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Mont Ventoux

When the final road race event has ended in Sweden and the autumn leaves start falling from the trees, we head down to Provence to extend the season with a three-day race leading up to legendary Mont Ventoux. A mountain that takes no prisoners. The roundabout in Bédoin While the summer heat still lingers in Provence, a bunch of gentlemen play Pétanque in the park. On the outdoor seating people enjoy the October sun that lights up the stone houses in the small town of Bédoin. The narrow street is lined with maple trees and a woman stops the traffic so that the schoolchildren can cross. A little further up are some bicycle shops and a sign at the roundabout shows that the road on the right leads up to Mont Ventoux, 1909 meters above sea level. In the summer of 1970, during stage 14 of Tour de France, Eddy Merckx swung right in this roundabout and got away from the peloton. After pushing himself to the limit on the steep climb he finished the stage as the superior winner. But he was so exhausted that he collapsed and had to be given oxygen to recover. The Giant of Provence ...

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