{"id":256510,"date":"2026-08-06T23:14:43","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T23:14:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/06\/a-proposal-a-baptism-of-fire-and-an-mtb-ride-at-10-years-old-everyone-at-the-tour-de-france-femmes-has-a-mont-ventoux-story\/"},"modified":"2026-08-06T23:14:43","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T23:14:43","slug":"a-proposal-a-baptism-of-fire-and-an-mtb-ride-at-10-years-old-everyone-at-the-tour-de-france-femmes-has-a-mont-ventoux-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/06\/a-proposal-a-baptism-of-fire-and-an-mtb-ride-at-10-years-old-everyone-at-the-tour-de-france-femmes-has-a-mont-ventoux-story\/","title":{"rendered":"A proposal, a baptism of fire and an MTB ride at 10 years old \u2013\u00a0Everyone at the Tour de France Femmes has a Mont Ventoux story"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<p id=\"elk-4854b400-91e8-11f1-a566-1dbdc9738c2e\">There was a whole entire stage on Thursday, but to be honest, there was one big topic that dominated conversation at the <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/tour-de-france-femmes\/\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/tour-de-france-femmes\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-article-category=\"pro-cycling\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/tour-de-france-femmes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tour de France Femmes<\/a>: Mont Ventoux.<\/p>\n<p>A handful of riders in the peloton have raced up <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/cookes-mont-ventoux-masterclass-and-a-cote-dazur-classic-a-history-of-the-tour-de-france-femmes-key-climbs\/\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/cookes-mont-ventoux-masterclass-and-a-cote-dazur-classic-a-history-of-the-tour-de-france-femmes-key-climbs\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-article-category=\"pro-cycling\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/cookes-mont-ventoux-masterclass-and-a-cote-dazur-classic-a-history-of-the-tour-de-france-femmes-key-climbs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ventoux<\/a> before, either in the Tour de l&#8217;Ard\u00e8che or the Mont Ventoux D\u00e9nivel\u00e9 Challenge, and most of those that haven&#8217;t have either reconned it or ridden it as a punter.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\"\/><\/p>\n<aside data-article-category=\"pro-cycling\" data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\" class=\"ecom-root\"\/>\n<p id=\"elk-4854b400-91e8-11f1-a566-1dbdc9738c2e-2\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Very few riders seem to have never been up it before, opting to go in blind on stage 7, and even fewer seem to not have a story at all, whether it was personal memories, visits as a child or memorable racing moments.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-6 w-full overflow-hidden rounded-[10px] lg:my-8\" data-component-name=\"JwPlayer:Carousel\" data-jwp-carousel=\"\" data-jwp-carousel-payload=\"{&quot;ids&quot;:{&quot;playerID&quot;:&quot;jYDCcabO&quot;,&quot;searchPlaylistID&quot;:&quot;gwjdoYHD&quot;,&quot;divID&quot;:&quot;botr_gwjdoYHD_jYDCcabO_div&quot;,&quot;fallbackPlaylistID&quot;:&quot;gwjdoYHD&quot;,&quot;fallbackDivID&quot;:&quot;botr_gwjdoYHD_jYDCcabO_div&quot;,&quot;key&quot;:&quot;X9\\\/mXVGac0NphghLH9hZaqWA5d3dhAM\\\/Ih07grnEyMLjuO2E&quot;,&quot;tintLogo&quot;:true,&quot;useSearchPlaylist&quot;:false,&quot;enabled&quot;:true},&quot;signPostingEnabled&quot;:true,&quot;signPostingLinkEnabled&quot;:true,&quot;waitForAdLoad&quot;:false,&quot;hidePlayerOnDesktop&quot;:false,&quot;hidePlayerOnMobile&quot;:false,&quot;hidePlayerOnTablet&quot;:false}\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-nowrap items-center justify-between gap-3 bg-zinc-900 px-[14px] py-3\" data-jwp-carousel-header=\"\">\n<p><span class=\"inline-flex items-center gap-1.5 text-sm font-article-heading capitalize leading-5 text-white whitespace-nowrap\"><span class=\"jwp-carousel-title-mobile\"\/><span class=\"jwp-carousel-title-desktop\">Latest Videos From<\/span><span class=\"jwp-carousel-brand\">Cyclingnews<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">My colleague Dani Ostanek tracked down some of the other riders to talk about their racing experiences, but it seemed to me like practically everyone at the race had some kind of story, whether it was our first racing memories as journalists, riders&#8217; experiences riding it, or even one rider who got engaged at the top of the climb.