Tour de France on Stage: 'Ventoux' heads on 39-venue tour

Often described as theatre, the Tour de France brings drama to thousands of kilometres of French roads every year, but this year that drama is coming to the stage. Specifically, 39 of them across the country as the 'Ventoux' theatre production goes on tour across England.

The legendary climb up Mont Ventoux has seen some wonderful races over the years, but few have become as iconic as the Lance Armstrong and Marco Pantini battle on Stage 12 of the 2000 Tour de France.

'Ventoux' is a restaging of that legendary race by theatre company 2Magpies Theatre, with the added benefit of the 16 years of dramatic revelations and tragedies shared between the two riders woven into the story of the day.

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How, though, are hundreds of French kilometres and dramatic mountain vistas being condensed down into an hour-long play on a small stage? 

A projector and a pair of turbo trainers.

As you'll be able to see from the video below, the two actors and 2Magpies Theatre founders Tom Barnes and Matt Wilks sit aboard turbo trainers infront of a projector to play out the drama of the day's race.

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The first show of 'Ventoux' will be at the VAULT festival in London between February 15-19, and the tour starts on March 2.

The tour will then pay visits to 39 theatres from Lancaster to Teignmouth in March, Boscombe to Salisbury in April, and Doncaster to Margate in May.