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Has anyone done the Cingles challenge on Ventoux, specifically the Galérien challenge of 4 ascents including the forest road.
I am thinking of doing the whole thing on my 32mm GP5000S and was wondering if that is an acceptable tyre for the forest road, or would something bigger be better eg Schwalbe G-One Speed or RS in a 40mm?
Any tips for order of ascent. I've seen:
Malaucene, Bedoin, Bedoin (forest), Sault
Bedoin, Bedoin (forest), Malaucene, Sault
Bedoin (forest), Bedoin, Malaucene, Sault
I'm looking to go in September sometime so hopefully still good weather, but not too hot.
We rode the normal Cingles challenge in September a few years back. I rode it on a Mason Bokeh with 1x gearing and 32mm Compass tyres of some description.
We started in Sault for no other reason than that was where we were staying. The weather was pretty good but the descent in to Malaucene was bloody cold in the morning as the sun wasn't on that side!
There's a charity supercar event on the top half of the mountain from Chalet Reynard to the summit at some point in September so the road's closed. It was in the middle of the weekend we were there so we had to alter plans to suit.
Sort of. I did the Cingles on my road bike and then ran up and down the forest road afterwards. It was 2017 so memory a little hazy but from what I can remember it was rough and rocky in places. I do a lot of gravel riding but wouldn’t want to ride it on 32s. Although that’s probably because I’m fully subscribed to the wider is better trend of the last few years and my perceptions have been skewed. Might be ok going up and you could descend back on down the road i guess.
Descending will be via road, so it is just going up.
did the Ventoux Three ten years ago and rode Bedoin, Malaucene, Sault mainly because we started in Carpentras, and as the Sault ascent is the 'easiest' it's nice to have that last
not done the gravel road but from those that have it's either "oh, you'll be fine" or "you need a cx bike", your 32's are pretty much a cx tyre size so you should be ok 🙂
good luck with the weather, i've ridden the hill when it's been baking French summer at the bottom and life-threatening hailstorm at the top, it's fun like that
I rode the gravel climb in 2017, a few photos might give you a sense of the terrain. I seem to remember these were fairly typical.
the forest road.
I am thinking of doing the whole thing on my 32mm GP5000S
I rode up that way a few years ago (2019?) on 650 x 47s and it was fine on them and a lot of it was easy going but it's chunky in places, gullied and loose lower down. 32s could be a bit frustrating?
If you were happy on 40mm G-One Speeds for the road climbs (I would be / I was on 650 x 47) I'd use those. Then again it's only 8mm of tyre, on balance with the 3 other road ascents the GP5000s might be better overall. So, real no help there am I : )
I did this about 5 years ago, was on 25mm road tires and the whole forest route was rideable, there were a few loose bits but nothing too bad. Given the vast majority of the ride is lovely tarmac, faster road tires make sense. Saw some hardy looking shepherds and a great sunrise on the forest route, it was well worth doing, although it felt like it went on forever.
Bedoin (forest), Bedoin, Malaucene, Sault was what I did, and would recommend. The first bit of the Bedoin climb that you have to do twice is arguably the worst bit, so its good to get it out of the way, and before it gets really busy. The trees give you shade from the sun early on too, but nothing in the middle of the day. Make sure you stop for a decent lunch before the third ascent as that is the one that really hurts. Definitely save Sault until last, so you get the full wall of lavender experience when you descend, and the last climb back up is almost enjoyable.
I started just before sunrise, but remember thinking I should have started earlier still. 3 ways is absolutely enough, adding in the fourth is pretty unnecessary, which is exactly why you should do it. Enjoy.
Thanks for the info, looks like 32s should be fine. I was thinking of the forest 2nd as I didn't want to do it in the dark, which I guess depends on how early I start but might not be as much of a problem.
Getting it over early also sounds good from a difficulty and frustration point of view, no use doing that when already hot and tired.
Do Maleucene early it’s really exposed, pretty boring and I found it by far the hardest. We had a mate in a van and we stopped twice on M for a little cry and a load of sugar.
We did Bedoin, Maleucene to start, mainly cos we stayed in Bedoin, but it meant the descent into M was very early and the roads were empty. I was hitting 54mph on the straights (which is a lot for me) it was a real highlight. APart from the M climb it’s all ace, Sault is lovely and a great lunch stop. TBH if I was doing one in the dark I’d do the dirt. The whole weekend was perfect.
For people who like multiple climbs of the same hill this popped up in my FB feed yesterday http://lesfadasdupuymary.eu/html/English/IndexEN.html
8 times up the Puy Mary ! - having watched the summit finish of the TdF the other year and how the pros were almost at a standstill, I don't think so :-0