Mountain Biking Holidays
Mountain Biking Holidays in the French Alps - "A Mountain Bikers Paradise"
As well as having charming villages and breathtaking scenery, the Portes Du Soleil has around 650 km of marked mountain bike trails and seemingly endless singletrack to explore. Using the 24+ lifts that are open in the summer, from Chatel you have access to almost every resort in the Portes Du Soleil including Morzine, Les Gets and the Swiss resorts of Morgins, Champery and Les Crosset - this really is prime mountain biking country and so ideal for mountain biking holidays.
In Chatel there are now a large number of downhill mountain biking tracks plus trial and biker cross circuits. Châtel bike park is situated at Pré-la-joux. Accessible by Pierre-Longue and Rochassons chair lifts, it consists of 13 trails of all levels of difficulty (including 12 downhill courses) and one "Cross park".
You can find more information about mountain biking in Chatel below and using the following links:
www.chatel.com/www-tableau5-1117-ETE-UK.html
www.mountainbikeparkchatel.com (new web site under construction)
Bike Park Map
The 12 downhill courses
2 green runs, 3 blue runs (one is equipped with bridges, see-saw...), 2 red runs, 5 black runs. A green cross country circuit (about 2.5Km) at Pre-le-Joux is also available without the need to use chair lifts.
The Cross park
The North shore style trail: this course of about 150 m includes several section including bridges, see-saws and different natural obstacles (tree trunks, rocks...)
The four cross (4X): this course of about 500 m includes table tops, doubles, one step up.
The dirt zone track: it has bumps of different sizes where riders can perform jumps and other aerial tricks to suit their level.
Trial zone track: to test your manoeuverability you will find different artificial and natural trial areas nearby the Cross park.
From the Super-Châtel gondola there is a permanent downhill trail that has been designed to provide the maximum number of thrills and chills.
The trail is 2.7 km (1.7 miles) long and passes through both woodland and meadows, and its 450 m of vertical drop are equipped with bumps, banked turns and natural obstacles.
Fans of the discipline have two courses available, choosing the one suitable for their level.
The blue course, the 'premium' course, is for riders with downhill experience who want to improve.
The black course, the difficult course, called 'Dange H' by course designer Sébastien Giraldi, is for highly experienced downhillers.
Both trails end in a 250-metre X cross.
For novice off road cyclists there are many great tracks to build your confidence and all mountain bikes can be hired locally.
Mountain Biking Events - Chatel
La PassPortes du Soleil www.passportesdusoleil.com This years event was held over the weekend of the 28th & 29th June 2008. The PassPortes MTB event celebrated its 5th birthday following great success in recent years. Over 20,000 people have now participated and raced along the 80km circuit. The event takes place at an altitude of between 1000 and 2250m and covers resorts in France and in Switzerland discovering the Portes du Soleil area and its marvellous landscapes.
In 2008 the 3500 participants could choose between 3 circuits of 30, 50 and 80 km with simultaneous starts from 7 resorts: Chatel, Morzine, Avoriaz, Les Gets ( France), Champery, Morgins, Torgon ( Switzerland).
The Passportes event includes:
- 3 circuits of 30, 50 and 80 km
- 7 resorts with simultaneous starts in France and Switzerland
- 12 ski-lifts
- 6000 metres of total vertical descent
- Different routes for cycling uphill on bikes for the more courageous,
- Optional downhill race tracks ...
Price: approx 34 Euros
Includes a number plate, local produce refreshments, a logbook and a voucher for 1 day free lift-pass in the Portes du Soleil, and as always a special Passportes surprise present.
La PassPortes du Soleil 2009 - Dates for the 6th Passporte du Soleil event will be 27th & 28th June 2009, let us know if you need a place to stay!
Chatel Mountain Style Contest - 4th - 6th July Following the success of last years event the competition again took place in Chatel for both professional and amateur riders. More details on the web sites listed above.
Accommodation Options The accommodation for your mountain biking holiday is situated in the picturesque village of Chatel which lies right in the heart of the Portes Du Soleil.
You can choose from a B&B or half board in our luxury “ Chalet des Arbres”, self catered accommodation in our new large “ Chalet Les 2 Vallées” or choose a self catered apartment. All accommodation is round a 90 minute drive from Geneva airport.
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For more information and pricing on each accommodation option please take a look at our summer accommodation section. |
All chalet accommodation has secure bike storage and cleaning facilities.
Services & Facilities Once you have chosen your accommodation you can then choose from a range of additional services and facilities. All are designed to make your Mountain Biking holiday more relaxed and run a smoothly as possible ensuring you thoroughly enjoy your holiday.
To give you maximum flexibility you can add any or all of the following to your accommodation package:
Airport Transfers – Transport to and from Geneva airport at the beginning and end of your holiday.
Daily Transport – We can provide daily transport to and from the lifts.
Pre-Ordered Bikes - Whether you want a full suspension or hard tail, downhill or cross country bike, Mountain Bikes can be pre-ordered for you and collected on your arrival.
Mountain Guiding – Using qualified local guides we can organise guiding throughout the Portes Du Soleil to suit all levels.
Bike Maintenance – In a central location to all the accommodation and lifts we work with an excellent cycle shop where any maintenance and repairs can be carried out by their experienced bike tech.
Additional Activities/Events – During your week we can also organise other events such as white water rafting on the river Dranse, wine tasting at a local vineyard, visit to a thermal spa, visits to local towns such as Montreux, Geneva, Annecy and Chamonix.
What next?Please contact us with details of your group and to check availability of your preferred accommodation. Please also provide us with your arrival and departure dates and times. At this stage it would also be useful to know if you require any of the additional services listed above. We will then confirm availability and price.
Whilst in Chatel, why not try some other activities including white water rafting and the Frantasticable, or try our walking holidays or golfing holidays?
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