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">This is a special climb that holds special memories for many people \u2013 here are some of my favourite Ventoux stories on the eve of the <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/womens-cycling\/tour-de-france-femmes-2026-stage-7-preview\/\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/womens-cycling\/tour-de-france-femmes-2026-stage-7-preview\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-article-category=\"pro-cycling\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/womens-cycling\/tour-de-france-femmes-2026-stage-7-preview\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tour de France Queen stage<\/a>.<\/p>\n<aside data-component-name=\"Recirculation:ArticleRiver\" data-recirculation-type=\"inline\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"Trending Bar\" data-nosnippet=\"\" class=\"clear-both pt-2 pb-0 mb-4\">\n        <span class=\"&#10;            flex&#10;            after:content-[''] after:flex-1 after:ml-4 after:my-[0.7rem] after:border-t after:border-solid after:border-t-[#ccc]&#10;            before:content-[''] before:flex-1 before:mr-4 before:my-[0.7rem] before:border-t before:border-solid before:border-t-[#ccc]&#10;            font-article-heading pb-0 text-[length:var(--article-river-title--font-size,1em)] uppercase sm:text-[length:var(--article-river-title--font-size,0.875em)] font-bold&#10;        \"><br \/>\n            You may like<br \/>\n        <\/span><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p><a id=\"elk-4854b586-91e8-11f1-b172-4fb76aaa92fc\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\"\/><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"justine-ghekiere-proposed-to-her-girlfriend-at-the-top-3\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Justine Ghekiere \u2013 proposed to her girlfriend at the top<\/h2>\n<p id=\"elk-4854b608-91e8-11f1-829f-9351a890c899\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">One of our favourite Mont Ventoux stories floating around the paddock surely has to be Justine Ghekiere proposing to her girlfriend at the top of the climb a few weeks ago.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">She&#8217;ll be hoping that the climb, which might be striking fear into others, will be a slightly more wholesome day for her.<\/p>\n<div id=\"slice-container-newsletterForm-articleInbodyContent-zaofTaN846VrxLLbh4rbsE\" class=\"slice-container newsletter-inbodyContent-slice newsletterForm-articleInbodyContent-zaofTaN846VrxLLbh4rbsE slice-container-newsletterForm\">\n<div data-hydrate=\"true\" class=\"newsletter-form__wrapper newsletter-form__wrapper--inbodyContent\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-form__container\">\n<section class=\"newsletter-form__top-bar\"\/>\n<section class=\"newsletter-form__main-section\">\n<p class=\"newsletter-form__strapline\">The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;It&#8217;s a special one for me, because in June I asked my girlfriend to marry me there, so a lot of good memories and good memories for tomorrow and the stage,&#8221; she explained at the start of stage 6.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;I was planned to do a recon, and a lot of piece fell together on that day to do it, so why not? One of the things my girlfriend always said was &#8216;If you ask me, ask me on top of a mountain&#8217;.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"elk-DZkhFi6CJWw\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\"\/>\n<p id=\"elk-4854b6ee-91e8-11f1-a74f-8399c40aa02f\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;I did it easy with my girlfriend, but tomorrow I don&#8217;t think it will be so easy. It&#8217;s a very hard climb, especially the first 10k is really hard, so I hope for good legs.<\/p>\n<aside data-component-name=\"Recirculation:ArticleRiver\" data-recirculation-type=\"inline\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"Trending Bar\" data-nosnippet=\"\" class=\"clear-both pt-2 pb-0 mb-4\">\n        <span class=\"&#10;            flex&#10;            after:content-[''] after:flex-1 after:ml-4 after:my-[0.7rem] after:border-t after:border-solid after:border-t-[#ccc]&#10;            before:content-[''] before:flex-1 before:mr-4 before:my-[0.7rem] before:border-t before:border-solid before:border-t-[#ccc]&#10;            font-article-heading pb-0 text-[length:var(--article-river-title--font-size,1em)] uppercase sm:text-[length:var(--article-river-title--font-size,0.875em)] font-bold&#10;        \"><br \/>\n            What to read next<br \/>\n        <\/span><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;I did it also when I was 18 years old, on a vacation, and I did all three sides in one day, so that was my first experience. I like it.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;I think tomorrow is a full GC day. They will go all-out on that climb to make as much time up as possible.