Mont Ventoux will cast shadow on Tour de France despite absence from route | Richard Williams

Giant of Provence may only glower in distance this time but 50 years since Tom Simpson died only 1,300m from stage finish at summit many will think of him

The riders of the Tour de France will not be required to climb the Mont Ventoux this year but they will find themselves unable to escape its shadow. Sometime in the afternoon of Friday 21 July, while pedalling through the vineyards and lavender fields of the Vaucluse, they will glance over to their right and see the Giant of Provence glowering in the distance.

There was a good reason for the Tour’s route planners to avoid the Ventoux this summer. On 13 July it will be 50 years since Tom Simpson collapsed and died at the roadside only 1,300m and a few hairpin bends from the finish line at the summit of the mountain. Ever since that day, images of the banks of scree lining the winding ribbon of asphalt have carried a certain sense of menace, even as they shine bone-white under the midsummer sun.

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Mont Ventoux will cast shadow on Tour de France despite absence from route | Richard Williams posted first on http://ift.tt/2pDSOxr