You could say that the Pyrenees are under-rated as a place to ride bikes. Most people just head straight for one of the many bike parks in the Alps when it comes to chairlift assisted riding. But the resorts in the Pyrenees are working hard to attract their fair share of mountain bikers. They are building new trails and access is opening up with bike festivals and races. Like the Enduro World Series European Continental Series.
On 7-8 September, the final round will be in a resort called Loudenvielle. It’s right in the middle of the French Pyrenees, about 2hrs from Toulouse. The Tour de France came through earlier this year, so it’s is a well known spot for roadies. But it’s not really on the destination list for most mountain bikers – not yet anyway. Locals have been riding here for quite a while, and this will be the 2nd year of the Pyrénées Bike Festival – Enduro Series Loudenvielle 2019. The race is also the last round of the Coupe de France Enduro Series, so you can be sure it will be a good event.
The man with the plan for getting more mountain bikers to visit Loudenvielle is Ludovic Henry. His team have been working on the bike park for 3 years now and he gave us a riding tour of the best trails, plus some of the stages for the race. There is definitely no shortage of vertical metres to descend and climb! Lots of steep switchbacks and a few tough liaisons. Burning brakes and arm-pump were what I had for lunch, this could be a good race for downhillers!
LIFT ACCESS
Right now there is just 1 chairlift open for bikes on the west side of the valley, so you really need to use the shuttle bus or drive yourself to ride all the trails. But by the end of August 2019, there will be a new gondola open. This will make it way easier to get around the 350km of trails (19 Enduro and 11 XC marked routes)
The best thing right now is that it’s much less crowded than a typical Alpine resort that gets hundreds of riders hammering out laps each day. The trails are in amazing condition, with endless tight flowing turns. The surface is mostly either open high mountain singletrack, or natural singletrack in the forest. Lets hope it stays that way!
WHAT’S THE BALNEA?
And after a big day on the bike, there is an amazing lake for some paddling, along with the ‘Balnea’ spa treatment centre, where you can have a jacuzzi or bath at any temperature you desire. You can sweat it out in a sauna, then jump in an ice pool and stick your head under a waterfall!
European Continental Series
Coupe de France Enduro Series
Pyrenees Bike Festival
