summit pushes around the wind, and carry a gilet for every descent — the temperature drops 15-20 degrees between the valley floor and the top.
What the Cingles Actually Demands
Three ascents. The total numbers: approximately 4,400-4,500 metres of vertical gain across 140-150km of riding, depending on the route you take between the three base villages. For context, the queen stage of most Grand Tours covers 4,000-5,000 metres of climbing — but with a full team, organised feeds, and the benefit of a professional support structure. You are doing this alone, self-supported, in Provence summer heat.
The power demands are worth quantifying. A 75kg rider at 3.2 W/kg produces 240 watts at threshold — use the FTP zone calculator to map your own numbers. On the sustained gradients of Bédoin, that rider covers the 21.5km ascent in roughly 1 hour 40 minutes — the climb time estimator will give you a personalised figure for each side. Across three ascents with fatigue-induced power drops of 10-15% by the third climb, total moving time sits between 8.5 and 10 hours. Drop below 3.0 W/kg and the third ascent stretches past two hours, the day runs past 12 hours total, and you are riding the final descent in fading light.
The heat factor changes the arithmetic. Valley floor temperatures in Bédoin and Malaucène run between 35-40C from late June through August. The exposed moonscape above the treeline offers no shade and direct sun. Core temperature rises, cardiac drift sets in, and power output at a given perceived effort drops 5-8% compared to temperate conditions. A rider who holds 3.3 W/kg comfortably at 20C may only sustain 3.0 W/kg at 38C without specific heat preparation.
Then there is the Mistral. Ventoux is exposed to the full force of this northerly wind on every approach above 1,600 metres. On bad days the Mistral exceeds 100km/h at the summit and 60-70km/h on the exposed sections. Even on moderate days, a 30-40km/h headwind on the final 5km of any ascent adds 15-30 minutes and a significant psychological toll. Check the forecast. If the Mistral is forecast above 70km/h at the summit, reconsider your timing.
The Three Ascents: Profile and Strategy
Ascent 1: Bédoin (The South)
The most famous approach and the most demanding. 21.5 kilometres at 7.5% average with 1,610 metres of vertical gain. The numbers tell part of the story. The gradient profile tells the rest.
The first 6 kilometres from Bédoin are deceptive — 4-5% through open countryside, warm-up terrain that invites riders to push harder than they should. From kilometre 6, the road enters the forest and the gradient kicks to 9-10% for a relentless 10 kilometres. This forest section is where the Cingles is won or lost. The road is shaded, which helps with heat, but the sustained steepness at altitude is the single hardest section of the entire day. At kilometre 15 you emerge from the trees at Chalet Reynard, hit the exposed moonscape, and climb the final 6 kilometres at 7-8% through wind and sun to the summit.
Pacing strategy: Ride Bédoin at 80% of your fresh Ventoux pace. This is critical. You are not climbing Ventoux once today — you are climbing it three times, and every watt you waste in the forest on the first ascent is a watt you will not have on the third. If your standalone Bédoin time is 90 minutes, plan for 105-110 minutes. Keep your heart rate 5-8 beats below your normal climbing threshold. The forest section should feel controlled, almost frustrating. That restraint pays dividends six hours later.
Ascent 2: Malaucène (The North)
21.2 kilometres at 7.2% average. Malaucène is marginally less steep than Bédoin on paper, but the gradient profile is more variable and in some ways more demanding psychologically. The first 3 kilometres kick sharply at 9-10%, drop to false flats of 4-5% in the middle section, then ramp again for the final push to the summit.
The variability is the challenge. On Bédoin, you settle into a rhythm in the forest and hold it. On Malaucène, you are constantly adjusting — shifting gears through gradient changes, managing effort on the steep sections, resisting the temptation to push too hard on the false flats. The northern approach also gets less shade and more direct afternoon sun, which matters if you are climbing it as your second ascent in the early afternoon.
