DOWNHILL ENTHUSIASTS! THE 10 BEST BIKE PARK IN ITALY

Reflexes, a cool head, agility and speed. In recent years downhill mountain biking, a much-loved sport especially among younger people, has been able make the mountains one of the most popular summer destinations once more, enabling many localities to revive their summer tourism by reopening their ski lifts to take the bikes uphill.

After taking off in France as a mountain sport for young people, downhill is a relatively new activity that has also spread to Italy. It promises plenty of adrenaline-filled mountain fun, the steep slopes providing the perfect challenge for a mountain bike.

During the summer bikers from all over Europe arrive in the Alpine ski resorts to climb and then launch themselves onto the downhill pistes towards the valley, crossing meadows and woods in a heady mix of nature and adrenaline.

The 10 best Bike Parks in Italy

Italy has many areas suited to downhill mountain biking scattered across the country, from the Alps to the Apennines. We therefore present you a tour of the best bike parks in Italy.

1) Sauze d’Oulx, Piedmont

The park in this Piedmontese resort was one of the first to open in Italy. Its trails are very technical, with a total elevation gain of over 1,000 meters! The chairlift serves 13 trails for riders to test their skills – 2 easy, 10 medium and 1 difficult. There are also lots of artificial wooden structures, including drops and wall rides, and ground installations such as tabletops and step ups. The higher level of the bike park is reserved for enduro, offering 3 trails with technical sections and descents through the rocks. There is also always the option of plunging down the valley from the top, with a very long descent that will leave you breathless. The Sauze bike park is perfect for anyone wanting to try out this sport for the first time.

2) La Thuile, Aosta Valley

The Aosta Valley resort of La Thuile hosts a truly outstanding bike park. Here, among breathtaking views, highly technical and beautiful trails and descents wind their way down to the valley. The downhill trails are not suitable for all but are a good test for anyone who has been practising this sport for some time. The descents are very steep, with lots of technical sections and tough challenges! There are also a number of trails suitable for everyone, but the most challenging ones are certainly the most interesting. The park extends over a wide area that, starting from an altitude of 2,600 m at the foot of the ridges of Chaz Dura, descends by over 1,200 m in altitude to the village of La Thuile for a total of 220 km of paths and tracks.

3) Pila, Aosta Valley

The Pila is one of the most famous bike parks in Italy, and not just because a stage of the downhill World Cup takes place there nearly every year on its slopes. The track down which the best downhill mountain bikers in the world compete is made up of 2.6 km of technical, daredevil sections. As well as this there are 4 more routes for downhill and freeride, with different difficulty levels and a total of over 10 km of descents. From the top you can descend down to the Pila cable car in the valley along a 15 km long path: a must for enthusiasts.

4) Bardonecchia, Piedmont

The Kona Bike Park in Bardonecchia could be described as the playground of every Italian downhill mountain biker. Two chairlifts and a cable car serve two areas, with several wide trails that are perfectly equipped and a lot of fun. A total of 400 km of trails, of varying levels of difficulty, lying between 1,300 and 3,000 meters and offering something for all tastes: this resort is suitable for mountain bikers looking for scenic and accessible pedalling routes, or for those who just want to focus on plunging downhill without looking around.

 5) Paganella, Trentino

Trentino is the Italian mountain bike region par excellence, and at Paganella enthusiasts are truly spoiled for choice. The trails extend over an area of more than 400 km and are suitable for all kinds of riders, cross country enthusiasts, freeriders, downhillers and even families.

6) Campo Felice, Abruzzo

The Swup Bike Park at Campo Felice offers 5 tracks for enthusiasts: one for races, one slower and more technical, one for children, and one for freeride with ramps and drops. And then comes the icing on the cake… the Rock Way, a trail with 400 meters of curves carved out of a stream bed.

7) Livigno, Lombardy

The best park in Lombardy is undoubtedly the Livigno Bike Park, where among other things the mountain bike world championships were held in 2005. Here you can find a total of 13 trails, 9 of which are for downhill. The easiest of these, as its name suggests, is the Take It Easy, which is suitable for beginners or for warming up at the start of the day. The most difficult is the Black Eye, for riders who love steep and slippery slopes.

8) Plan de Corones, South Tyrol

In South Tyrol, the Kronplatz Freeride Bike Park at Plan de Corones is well worth a mention: 4 tracks of various technical levels, including a high-difficulty one of 8 km suitable for professionals.

9) Abetone, Tuscany

Abetone Gravity Park is one of the best parks in central Italy. Here, on pistes once skied by Zeno Colò, are a several tracks designed for the descent on two wheels. 5 downhill tracks of varying difficulty and between 3 and 6 km in length, some of which are truly challenging.

10) Cimone, Emilia Romagna

Over time, the Cimone Bike Park has become a go-to location for freeride enthusiasts. The tracks for downhill mountain bikers cover an area of over 70 km, and many riders pass through here from May to September. For this reason there are 3 chairlifts, 1 cable car and numerous coaches with bicycle carriers. Just about all you need to figure out that it’s one of the resorts to visit during the summer if you want to have fun on two wheels.

 

Source:

www.skiinfo.it

www.montagnaestate.it