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">For Ghekiere, that might mean going in the break or supporting Kim Le Court-Pienaar where she can on the climb, but she did confirm one thing: her girlfriend \u2013 now fianc\u00e9e \u2013 will be there watching.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-5036e068-91ec-11f1-bb7b-73adb89c1348\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\"\/><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"dani-christmas-a-baptism-of-fire-in-the-ardeche-3\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Dani Christmas \u2013\u00a0A baptism of fire in the Ard\u00e8che<\/h2>\n<p id=\"elk-5036e0e0-91ec-11f1-959f-ab01f80c7eed\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">I dropped a text to commentator and AG Insurance-Soudal director Dani Christmas, who revealed that it was the first mountain she ever tackled in a race \u2013 quite the baptism of fire \u2013 when she rode Ventoux in the Tour de l&#8217;Ard\u00e8che in 2016, finishing 40th out of 107 riders. The winner on that day? Future Olympic champion <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/features\/the-weight-of-gold-anna-kiesenhofer-on-managing-expectations-after-tokyo-olympics-shock-victory\/\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/features\/the-weight-of-gold-anna-kiesenhofer-on-managing-expectations-after-tokyo-olympics-shock-victory\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-article-category=\"pro-cycling\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/features\/the-weight-of-gold-anna-kiesenhofer-on-managing-expectations-after-tokyo-olympics-shock-victory\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Anna Kiesenhofer<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Ventoux that day was a complete baptism of fire for the British rider, and most certainly sent her back to Belgium with new appreciation for the short Flemish bergs.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;The longest mountain I had ever ridden before that point was six kilometres,&#8221; Christmas told me. &#8220;I was training for Tour de l&#8217;Ard\u00e8che in Belgium, training on the Congoberg, which is about one and a half kilometres. So obviously, I was woefully underprepared for such a race, but it was a really good experience for me to get in with a UCI team, because it was in my first years of racing.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fancy-box kiosq-b\" id=\"elk-5036e144-91ec-11f1-9503-3b9b6a6e6517\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n<p>More on Ventoux<\/p>\n<div class=\"fancy_box_body\">\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure \">\n<div class=\"image-full-width-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-widthsetter\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:56.25%;\"> <picture data-new-v2-image=\"true\"><source type=\"image\/webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/Dtw5efBSoGcPKQaWPkvnBm-1200-80.png.webp 1200w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/Dtw5efBSoGcPKQaWPkvnBm-1024-80.png.webp 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/Dtw5efBSoGcPKQaWPkvnBm-970-80.png.webp 970w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/Dtw5efBSoGcPKQaWPkvnBm-650-80.png.webp 650w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/Dtw5efBSoGcPKQaWPkvnBm-480-80.png.webp 480w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/Dtw5efBSoGcPKQaWPkvnBm-320-80.png.webp 320w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1000px) 970px, calc(100vw - 40px)\"\/>\n<\/picture><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption itemprop=\"caption description\" class=\"\"><span class=\"credit\" itemprop=\"copyrightHolder\">(Image credit: Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"elk-5036e1b2-91ec-11f1-9e0a-b387a93406bb\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;My task on that given day was to be in the breakaway and to try and be a bit of a satellite rider for our GC rider, Flavia Oliveira. She actually went on to win the race. So I initiated the breakaway, and there was about six of us maybe in the breakaway. Obviously, Anna Kiesenhofer was in there. I proceeded to get myself dropped from said breakaway just before we came towards the climb. My sports director came to me and said that I needed to pull full gas for about two kilometres on the climb, which, when you&#8217;re obviously absolutely dead, that was wonderful news to hear.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;So when the group of favorites came, I went to Flavia and said, &#8216;Okay, I need to pull&#8217; and she said &#8216;It&#8217;s too early to do that&#8217; at which point I popped, so I was of absolutely no use to her whatsoever. Then I suffered my way up the climb.