When Guillaume Néry gets his bike-riding freediving friends together, it’s natural there'll be a challenge in the offing. For him, life would be unimaginable without a series of challenges: the underwater ones, of course – you don’t break world records without pushing yourself – but then also there’s those out of the water… and on the bike. Within his group of friends – the freediving friends who ride the cols of the Nice backcountry – an idea was born: to do a triple ascent of Mont Ventoux in a day. For super-serious cyclists, this is totally achievable, but for them, their sport is freediving: more used to spending hours together in the water (or under it), they’re not really cyclists. Guillaume has gradually introduced them to cycling, first extolling how cycling and freediving make a killer combo: efficiently powering fins and turning pedals are, at the end of the day, very similar exercises. Then he used his persuasive powers behind his message… and, voilà, those friends who didn’t have a bike quickly equipped themselves with one.

The idea of joining the famous ‘Cinglés de Ventoux’ – riders who climb the mountain by each of its three roads, in a single day – came from Léa, to be precise. Lea is the French national freediving champion in bi-fins in 2024 (and 2021 too), with a PB of 77m in free immersion and 73m in bi-fins. In 2021, as part of the French national team, she was preparing for the world championships when she rode for the first time, touring in the Verdon with Guillaume, Audrey and Fouad, to get her head out of the water, so to speak. “I bought a bike not long before, to integrate cycling into my winter training. What was only one training exercise among many soon became a passion – there have been many cols climbed, a great group of friends and several bike tours, and now there's a super exciting goal in the crosshairs: the famous triple-ascent of Ventoux.”

The idea sparked into life at the beginning of the summer on D++, their shared WhatsApp group. To many, becoming a Cinglé seemed ambitious, and some knew from the outset that they wouldn’t manage all three ascents. But all of them wanted to be a part of it. From that point on, D++ came alive, with more rides planned and longer distances, taking in multiple cols in the back country at a time, until the team found themselves at the foot of Ventoux, ready to take it on.

The week before, everyone was glued to their weather apps; these were unanimous in forecasting nothing good. Weather forecasts can, of course, be wrong… but not this time, as our team would find out. The Saturday in question, the departure time from Café du Cycliste Bédoin was moved forward to 5:30 a.m., and, in good spirits, they got moving. Once past the famous turn where the climb starts in earnest, the group stretched out a little, and then a lot. Those heading off at the front would get to the summit, but the window of opportunity was tight. Just a few minutes later, the wind was gusting up to 110km/h, the windchill took temperatures below freezing and an icy dampness penetrated the body. Beyond the cold, the danger was clear: the descent was to be taken towards Malaucène, but the road was engulfed by the wind and dangerously impassable. Within a twenty-minute period, the Col des Tempêtes, 100 vertical metres below the summit, became impossible to ride and had to be crossed on foot, hands gripping the bike. Shock!

Everybody realised that Ventoux three ways would not happen this weekend. A few hardy souls went off to explore the Gorges de la Nesque, but most chose the warmth of the Café du Cycliste. They weren’t the only ones. Its location on the classic road to Ventoux made it, on this gusty day, the ideal refuge, where cyclists come from far and wide could mix and share their disappointment that their long-held ambitions to climb the famous Giant of Provence had been nixed by the weather. Sunday’s weather would be nothing like this, but none of our group could stay a full extra day… but why not try a double ascent, from Malaucène and then Sault, in better weather – if they could get lucky with the timing? For others, though, it wasn't to be. Charline and Nicolas had only been counting on a single ascent, and the two freediving instructors were disappointed – they’d have to come back again! 

Neither of the couple was a ‘real’ cyclist before they were bitten by the bug training for Ventoux. Charline started freediving in the sea six years ago, specializing in bi-fin, and she now has a second place in the national championships and a top-five national ranking in the discipline. Now a freediving instructor, she has discovered a completely different side of the discipline, as an underwater model for short and feature films, and in photography promoting brands, locations and competitions. 'The artistic side of what can be done underwater with movement is incredible. It’s more difficult than classic freediving: you have to hold a pose for quite a long time, often wearing cumbersome and heavy costumes, all while holding your breath. You need to get the right movement with the hair and the dress and hold it,' she says.

Nicolas, also an instructor, with 12 years of freediving and two participations in the world championships depth competition to his name, had followed his friends into cycling. For him, it was about pushing boundaries, finding new limits, and then going all over again. “I see cycling as a hyper-complete training platform – all while being out searching for wide open spaces and solitude, or on the home trainer. It can also be brilliant family time.”

With Sunday’s double ascent, everybody made their peace with the Giant of Provence. Bright sun rapidly warmed the morning’s chill. At 8:30 a.m. on the summit, while putting on extra layers for the descent down to Sault, those who were there at the same time the previous day marvelled at the difference in temperature – how could such a huge change happen in so little time? Sault would be the setting for a gargantuan brunch in front of the boulangerie, and the final ascent took place at a gentle pace. The hundreds of cyclists who had been forced to put the brakes on the day before now spilled out onto the roads of Ventoux. At the summit once more, it was time to joke about one more ascent. But that would have to wait for next summer. 

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