What's New for Mountain Bikers this Summer
A few new things to look out for in Morzine & Les Gets
Here's a quick list of some new additions to the biking scene in the Morzine, Les Gets & Portes du Soleil this summer.
Night Mountain Biking in Morzine
For the first time in Morzine you'll be able to go night-riding accompanied by an instructor. You'll start off in the evening and head towards a mountain chalet where you'll stop for dinner, before riding back down again. You could even stay overnight in a shelter and head out at sunrise. Find out more info and book through the Tourist Information office. 55€ includes an aperitif, dinner and equipment rental, but not your lift pass. Walks with night shelter are from 85€.
Fabien Barel's Coaching Track in Les Gets
The Coaching Track is a new addtion developed by mutliple World and European downhill champion Fabien Barel. It comprises of a succession of modules built along a mountain bike route where riders can work on a specific MTB techniques such as breaking, jumping, and taking raised corners. Each module is equiped with a video explanation provided by Fabien Barel. You can find the track on the Ecureuils green trail in the Chavannes area.
Electric Mountain Bikes
A network of electric MTBs will be set up all over the Portes du Soleil this summer in partnership with local sport shops. There will be designated routes you can ride with colour coded trails as you'll find on the normal mountain bike routes (green, blue, red & black).
The circuits will be numbered and marked depending on their length and technical difficulty. They will either cover a resort (1hr to 2hrs), or a valley (1/2 day) or further afield (full day). Once flat, the batteries on the bikes can be exchanged in any of the partner shops in any resort, no matter where the cyclist is.
Expect to pay 8€ for an hour, 30€ for a half day & 55€ for a full day.
(We've never seen electric MTB's before so if you've seen them in other resorts or have any pictures or experience of using them, then share your comments below or send us some pictures via our facebook page).
New Videopark in Les Gets
For the first time this summer you'll be able to video your practise sessions in the mini jump park located at Chavannes on the Gibannaz Plateau. The video zone allows you to film yourlsef on the different sections for free, and then you can download your best clips to your phone or the internet & share it with all your buddies (and us of course!)
To access any videos you've made follow this link and then get sharing.
Kids Zone in Les Gets
A new kid's zone will be set up in the village centre at the Place de la Mairie. It's going to be built entirely of wood and will be open to anyone to use. There will be free beginners sessions, pump track races and night riding sessions with music.
New Blue trail in Les Gets
There's a new blue trail that's been built in Les Gets in the Nauchets area (no 13 on the map). It's called L'Arpette and is a short, flowy 1.9km with -105m descent. You'll find it leading off to the right from red trail L'Encape.
And a new pump-track in Avoriaz (more details to follow).
Check out our video guide to what's going on..
Read up on Mountain Biking in Morzine here and check out the trails on offer.
If you know of anything else new in the Portes du Soleil this summer, then get in touch and let us know using the comments box below. We always want to see your videos and pictures, so send them to us via facebook or at newsdesk@SeeMorzine.com.