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;As I said, it was my first experience of riding a mountain of that length, so when I saw the sign that said 10 kilometres to go, I was used to 10 kilometres in Belgian racing, so I was like, &#8216;That&#8217;s not too bad, is it?&#8217; And then I looked at my Garmin, and I was doing eight kilometres an hour. So obviously my heart absolutely dropped.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;I slogged my way up. I did the next stage, and then I had to go back to Belgium to go and race in the Lotto Belgium Tour. So a few days later, I was racing up the Muur, I was alone on Mont Ventoux, and then I was alone on the Muur, but this time, I was off the front, going up the Muur.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-4854b75c-91e8-11f1-9ba8-63e6df8c4004\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\"\/><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"margot-vanpachtenbeke-rode-the-climb-seven-times-in-memory-of-her-father-3\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Margot Vanpachtenbeke \u2013 rode the climb seven times in memory of her father<\/h2>\n<p id=\"elk-4854b7ca-91e8-11f1-8944-ed8bb3fa4c00\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">One rider who isn&#8217;t racing the Tour this year but has created a very special Ventoux story is <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/riders\/margot-vanpachtenbeke\/\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/riders\/margot-vanpachtenbeke\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-article-category=\"pro-cycling\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/riders\/margot-vanpachtenbeke\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Margot Vanpachtenbeke<\/a> (Lidl-Trek), who rode Ventoux seven times in a row to raise money and awareness for cancer research and treatment.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">She racked up 295km and over 10,000m of climbing during her 15-hour effort, which saw her ride through the dark to reach seven ascents.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;Climbing the Ventoux is a choice. The battle against cancer, unfortunately, is not,&#8221; she wrote on Instagram. &#8220;This is for all of you \u2013 and for dad.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"elk-Dbso_BdDJJB\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\"\/><a id=\"elk-4854b838-91e8-11f1-a4a8-cbc66c13c75c\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\"\/><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"puck-pieterse-rode-up-at-10-years-old-3\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Puck Pieterse \u2013 rode up at 10 years old<\/h2>\n<p id=\"elk-4854b8a6-91e8-11f1-8a9d-896f3f0eef3d\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">If Justine Ghekiere riding all three sides at just 18 seems young, then imagine a 10-year-old Puck Pieterse rocketing up the climb, in less than two hours and on her mountain bike no less.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;I rode it when I was 10, I think, on my mountain bike. I looked back, my time was one hour 58 minutes, so I hope to break that!<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;It&#8217;s a super cool climb, and we&#8217;ll just see day by day how I recover, but for now I still feel good, so I&#8217;m really excited.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Pieterse is currently in the polka dot jersey, and stage 7 up to Ventoux will likely be pivotal in deciding whether she can defend that jersey from the<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-4854b91e-91e8-11f1-83ab-c9d1f640f9bb\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\"\/><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"amanda-spratt-only-been-up-on-recon-3\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Amanda Spratt \u2013 only been up on recon<\/h2>\n<p id=\"elk-4854b98c-91e8-11f1-b39d-7ffb5439092e\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">For some of the more seasoned riders in the peloton, it&#8217;s a little surprising when they have never raced up Ventoux at all, given the handful of opportunities over the last few years.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Many of those who have never raced the climb have at least checked it out in recon, and that&#8217;s the case for Amanda Spratt, who will tick off this mythical climb in what is set to be her final Tour de France before retiring at the end of a 15-year career.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;I&#8217;ve never been up it in a race, but we did recon it about a month ago,&#8221; the Lidl-Trek rider explained.