Poem by the Dutch writer Jan Kal

 

mont ventoux

writing verse is cycling up Mont Ventoux,

where Tommy Simpson met his tragic end,

before he ever made the final bend

the once world champion collapsed from view.

here riders all try shaking off the pack,

a category one col, now taboo.

it has a pinewood scent, Sunsilk Shampoo,

which you could need to use when you get back.

it’s so exhausting you run out of fuel,

cycling up Mont Ventoux’s a bitter pill,

so ‘look before you leap’ applies, you’ll find.

despite all this, although the heat is cruel,

i reach the summit of this windswept hill:

vanity and the hot pursuit of wind.