The psychological weight of seeing the same summit for the second time is not trivial. You know what the moonscape section feels like. You know the wind. You know how far the road stretches across the scree. The first time has novelty on its side. The second time is a conversation with yourself about whether the third time is really necessary. It is. Keep pedalling.
Pacing strategy: Drop to 75% of fresh pace. Your legs have already climbed 1,610 metres and descended the same. Cardiac drift from the heat will have raised your resting heart rate by 5-10 beats. Target a power 10-15% below your first ascent average and accept that this climb will take longer. The variable gradient means you can recover on the false flats — use them.
Ascent 3: Sault (The East)
26 kilometres at 4.4% average. The longest approach but the gentlest gradient by a wide margin. Sault is the reason the Bédoin-Malaucène-Sault order works. After 3,500 metres of climbing and a full day in the heat, a 4.4% average gradient is something you can still pedal.
The profile is forgiving. Long stretches at 3-5% through lavender fields and pine forests with only a few short ramps above 6%. The final 6 kilometres from Chalet Reynard to the summit are shared with the Bédoin approach — you know this section now, you have ridden it twice already, and the gradient at 7-8% will feel steep on tired legs but is manageable because you can see the finish.
What 4.4% feels like after 3,500 metres of climbing: harder than you expect. Your threshold power has dropped 15-20% from the morning. Your cadence is lower than normal because your muscles are glycogen-depleted. A gradient that felt like spinning on fresh legs now demands concentration. But it is rideable. A 10% gradient on exhausted legs is a survival exercise. A 4.4% gradient on exhausted legs is slow but sustainable, and that is the difference between finishing the Cingles and abandoning it.
Pacing strategy: Ride on feel. By the third ascent, power data becomes less useful because your relationship to the numbers has shifted. A heart rate that felt like Zone 2 in the morning now feels like Zone 4. Ride by perceived effort — conversational pace, steady breathing, no surges. The only goal is the summit. If you can still pedal at the top of Sault, you are a Cingle.
Choosing Your Ascent Order
Bédoin-Malaucène-Sault is the consensus order and the one I recommend for most riders. The logic is simple: hardest first, moderate second, easiest third.
Bédoin's 10km forest section at 9-10% is the steepest sustained block of the day. Ride it on fresh legs and you have the muscular reserve to manage it. Ride it third and you are asking depleted quadriceps to hold 250+ watts on a 10% gradient for 45 minutes — the maths does not favour you.
Malaucène second makes sense because its variable gradient allows micro-recoveries on the false flats. You are tired but not destroyed. The steep opening kilometres are hard, but they are short, and the reward of easier gradients mid-climb lets you settle.
Sault third exploits its gentle gradient at the exact moment when gentle gradients are all you can manage.
There are alternative orders. Sault-Malaucène-Bédoin puts the easiest ascent first as a warm-up, which appeals to riders who want to build into the day. The problem is that Bédoin's forest section on shattered legs is a different proposition entirely — riders who choose this order frequently report that the final 10km through the forest at 9-10% takes 20-30 minutes longer than it would have on fresh legs, and some do not finish. Malaucène-Bédoin-Sault is a viable alternative if you prefer to get the two hard sides done first, but it means your first effort is on a variable gradient that demands more tactical riding — not ideal before you have found your rhythm.
Stick with Bédoin-Malaucène-Sault unless you have a specific reason to change.
14-Week Training Framework
Weeks 1-4: Base
Build your aerobic floor. Long rides of 4-5 hours with 1,500-2,000 metres of climbing per week, predominantly in Zone 2. The goal is time on the bike at low intensity — training your body to burn fat efficiently and building the slow-twitch muscular endurance that sustained climbing demands.
Include one tempo session per week: 2x20 minutes at 76-82% of FTP on a steady gradient if possible. This is not threshold work — it is teaching your body to hold a moderate effort for extended periods without drifting into high-intensity territory.
