Ex-Formula 1 champion Jenson Button has paid tribute to Tour de France winner Chris Froome’s unprecedented run up Mont Ventoux on Bastille Day – by hopping off his bike on the same mountain and continuing on foot.

Button – like Froome, a resident of Monaco – had been riding up the ascent with fellow members of his Ichiban Triathlon Team, whose kit sports the same colours as those of the Brawn GP team with which he won the Formula 1 world title in 2009.

 

Froome’s impromptu jog up Mont Ventoux came on a stage shortened to finish at Chalet Reynard due to high winds on the exposed final six kilometres of the mountain known as the Geant de Provence.

There were no such problems for keen triathlete Button, who was headed towards the observatory on the summit.

 

McLaren driver Button, who uses his triathlon team as part of his charity fundraising efforts, has the Japanese kanji characters ichi ban – it means ‘Number One’ – tattooed on his ankle, and the same image also now appears on his race helmet.

In case you missed it, here’s footage of Froome on Mont Ventoux following the crash that broke his bike as motorbikes proved unable to get through the masses of fans, given a silent age of cinema slapstick treatment and set to – what else? – the Benny Hill theme.