Droning on about Ventoux & the Verdon Gorge: Cycling Holidays in Provence with all Support

Road Cycling in Provence

Back in early October 2017 we ran our inaugural Ventoux & the Verdon Gorge trip which takes in the highlights of, you’ve guessed it; Ventoux & the Verdon Gorge! With rolling fields of lavender, unspoilt villages and Ventoux, one of the most infamous mountains in the world of cycling, this cycling holiday in Provence has it all.  Whilst typically synonymous with touring cyclists, this ‘hidden gem’ boasts some of the best cycling roads in all of France; peppered with smaller cols and rolling hills set in unique scenery and with a perfect cycling climate in the Spring and Autumn.

Using the Drone

Armed with a borrowed drone* and the will to succeed, Marmot Tours guide Gav managed to sneak in a few flights here and there over the course of the week to try and capture this incredible landscape dressed in its beautiful autumn colours, and this is the result. Set to the tune of a local street performer playing in the village square in Sault at the base of Ventoux, we just can’t wait to go back!

Borrowing a Drone

*For those of you lucky/brave/foolhardy enough to have flown a drone before, you will know that there is only one thing scarier than flying your own drone, and that is flying a borrowed drone! Now try flying that borrowed drone off the side of a mountain at 2000m elevation with a ‘cheeky’ breeze (aka the Mistral!) whipping through, all whilst supporting and managing a group of cyclists, taking photos, trying not to fall off that precarious little rock edge you’re stood on or hunkering down behind that particularly spiky thorn bush so as to shield the bright sunlight from your drone’s remote control screen, and you’ve achieved Marmot Guide level Pro!

We’ll be back!

Big thanks go out to our group for the week for their good humour and company, with a special thanks going to Richard Bruton for his unwavering trust and confidence that he’d ever see his drone again!

We’ll be back in Provence in 2018 running this trip and our ever popular Ventoux Club des Cinglés Challenge (all three ascents of Mt Ventoux in one day!)

Dates for the future

  • 21 April – 28 April 2018    Ventoux & the Verdon Gorge
  • 26 May – 2 June 2018      Ventoux & the Verdon Gorge
  • 30 Sep – 07 – Oct 2018    Ventoux & the Verdon Gorge
  • 18 Sep – 21 Sep 2018      Ventoux Club des Cinglés Challenge
  • 08 Oct – 11 Oct 2018       Ventoux Club des Cinglés Challenge

Full details for both trips can be found by clicking the links above.

See you out on the road! 

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