Best images of 2020: Mont Ventoux Dénivelé Challenge

Few climbs pique my imagination like Mont Ventoux.

The Giant of Provence is truly a mythic climb in my eyes. The fact that the last six kilometers above the tree-line are on a barren road, surrounded only by rocks, and the fact that that there is no ski resort at the summit, make it a truly special climb as cyclists climb alone, against nature. I love to climb the Ventoux myself, and I love to photograph it.

And I was only too happy to accommodate when the Mont Ventoux Dénivelé Challenge asked me to be their official photographer in 2019.

It is a great race that not only climbs up the Ventoux but also loops around the countryside and has allowed me to discover other sides and other views of this unique ascent that climbs from near sea-level to over 1,800 meters, leaving behind it the luscious landscape that is French Provence.

And this year’s race, which climbed up the Ventoux, not once but twice, offered me even more opportunities as the summit with its radio tower peaked in out of view all along the day. It was a great day in Provence, and this shot of the peloton underneath the Ventoux summed it up as well as any!