Ventoux tee

£15.00

Gildan softstyle Mont Ventoux tee in sand.
One colour screen print (in claret) to front & left sleeve.
Sizing:
S Chest 34-36" Width 44cm Height 67cm
M Chest 38-40" Width 47cm Height 71cm
L Chest 40-44" Width 53cm Height 74cm
Care instructions: Machine wash warm, inside out, with like colours. Tumble dry medium. Iron inside out. Do not iron directly over printed area. Do not dry clean.
Composition: 100% combed ringspun cotton.

This tee celebrates the foreboding Mont Ventoux. The barren, windy and unforgiving slopes of Le Geant du Provence. First introduced to the Tour De France in 1951, the Ventoux has achieved almost mythical status amongst cycling fans. The scene of some of the Tour’s biggest stories across the years. The great Tom Simpson’s tragic 1967 Tour. The GOAT, Eddy Merckx, requiring oxygen at the summit in 1970. The duel of Marco Pantani and Lance Armstrong in 2000. And more recently, Chris Froome’s jog up the final kilometre in 2016 after crashing. As the name suggests (venteux means windy in French), the summit can get very severe weather - the mistral winds have been recorded as high as 320km/h, with wind over 90km/h for 240 days a year. The top of the mountain is bare limestone without vegetation or trees, meaning risk of severe heat during summer months. Although geologically part of the Alps, Ventoux is often considered separate from then due to the lack of similar sized mountains nearby. It’s isolated position overlooking the valley of the Rhône ensures that it dominates the entire region and can be seen from a long distance away on a clear day. The Ventoux can be climbed by three routes - south from Bédoin (regarded as the most difficult route); northwest from Malaucène, and east from Sault. The 2021 Tour De France had a double ascent, firstly from Sault, then followed by the more traditional Bédoin ascent. A stage to remember won by the time trialist, sprinter, cross specialist and seemingly ‘climber’ Wout Van Aert.