Cure Parkinson’s Ventoux ‘Club des Cinglés’ Challenge 2023

Introduction

Cure Parkinson’s Ventoux ‘Club des Cinglés’ Challenge

Mont Ventoux has been stirring things up in the Tour de France world since it was first introduced over 60 years ago. It became infamous when it claimed the life of the British rider Tom Simpson in 1967 and has since become a Mecca for cyclists from all over the world wanting to battle the elements up this iconic, arid, rocky moonscape of a climb.

Cure Parkinson’s are no strangers to stirring things up themselves. Driven to cure, this agile charity funds cutting edge Parkinson’s research and unites the world’s leading experts under one cause. Cure Parkinson’s can only continue to have this impact with the support from people like you. So far, the Cure Parkinson’s Raid Series has raised a game-changing £500,000 in just three years and with your help, that total could climb to £1,000,000. Please join us in that ascent and rise the to the challenge.

The ‘Club des Cinglés de Mont Ventoux’ translates as the ‘brotherhood of the Ventoux nutters’ – very apt for anyone that cycles up Mont Ventoux 3 times in a day from all directions (4443m ascent in 136km)! Marmot Tours love a challenge and this ‘focused minibreak’ is as good as they come. If you register for the official challenge, you get awarded a certificate and medal if you make all 3 climbs, though there is no pressure to take part in the registered challenge if you prefer to just climb the mountain once or twice!

In order to give you the best chance of success on Ventoux, days 2 and 3 are interchangeable, so we can choose the day with the best weather for your challenge. On the arrival day, there is the option of a lovely warm-up ride through the local vineyards and villages and the other two full days on the bike offer a beautiful circuit through Provence, around the base of Mont Ventoux and an exploration of the scenic mountains to the north of Ventoux. We stay in the perfectly located and very relaxing 3* Spa Ventoux Provence hotel (with swimming pool) and eat dinner in the town of Malaucène, a short walk away. Non-cycling partners are welcome to book too – grab a couple of days R & R in great surroundings or rent an e-bike locally to support your partner on their challenge.

Includes:

• Transfers (with bike boxes) from/to Marseille Airport
• 4 nights in the 3-star Hotel Ventoux Provence in Malaucène
• 4 x breakfasts
• 4 x 3-course evening meals in a local restaurant (with up to half a bottle of wine per person per night)
• snacks, fruit, cake, water etc. on cycling days
• 2-3 (depending on group size) fully customised vehicles for all your nutritional, mechanical, moral support and first aid needs
• 2-3 (depending on group size) experienced Marmot Tours guides
• Colour route maps with directions and profiles of the climbs
• GPS files
• Registration for the Club des Cinglés challenge and medal on completion

Not included:

• Lunches
• Flights
• Drinks/coffees during the day (water top-ups available from vans)
• Bike hire (if required)

More information (downloads):

• Guide for non-cycling partners

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