Mont Ventoux is set to return to the Tour de France in 2016, according to French newspaper La Provence, with the peloton primed to take on the Giant of Provence with a summit finish on Bastille Day.
It will mean a repeat of the Bastille Day stage in 2013 when Chris Froome dropped Alberto Contador and then Nairo Quintana to strengthen his overall lead en-route to his first victory.
And the defending champion will be hoping for a repeat performance on the 21.8km ascent from Bedoin, after the town’s mayor, Luke Reynard, confirmed he had been invited to the October 20 launch of the 2016 Tour de France route – an honour bestowed only on towns and counties hosting a stage.
Mont-Saint-Michel will host the Grand Depart on Saturday July 2 and the full route will be confirmed on October 20, but French press are reporting it likely the race will tackle the Pyrenees (with a rest day in Andorra) first before heading to the Alps and a detour into Switzerland later in the race.
The Mont Ventoux summit finish will likely be sandwiched between the Pyrenees and Alps, being the tenth time a stage will finish on the iconic ascent and the 16th time the climb will have featured in the Tour.
The legendary climb comes with an average gradient of 7.4 per cent, with sections into double figures halfway up the ascent and again at the very top.
To see what the peloton will have to tackle on Bastille Day, check out the Col Collective video below.
