GT Newperson CycleTours

Tour de Tricastin

From the 5th to 12th June 2004, the Tour de Tricastin will be based in a gite in the village of Vinsobres in the small range of low hills beside the Aigues river between the plains of the Tricastin and the Enclave des Papes and the hills and gorges of the Baronnies.

Vinsobres

The Tricastin plain lies between the Ardêche across the Rhône river and the Enclave des Papes, with the mountains of the Drôme Provençale along its northern side. St Paul- Trois-Chateau, which has none - the name is probably a corruption of ‘Tricastin’, was the capital in Roman times, and there are Roman remains in many of the towns like Nyons and Vaison-la-Romaine. While the area by the Rhône is mainly industrial, the Tricastin produces wine, olives and truffles.

Vinsobres across the vineyards in the Aigues valley

The Barronies range of hills and gorges are at the southern end of the PreAlps chain of limestone mountains which continue beside the French side of the Alps from Geneva in the north through the Chartreuse, the Vercors, Mont Ventoux and the Baronnies to the Alpes Maritime near Nice.

Mont Ventoux, the ‘Giant of Provence’, is 1909 metres high and visible at 25 kilometres from Vinsobres looming 1600 metres above the village of Bedoin.

Vinsobres and Mt Ventoux

The top was deforested to supply the French Navy and the soil blew away, giving the mountain its characteristic bald appearance.

It is a reknown climb for cyclists, featuring in both the Tour de France and the Dauphiné Libéré races and notorious for the death of Tom Simpson in the Tour de France in 1967.

Next to and a separated part of Mont Ventoux is the spectacular rocky outcrop of the Dentelles de Montmirail (more info on external web site). Between the Dentelles and the Rhône are the vineyards of Rasteau and Gigondas, and the town of Orange, famed for its Roman buildings.

Orange and Mont Ventoux

Mont Ventoux et les Dentelles de Montmirail