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Mont Ventoux (licensed CC BY-SA 3.0 by BlueBreezeWiki).jpgRow in village at foot of Mont Ventoux over plans for cycling hotel and shopping complex plus 3,000-seat covered velodrome
Residents of Bédoin, the Provençal village that provides the gateway to the ascent of Mont Ventoux favoured by the Tour de France, are opposing plans for a hotel and shopping complex aimed at cyclists and which would include a covered velodrome.
According to La Provence, many locals welcome the tourism and prosperity that cycling has brought to the village, with thousands of cyclists coming from all round the world each year to tackle the fabled climb - it is especially popular with Britons due to its links to the late Tom Simpson - but there is said to be a feeling among some locals that the planned project is a step too far.
But the newspaper says that the welcome extended to cyclists could be at risk should plans before the town hall for a privately-backed sports tourism project be given the go ahead, and that a protest may be held next Saturday against a project that critics believe will be a white elephant.
At a council meeting last month, locals packed into the village hall to hear details of the project, called All Bike Ventoux Provence, which would occupy a 30,000-square metre site currently under agricultural use.
It would include a covered velodrome with a 250-metre track and a capacity of 3,000 spectators – the same as the population of the village itself.
A luxury hotel would provide 100 rooms, a fine dining restaurant, a brasserie and shopping mall dedicated mainly to bikes and cycling accessories and clothing.
Opponents of the scheme believe that by opening the doors to tourism on a mass scale, it would destroy the relationship between the village and cycling.
But the village’s mayor, Luc Reynard, told the meeting that while the council had been accused of being in favour of the project, that was not true since first its feasibility needed to be studied by a cross-party council committee.
Members of the opposition have expressed concerns about making Bédoin’s economy entirely dependent on cycling and have raised the idea of putting the issue to a referendum to enable local citizens to decide.
One group of locals are already voicing their opposition to the scheme though under the banner Collectif Citoyen Bédoin Ventoux and will protest against it next Saturday.
They say that as a privately backed project, tourist income would go to “unidentified financial and speculative interests.”
That, they claim, would create “a ghetto of the rich in an all-inclusive complex without economic benefits for the village,” and that the scheme would not only destroy Bédoin’s character.
The village’s mayor has insisted, however, that “It isn’t just a case of giving a blank cheque to whomever.”
> Video: Mike Cotty & The Col Collective take you up Mont Ventoux
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
Latest Comments
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I'm there now too, if anyone wants a follow/wants to follow me. @cyclingtheseaso
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12 comments
Thank you for your concern that we much appreciate as residents of Bedoin . If you further wish to support us you may sign the petition with the link below:
http://nonauprojetallbike.wesign.it/fr
Thank you and welcome in Bedoin.
Bedoin needs a rich mans Disney bike ghetto as much as anybody needs a hole in the head. This is a ridiculous idea and should not be allowed. Bedoin is a wonderful, long established and thriving Provençal town and it does not need to become a bike theme park for the rich "all the gear and no idea" types. Who in all seriousness will ride a 250m velodrome when Ventoux AND all the other superb routes are right on the doorstep?
Bedoin is a gorgeous little place, despite the tourists.
Part of the charm of going is staying in some of the lovely little B&Bs there. Do they really need a velodrome? I wouldn't have thought so.
But what if you booked your cycling holiday and there wasn't the ability to cycle, wouldn't you like the alternative option? Could it not make for some fun races alongside the mountain or become a fantastic team training camp.
I dare say if the proposal had been to build a velodrome without all the rest of the commercial elements then the locals would love it*
*Again I'm not criticising their standpoint, I loved it all as was - actually a nearer hospital and better meds would have been good!
Never been there but it seems quite obvious that cyclist go to ride up the mountain. We don't need a velodrome as well, the mountain will be there for a good few years yet.
Wish the Velodrome better luck than the Nurburgring Roller Coaster....
Nowhere was too packed when we went in July for the TS memorial, I loved the village feel and the ambience and can totally see the residents point of view. It would potentially kill existing bars, cafes and bike shops if they try and squeeze it all under one roof.
On the flip side, if doing it the velodrome does actually makes sense to make it a year round venture and not relying solely on able to get up the Giant...
Bedoin was Bedlam when I was there this September. :). It's a difficult one, maybe more cafés and rooms, but it doesn't need a velodrome. The roads in the area are for riding
Totally agree. The whole area has fantastic routes, for cycling, for all abilities. It doesn't need a velodrome and a cycling supermarket would not fit in with the village.
I was there in September and bedlam it was not! Sure it can be busy some days - but no day in September is nowhere near as busy as a Monday market day in July or August!
You are right that the roads are for riding - you can avoid the obvious big hill and find many superb routes without difficulty- as a base for a cycling holiday Bedoin is hard to beat!
I'm with them. If I lived there I wouldn't want my village to become a resort/ shopping centre for cyclists.
I live in similar sized village - albeit in the UK and not at the bottom of a mountain.
I can understand why it would probably wreck the village. But then, there's lots of skiing resorts that have sprung up in the alps and taken over local towns/villages.
When I spent a week cycling around Normandy, I really liked the fact that there were plenty of small untouched villages - could be a shame to lose it.