Shred the best downhill tracks and learn top tips and techniques to maximise your downhill biking fun. This holiday also comes with additional outdoor activities for even more alpine action!
Location: Orcières 1850 Ski Resort and Champsaur Valley, Southern French Alps
Months available: May, June, July, August, September, October
A superb week of downhill mountain biking in the resort of Orcieres 1850 with experienced local guides, a day of free electric mountain biking to explore the high altitude lakes and a few other adventures of choice to top up your adrenalin for the week.
Orcieres has heavily invested in its downhill biking infrastructure and boasts a wide range of specially designed downhill biking tracks (banked turns, jumps and bumps) for all levels from green (easiest) to black (most technical). There's a bike park with wooden bridges, swings, jump tables and Big Air Bike for mastering stunts and jumps and a play area for perfecting technique. In addition there are also two pump track courses in resort.
The MTB area of Orcières is also a fabulous playground for practitioners of enduro bike with 5 enduro routes, including a technical descent going all the way from the top of the mountain at 2650m to the bottom of the valley at 1350m where a free shuttle will take you back up to the resort.
Before your downhill biking course starts you have a free day with a top quality electric mountain bike to explore the high altitude lakes, acclimatise your legs and lungs and prepare. Then you will join your guide for three physically demanding guided downhill biking sessions where you will perfect your technique and learn top tips for maximising your biking fun.
Our guides are fully qualified downhill mountain biking guides with years of experience and who are local to the area. You will join a group with your level of biking so you can reach your potential.
As we are multi activity holiday specialists, we have also included 5 activity points so you can add a little adventure to your week and give your biking muscles a bit of respite! Refresh yourself in a mountain canyon, challenge your head for heights on a via ferrata or fly high in the sky paragliding... the choice is yours. If you want more biking, you can also use these activity points for extra downhill mountain biking hire, or even a fully guided enduro descent on your last day. Please have a look at the choice of activities by clicking the activity list button below.
There are groups for all levels but experience of mountain biking on a range of off-road terrains is an advantage for this trip. An adventurous spirit and a thirst for challenge are probably the two most important requisites for enjoying this trip! Although you will be using lifts to get to the top of the mountain, do not underestimate the physical challenge of downhill biking. A good level of all round fitness is important.
This trip is also open to young mountain bike enthusiasts but children from 8 - 12 will bike in separate groups to teenagers and adults.
If you are a mixed group with some bikers and some non-bikers it is possible to mix and match this trip with other holidays such as our learn to fly paragliding course or summer multi activity holiday, which are both based in the same area so you can all stay in the same accommodation but do different holidays.
Your base for this trip is Orcieres 1850. The nearest train station is Gap which has rail links from Marseille, Grenoble, Valence and Paris (including an overnight sleeper). There are buses from Gap to Orcieres. We can help you organise your train journey here and have local timetables available if you need them.
You don't really need a car as all the biking activities for this trip are in Orcieres but if you like the idea of exploring or choose extra activities that are outside of resort having a car is an advantage. However, it is also possible to arrange extra shuttles and taxis to activities and for free time if you prefer not to drive.
July 2019
A big thanks go to Emily, Susie, Sally and J-B for an epic Downhill Mountain Biking stag do in Orcieres! I highly recomm...
Read More
Google Verified Review