Gym work twice per week: Bulgarian split lunges (3x10 each leg), step-ups to a 40cm box (3x12 each leg), leg press (3x15 at moderate load), single-leg hip thrusts (3x12 each side), and a 10-minute core circuit including planks, side planks, and dead bugs. These movements build the single-leg stability and hip extension strength that climbing at low cadence demands, without the injury risk of heavy bilateral loading.
Weeks 5-8: Build
Introduce climbing-specific intensity. Two quality sessions per week alongside your long ride.
Session one: threshold repeats on a climb. 3-4x10 minutes at 90-95% of FTP on a 5-7% gradient, 5 minutes recovery between efforts. Build to 4x12 minutes by week 8. This is the bread and butter of climbing preparation — sustained power output on a gradient that mimics Ventoux's sustained sections.
Session two: sweet spot climbing. 2x20 minutes at 85-90% of FTP on a moderate climb. The longer duration at slightly lower intensity builds the specific fatigue resistance that the second and third ascents demand.
Long ride: extend to 5-6 hours with 2,000-2,500 metres of climbing. Include at least one ride per fortnight where you repeat the same climb 2-3 times to simulate the Cingles format — the repeated effort on the same gradient teaches your body and your brain what the second and third time up feels like.
Begin heat acclimatisation in week 6 if you are training in Northern Europe. More on this below.
Weeks 9-12: Peak
This is where the Cingles-specific work happens. Your long rides should now include at least 3,000 metres of climbing. Two key sessions in this block:
The big climbing day: 6-7 hours with 3,000-3,500 metres of elevation gain. If you can find a single climb of 1,000+ metres and repeat it three times, that is the closest simulation you will get outside of Ventoux itself. Pace the repeats as you would pace the Cingles — first at 80%, second at 75%, third on feel. Note how your power, heart rate, and perceived effort change across the three efforts. This data is your pacing reference for the event.
Back-to-back climbing days: ride 4 hours with 2,000 metres of climbing on Saturday, then 3-4 hours with 1,500 metres on Sunday. The Sunday ride teaches you what sustained climbing feels like on pre-fatigued legs — a feeling you will know intimately on Cingles day.
Reduce gym work to once per week with lighter loads. The muscular work is done; maintain it, do not build it.
Weeks 13-14: Taper
Cut volume by 30-40% while maintaining intensity. Ride 3-4 times per week with one short quality session — 3x8 minutes at threshold — and two easy spins. The long ride drops to 3 hours maximum.
The taper is not rest. It is controlled reduction. You should feel slightly restless by the end of week 14 — legs twitching, wanting to ride harder. That is the signal that the taper is working.
Travel to Provence 2-3 days before the event to acclimatise to the heat and scout the routes. Ride the first 5 kilometres of each approach at easy pace to familiarise yourself with the gradients and the road surfaces.
Key Sessions for Ventoux Preparation
Extended climbing repeats. Find a climb of 20-30 minutes and ride it 3-4 times with a descent recovery between each. The first repeat at 85% of FTP, the second at 80%, the third and fourth on feel. This is the closest indoor or outdoor simulation of the Cingles format. Total climbing time: 80-120 minutes. If you only do one Cingles-specific session per fortnight, make it this one.
Threshold at fatigue. Ride 3 hours at Zone 2, then immediately ride 3x10 minutes at 90-95% of FTP on a climb. The quality of the threshold work after three hours of riding tells you what your third ascent will feel like. If you can hold 90% of FTP after three hours, your fitness is where it needs to be. If you drop below 80%, you have more base work to do.
