The Masters series . . .
The Ventoux Master series is held in May and is quite simply a war of attrition. The rules are simple, you climb the mountain as many times as you can in 24 hours. You are allowed to do the descents in a vehicle (which I think is cheating) and you can choose which routes you take up the mountain. To become a Ventoux Master you need to make a minimum of 5 ascents in 24 hours. Malaucene local Stephane Rubio (above left) holds the record of an incredible 11 ascents in 24 hours from Malaucene. Bedoin local Jean Pascal Roux (above right) holds the record from Bedoin. On 16th May 2006 he ascended the mountain also an astonishing 11 times in 24 hours. There is a glossy website here.
The Club des Cinglés du Mont Ventoux ( Cinglé means Screwball !!)
This is the traditional Mont Ventoux challenge. To become a member of the Cinglés Club you need to climb the mountain by the 3 traditional ways from Bedoin, Malaucene and Sault in one day. First you need to send off 13 euros to get your brevet card. You then get this stamped in the 3 villages and on the summit. When you send this back to the Cinglés organiser Monsieur Pic, you will receive a certificate.
All the info you require can be found here.
There is no recognised way to do the Cinglé but generally the best way is do do it like this:
Start in Malaucene and ride the 12km to Bedoin, this is a nice warm up.
Ascend the mountain from Bedoin.
Descend to Malaucene and re-ascend from there.
Descend to Sault and re-ascend from there.
Descend to Bedoin
Total distance 150km
Total height gained 4381m