This is an even better idea! Go to the Eagle AXS 10-52, and get a 32 front chainring. Will give you the most room at the low end.
It’s been a wild journey for me - the first time I did Zoo Hill, I was terrified and convinced I’d fall off my bike and have to walk up - and now I do repeats on it for fun… Because I have to focus so hard on breathing and staying calm in order to be able to do repeats, it ends up being almost meditative, and I feel refreshed (though tired!) when the ride is over.
Even though you probably won’t have anything as sustained steep as Zoo, I have found that in addition to the practice of the slower cadence, balance, body positioning, etc, it also gives me a psychological boost. After I’ve been on a 10% climb for an hour+ and it’s starting to feel way steeper than 10% (hello Passo Giau), I remind myself that I can manage the 20% kickers on Zoo Hill, so I can do this.
I also love the longer sustained climbs we have, like the road up to Sunrise, but they are all at milder grades than most of the big European climbs. Having some steep work and also some endurance work on the long climbs has been a good mix for me in my trip preparation.
And yes, the lower gearing you can fit on your bike, the better! One trip to the Dolomites, a bunch of us on the trip were rethinking our life choices while trying to relearn how to breathe at the top of the Passo Giau, when one of the riders - who had lower gears than us - rolled up, hopped perkily off her bike, and to our disbelief cheerfully declared “I didn’t think it was that hard!” 
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Had to google that pass, turns out I’ll be doing it in 119 days (as part of the maratona dles dolomites). The photos look absolutely stunning, hopefully my 33 front- 36 rear will be low enough to let me enjoy it.
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Presuming you mean the Col de la Loze via the Meribel route, then I think the climbs are very different and require very different things from you. I have ridden both last year. I think Ventoux is similar to a long alpine style climbs, perhaps a bit steeper in places. Generally a case of good gearing, pacing and eating. Appreciate weight, FTPs and pace might be different, but there were loads of people climbing it on the day I did it and I did not see anyone in a tangle - faster or slower. I had no probs on a mix of a LV masters plan with a club chain gang each week - I dont really do long rides due to family commitments (for ref I am 46, 75kg with 310ish FTP).
The Col de la Loze on the other hand is a rediculous climb and I will not be doing it again. Nice and smooth up to Meribel, and then is narrow path section the rest of the way. It never really dips below 11-12% but it has loads of 15%-20% ramps. You are literally crawling. I did it with a 36/52 and 28 on the back and was in a spot of bother - as were the rest of the group. A true brute force effort - but unfortunately that section is a good 45mins long… The last ramps up to the top (where you then drop into Courchevel) are the nail in the coffin. Tellingly there was no one else on the climb.
From a training perspective, unless you truely have MTB gears, the Loze is a test of strength in a way most Alpine climbs are not.
For what it is worth, my view is there are much nicer and enjoyable (still challenging) climbs very close to that area. For example the start of the Madeleine Nord is a few KM from there. A lovely lovely climb with superb scenery. Or just up the road in Bourg St Maurice you have the start of the Cormet de Roseland - I challenge anyone to find a more beautiful climb.
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Granted I only drove not cycled Cormet de Roseland (from Albertville to Bourg st Maurice) but I can highly recommend Col de la Cayolle from Barcelonette. Though for OP he’s on a guided tour doing parts of the Tour de France on the closed roads before pros arrive…
The Cayolle is on my list! 
I have heard it is pretty amazing - although a fair bit further south than the Moutiers area the OP’s post suggests they will be in.
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I think the tour route climbs Loze via Courchevel this year, which I understand is a little less arduous than from Meribel - though all things are relative. A big plus one from me for Cormet de Roselend, that’s a fantastic climb. If you have the time/legs, once you get to the top you can drop 5k or so down the other side for lunch by Le Lac - a beautiful spot.
I’d also recommend Petit St Bernard from Bourg as an ‘opener’ if the schedule allows, a long steady climb up through La Rosiere to the Italian border, never really getting over 5%.
LIttle late on this thread, but FWIW, I live in a very flat area - Chicago suburbrs - and two years ago I trianed for the Haute Route race using a plan built around the Climbing Stage Race plan, and I felt it got me ready.
The only adjustment I really made was doing long endurance rides on the weekends. I avoided my typical weekend group rides (except for a couple in the weeks leading up just to sharpen my pack skills), and saved my intensity work for the prescribed workouts in TR.
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