Heat acclimatisation protocol. For Northern European riders training in 15-20C conditions for an event in 35-40C conditions, heat adaptation is not optional. The protocol: 5-6 sessions over 10-14 days on the turbo trainer in a hot room (close windows, add a heater if necessary, wear extra layers). Start with 30 minutes at Zone 2 in the heat, build to 60 minutes by session five. Post-session, sit in the heat for another 10-15 minutes without cooling — this extends the adaptation stimulus. The physiological adaptations — lower core temperature at rest, earlier onset of sweating, expanded plasma volume — take 5-7 sessions to develop and persist for 2-3 weeks. Time this block to finish 7-10 days before the event.
Cadence manipulation on shallow gradients. The Sault approach at 4.4% average is a different pedalling challenge from the steeper sides. On a turbo trainer or a gentle climb, practise holding 80-90 rpm at 4-5% gradient in a gear that requires deliberate cadence maintenance rather than the natural grinding that steep gradients impose. 3x15 minutes at sweet spot with a target cadence of 85 rpm. This teaches your legs to spin efficiently on the shallow gradient that will dominate your final ascent.
Heat Management and Fuelling Strategy
Provence in summer is the variable that Northern European riders most consistently underestimate. The heat changes everything: cardiac output shifts, perceived effort rises at lower absolute power, sweat rates double, and glycogen depletion accelerates. A rider who can hold 3.3 W/kg at 18C in Yorkshire may only manage 3.0 W/kg at 38C in Bédoin without heat-specific preparation.
Pre-cooling. Before each ascent, drink 500ml of ice-cold water or a slushy if available, and drench your jersey with cold water. Core temperature pre-cooling of even 0.5C extends the time to critical core temperature by 10-15 minutes on a sustained climb. Some riders freeze water bottles overnight and carry them in jersey pockets as body-cooling packs — practical and effective.
Hydration rates. Target 750-1,000ml per hour in hot conditions, with 500-800mg of sodium per litre. Standard electrolyte tabs are insufficient for the sweat rates that 35-40C climbing produces — most contain 300-350mg of sodium per tab, so you need 1.5-2 tabs per bottle. Weigh yourself before and after a hot training ride to calibrate your personal sweat rate. Every kilogram lost represents roughly one litre of fluid deficit.
Fuelling across the day. A Cingles day burns 5,000-7,000 calories depending on body weight and pace. You cannot replace all of this during the ride, but you need to replace enough to prevent the bonk. Target 80-100 grams of carbohydrate per hour from the start — the fuelling calculator will dial in your exact intake based on weight and duration. Do not wait until you feel hungry. Mix between solid food (rice cakes, bars, bananas) for the first half and gels or liquid carbs for the second half when your gut slows under fatigue and heat. At each base village between ascents, eat a proper meal: a sandwich, a croque monsieur, pasta — real food that replenishes glycogen and gives your stomach something to work with.
Between-ascent recovery. Take 30-45 minutes at each base village. Eat. Drink a full 750ml bottle of cold electrolyte drink. Get out of the sun. Change your jersey if it is salt-crusted. Refill bottles with ice if possible. These stops are not wasted time — they are the investment that makes the next ascent possible.
Kit, Gearing, and Logistics
Gearing. Bédoin's sustained 9-10% section through the forest demands low gearing, especially on the second or third ascent when your legs are spent. A compact chainring (34t or 36t) paired with a 32t or 34t rear cassette is the minimum sensible setup. If you are below 3.5 W/kg, consider a sub-compact (30t or 32t inner ring) or a gravel cassette with a 36t or 40t rear. Under-gearing is the single most common Cingles mistake — a rider who runs out of gears at 10% is standing on the pedals, burning matches that do not exist eight hours into the day. Spin up. Save your legs.
Clothing layers. The temperature swing from valley floor (35-40C) to summit (15-20C, lower with wind chill) is 20+ degrees. Carry a packable gilet in your jersey pocket for every descent — the 7-8 minute descent from the summit at 60-70km/h in sweat-soaked kit at 15C with the Mistral blowing will cool you from overheated to hypothermic faster than you expect. Arm warmers are optional but worthwhile if you run cold. At the bottom, stash the gilet and climb in a lightweight short-sleeve jersey. Full-finger gloves for the descents are worth the pocket space if the Mistral is forecast.
