About Us

In 2002 Craig & Vicky were on holiday in a village called Mollans-sur-Ouveze at the foot of Mont Ventoux. Craig had just ridden Mont Ventoux – we were chilling on the hotel terrace thinking how we could come and live and ride in this beautiful region full time.
That evening Veloventoux was born.
A website was created, adverts were placed in cycling media and in the Spring of 2003 we loaded up the van and moved down here to start our first season of cycling holidays.
16 years later, with a 12 year old daughter as part of the team we are still a family run business and looking forward to 2019 which will be our 17^h season.

We've had some fantastic helpers over the years but for the last 5 years two permanent members of staff have been on board, Andy and Ben.

Come and meet the team:

Craig was riding his bike almost before he could walk and seasons racing BMX, cyclo-cross and mountain bike as a junior and youth led on to him becoming Vaucluse road-race champion here in France in 2008 and 2014.
Together with my wife Vicky and daughter Lula we keep the cycling tours and our guest house running smoothly – from classic bike rides to Vicky's famous cooking!

Andy & Ben – Mallorca training camp and leisure riding aficionados, these two guys have been with us for 5 summer seasons now building up their knowledge base on the best rides, weather conditions, best restaurants, bars and cafés in our area. Nothing is too much trouble for Andy and Ben.

“Craig, Vicky, Ben & Andy......just to say thanks again for a great week, nothing ever too much trouble (perhaps you should do a side line in customer services courses to show everyone else how its done!)
Have a great winter "break"
Dave Ford (6 time visitor)

What others say about us

Hi Craig & Vicky,
On behalf of the John Lewis Venture Club, thank you so much for making our stay in Provence and our Cingles challenge so enjoyable.
We loved your set up, and were made to feel very welcome and at home in Faucon.
I'm very glad we chose Veloventoux, and hope we can book a future trip for the club with you. Do stay in touch, and let us know of any future events we might be interested in.
Best Wishes
Micheal Flood, John Lewis Partenership.

Hi Vicky and Craig
I just wanted to drop you a line to thank you for all your help in making our few days in Provence so enjoyable.  I'm still on a high from it and am dreaming of climbing up more HC mountains next year.  I must be mad!
Best wishes
Nick Gendler, Australia.

Craig and Vicky are lovely, and the accommodation is spot on, a large Victoian style house with lovely rooms and a descent cyclists breakfast. I really can't recommend them highly enough, Craig is an extremely good cyclist, racing out there in France with some good results, so he knows how to cater for cyclists. They are in Faucon, about 15km from the foot of Ventoux, so a great warm up, plus there are lots of other good routes from there round the mountain or along the Gorge de la Nesque etc. There are lots of places to eat around, I mean, it is France. But Vaison la Romaine is my favourite place to eat of an evening, and a stunning village to walk round.You can't fail to fall in love with that area, and Ventoux is my favourite place to cycle up, an awesome ride, that for some reason feels just that bit more special than any of the other mountains I've ridden.
Dasy - Road.CC chat forum

Craig and Vicky,
I just wanted to say thanks for hosting us for our vacation in Provence,
both Jonathan and I had a great time staying with you, and the rides
were fantastic. The "10 cols" ride was the perfect way to start our trip -
I only wish we had a few more days to do more routes!
I would definitely like to return for more riding someday!
Cheers,
Chris Ross

IN PRAISE OF GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE - Bikeradar Forum
All , I make NO apologies for the long post , and we all moan about bad service, but I thought you might like to know about the other side of the coin, and the quality of service that Velo and Blue http://veloandblue.wordpress.com/ received from Craig and Vicky at VeloVentoux whilst we tackled "Cinglistes" this week. The attention care and local knowledge we received from Craig and Vicky from making the initial enquiries in November to the drop off at Avignon Station on Wednesday evening was second to none.
Having not used (and I use this term loosely) a Holiday Company in any of our previous 3 Velo and Blue rides, I would wholely recommend VeloVentoux, Craig attended to our needs and gave us advice on the accomodation, food and rides available, Bike Mechanic, Transfers from Avignon via Eurostar the lot. We arrived at our Gite last Sunday, the rooms ar huge and spotless, with massive bathrooms, we had one meal arranged but ended eating away from the gite on one occasion (bad move), the food, home cooked by Vicky was out of this world Breakfast and the 3 course evening Meals, which included local produce, Wine on the table and that all important Beer Fridge.
We had two days to attempt or fail Cinglistes for our chosen charity, and Craigs local knowledge as a Road Cyclist (He is also a Very Good Climber) was invaluable, on Day 1 it was dry and we attempted Cinglistes but with Craigs knoweledge of Mont Ventoux he advised us to quit as the rain became horrendous, Sleet, Ice, Rain above Chalet Renard (after 2,000m climbing) and another try again tomorrow Tuesday May 1 which we duly did Craig was constantly with the team on all the climbs , and ensuring we safe mechanically, and we ensuring didn't have any scrapes, he acted as Paprazzi to on Mont Ventoux, we have spectacular pictures which we would not otherwise have. And yes we did achieve Cinglistes leaving at 7:00 am and finishing back at Craigs Gite at 8:00 pm. Mushroom Soup,Tartiflette for dinner, Lemon Tarte, washed down with local Vino, and a bit of Roy Ayers through the Speakers made for a wonderful 4 days In Provence. Delivered back in style at Avignon station which is just over 5 and a half hours by Eurostar.
But the true moral is that VeloVentoux made the trip what it was and we well be back again , to tackle something a bit more severe Maybe the Beer Fridge, GOOD QUALITY SERVICE SHOULD NOT GO UNREWARDED IF YOU NEED TO ASK ANYTHING PLEASE DO.
Russ Cole Smith, Velo & Blue, AFC Wimbledon

IN PRAISE OF GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE - Bikeradar Forum
Just had 4 magnificent days with Craig and Vicky at Veloventoux in Provence. A strong Mistral stopped an attempt on the Ventoux summit for the first 2 days, but there was still plenty of stunning riding to do with some challenging cols. Managed to get up the mountain on the 3rd day, which was without a doubt the best day both my wife and I have ever had on a bike.
But more than this, it was Craig and Vicky's organisation, knowledge, attention to detail and hospitality that made the trip. Within 5 minutes of arriving, we felt like we were staying at a mate's house rather than a guesthouse courtesey of a wonderfully relaxed and friendly atmosphere, and genuine enthusiasm for us to have a good time.
We had a home-cooked meal with the other guests on the first night, which was an excellent goat's cheese salad, lasagne and a creme brulee, Vicky's cooking is first class and probably the best thing we ate on our trip - no mean feat in Provence! Eating pizza from the pizza van on the lawn as the sun set was another great experience.
Beyond this, our room was huge and spotlessly clean, our hire bikes were waiting for us when we arrived, Craig's knowledge and mapped routes ensured that the cycling was as challenging as we wanted and took us through some of the most beautiful countryside, and nothing appeared to be too much trouble.
I will definitely be returning to VeloVentoux (The cingles club and the beer fridge are calling!) and I am jealous of anyone who is staying with them when the TdF rolls through town come July.
If you've got any questions, feel free to ask
Lee & Emily Martin