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;It&#8217;s long, hard, brutal. It&#8217;s a really hard climb, you&#8217;ve got that first part all through the forest, and there&#8217;s no real landmarks to tick off, so that makes it really hard. I think almost the last five or six kilometres are a bit easier, because at least you can see the top, even if it takes forever to get there.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;It will be interesting. It will also be interesting with the wind \u2013 I haven&#8217;t checked that actually, I&#8217;m just going day by day, so I haven&#8217;t checked the weather for tomorrow.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-4854b9fa-91e8-11f1-b1f0-1159417be334\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\"\/><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"ruby-roseman-gannon-rode-part-of-the-climb-on-a-family-holiday-3\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Ruby Roseman-Gannon \u2013 rode part of the climb on a family holiday<\/h2>\n<p id=\"elk-4854ba68-91e8-11f1-bc99-1ff09d4b8bf4\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Other riders have experienced the climb exactly the way most of us laymen will: as a cyclo-tourist on a family holiday.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Australia&#8217;s Ruby Roseman-Gannon took the opportunity after the Tour in 2024 to do just that. She DNF&#8217;d that edition of the Tour, so missed the opportunity to race up Alpe d&#8217;Huez, but ticked off another iconic family with her father \u2013 though she didn&#8217;t quite make it to the top.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;I&#8217;ve been there once before with my dad on a family holiday after the Tour. I didn&#8217;t make it the whole way. I was doing efforts, and there were just so many touring cyclists up there. I couldn&#8217;t believe it, I&#8217;ve never been on a climb with so many tourist cyclists. I was going past doing my efforts, and then I had people on the wheel, and I was passing people and slowing down and losing speed,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;I made it to above the tree line, and then I was like &#8216;OK, time to go home&#8217;.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">On Friday, she&#8217;ll be riding in support of Canada&#8217;s Nadia Gontova, who is set to make her own special memories on the climb, as she&#8217;ll be ascending Ventoux on the day of her 27th birthday.<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-4854bad6-91e8-11f1-953d-05b878d8bbd8\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\"><em><strong>Support our unrivalled coverage of the Tour de France Femmes and women&#8217;s cycling by subscribing to Cyclingnews. In return, you get unlimited access to high-quality journalism, with breaking news, race analysis, and expert insight from inside the women&#8217;s peloton. Plus, the Cyclingnews app lets you follow the action wherever you go! <\/strong><\/em><a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/subscription-paid\/?utm_source=Referral+link&amp;utm_medium=Website&amp;utm_campaign=PreTDFF26\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/subscription-paid\/?utm_source=Referral+link&amp;utm_medium=Website&amp;utm_campaign=PreTDFF26\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-article-category=\"pro-cycling\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/subscription-paid\/?utm_source=Referral+link&amp;utm_medium=Website&amp;utm_campaign=PreTDFF26\" rel=\"noopener\"><em><strong>Join today.<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/womens-cycling\/a-proposal-a-baptism-of-fire-and-an-mtb-ride-at-10-years-old-everyone-at-the-tour-de-france-femmes-has-a-mont-ventoux-story\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There was a whole entire stage on Thursday, but to be honest, there was one big topic that dominated conversation at the Tour de France Femmes: Mont Ventoux. A handful of riders in the peloton have raced up Ventoux before, either in the Tour de l&#8217;Ard\u00e8che or the Mont Ventoux D\u00e9nivel\u00e9 Challenge, and most of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":256511,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6804],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-256510","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256510","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=256510"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256510\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/256511"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=256510"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=256510"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=256510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}