Water bottle planning. Three 750ml bottles are not enough for a hot ascent of Bédoin. The Chalet Reynard café at the treeline (km 15) sells water and cold drinks — plan to refill there. On Malaucène, there are fewer water stops mid-climb — start with two full bottles and carry a 500ml soft flask as backup. On Sault, the longer, gentler approach passes through Chalet Reynard again from the east side. Between ascents, refill everything in the base villages — Bédoin, Malaucène, and Sault all have shops, cafés, and fountains.
Logistics. Park your car at your starting village (Bédoin if following the recommended order). The routes between base villages are 15-25km of rolling valley roads — not flat, but nothing like the climbs. These connecting sections are recovery riding at easy pace. Carry your phone, a card, and enough cash for a café stop. The summit shop where you get your Cingles card stamped closes in the late afternoon — plan your timing so your third summit arrives before closing. A start time of 5:30-6:30am from Bédoin gives most riders comfortable margin.
Common Mistakes on the Cingles
Going too hard on Bédoin. The most frequent mistake by a distance. Bédoin is the first ascent, you are fresh, the adrenaline is flowing, and the gradient invites effort. Riders push 10-15% above their planned pace, feel strong at the top, and pay for it on the second ascent when the power drops and never recovers. Ride to plan. The discipline on climb one determines the experience on climb three.
Underestimating the heat. Riders from the UK, Ireland, Belgium, and the Netherlands train in 12-20C conditions and arrive in Provence at 38C without any heat preparation. The performance drop is immediate and significant — 5-10% at the same perceived effort. Heat acclimatisation takes 10-14 days to develop. If you cannot train in the heat, use the turbo-in-a-hot-room protocol described above. Arriving without heat preparation and hoping to manage is hoping to suffer.
Choosing the wrong ascent order. Bédoin third is a trap. It sounds logical to save the famous side for the finish, but the 10km forest section at 9-10% on depleted legs is where dreams of the Cingles sticker go to die. Riders who attempt Bédoin third report power drops of 25-30% compared to fresh, turning a 90-minute ascent into a 2.5-hour grind with real risk of abandonment.
Inadequate hydration and sodium. Water alone is not enough in 35-40C heat. Sweat rates of 1-1.5 litres per hour are normal on sustained climbing in Provence, and that sweat is salty. Riders who drink water without sodium develop hyponatraemia symptoms — nausea, headaches, confusion — that look like bonking but do not respond to food. Carry electrolyte sachets. Use them in every bottle.
Skipping food between ascents. The temptation after a hot ascent is to drink, rest, and start climbing again. Thirty minutes in the shade with a sandwich and 500ml of cold drink transforms the next ascent. Skipping that stop saves 30 minutes but costs you an hour on the climb above because your glycogen stores are empty and your gut has nothing to absorb. Eat at every opportunity. The base villages are your pit stops — use them like a race team uses a feed zone.
Neglecting the descents. Each descent from the summit takes 25-35 minutes at speed on narrow, winding roads. Fatigue affects bike handling — your reaction times are slower, your grip strength is reduced, and your concentration wanders. The Malaucène descent in particular has several tight switchbacks that demand attention. Descend within your limits, especially late in the day. No Cingles sticker is worth a crash on a descent you were too tired to handle properly.
Training Inside the Roadman Community
The Cingles is not a solo project. The riders who finish well are the ones who prepare specifically — and that means having a structure, a sounding board, and access to people who have done it before.
Inside the Roadman community, we build training frameworks for specific events like the Cingles, share pacing data from riders who have completed it, and troubleshoot the heat, fuelling, and logistics questions that a generic training plan cannot answer. If you are planning a Cingles attempt, the community has riders who have stood at the summit shop with their card stamped three times. Their experience is the shortest route to your own.