Chris Froome headlines CIC Ventoux climbing challenge

Multiple Tour de France winner Chris Froome will ride the one-day CIC Mont Ventoux race next Tuesday, organisers have announced, as the days count down to the Tour de France and final team selections are made.

The Israel-Premier Tech veteran has never ridden the Mont Ventoux mid-week race before, which features a double ascent of the mountain nicknamed ‘The Giant of Provence, and takes place on June 13th.

Froome last raced in another tough mountainous one-day French event, the Mercan’Tour Classic Alpes-Maritimes, finishing 14th behind winner Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost).

In a strong climbing line-up for Israel-Premier Tech, race organisers say Froome will be joined at the 154 kilometre CIC Mont Ventoux, now in its fifth edition, by teammates Mike Woods and Domenico Pozzovivo.

Israel-Premier Tech have still to name their Tour de France squad but Froome faces a fight for selection after racing so little in 2023.

Daryl Impey, Michael Woods, 2022 stage winners Simon Clarke and Hugo Houle, Jakob Fuglsang and sprinter Giacomo Nizzolo are expected to ride the Tour de France squad.

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While it is not known if last year’s winner, Ruben Guerreiro (Movistar) - then riding with EF Education-EasyPost claimed a memorable 1-2 victory in 2022 with teammate Esteban Chaves - will be taking part.  But at least one former Ventoux champion and ex-Spanish National Champion Jesus Herrada (Cofidis) is already down on the provisional start-list.

Herrada’s teammate Guillaume Martin, fifth in 2022 and third in 2020 is also named by the organisers as a starter, and so too are recent Giro d’Italia leader Bruno Armirail (Groupama-FDJ), Giro d'Italia 2021 and Vuelta a España 2019 mountains classification winner Geoffrey Bouchard  (AG2R-Citröen), former Vuelta a España leader Rudy Molard (Groupama-FDJ) and Movistar’s pint-sized Colombian climber Ivan Sosa.

Taking place on June 13th, the fifth edition of the CIC Ventoux includes 4,500 metres of vertical gain, starting in the town of Vaison-la-Romaine, scene of multiple finishes in the Critérium du Dauphiné and Tour de France, and ending at the summit of the mountain, 1,910 metres above sea level.