Nairo Quintana’s ride up the Mont Ventoux on stage 3 of the Tour de la Provence appears to be a new record for the ascent.
Quintana kicked off his Arkéa-Samsic career with a victory up Mont Ventoux, a ride will likely be remembered for more than his debut win for his new French team.
It was the fastest ascent of Mont Ventoux – the stage finished at Chalet Reynard, halfway up the climb – Quintana punching out a 6.8 W/kg for the duration of his move.
The previous record for the climb was set by Marco Pantani, who rode 28:20 on stage 15 of the 1994 Tour de France; the same stage when also all of the fastest times were set.
Quintana’s time of 28:05 – 15 seconds faster than Pantani’s – is the only time in the top 16 that wasn’t set at the Tour de France.
The Mont Ventoux record for the whole climb is held by Iban Mayo, having beaten Lance Armstrong in a time trial up the mountain during the Critérium du Dauphiné, setting a time of 55 minutes and 21 seconds.
