Shred the best downhill tracks and learn top tips and techniques to maximise your downhill biking fun.
Location: Orcières 1850 Ski Resort and Champsaur Valley, Southern French Alps
Months available: July, August
A superb downhill mountain biking holiday in the resort of Orcieres 1850 with experienced local guides and the option to add other adventures of choice to top up your adrenalin during your biking trip.
This trip can be adapted to different durations from 5 to 7 nights so you can choose whether you want a full week of downhill biking thrills! If you are interested in a shorter break or weekend downhill biking, have a look at our downhill biking weekend.
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.
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 and your guide will help you perfect your technique and learn top tips for maximising your biking fun.
Every day of your trip, you will have a half day guided biking and the other half day free to do more self-guided biking or try a different activity.
We have included activity points with your trip so you can add a little adventure to your stay and give your biking muscles a bit of respite! Try out the giant zip line or fly high in the sky paragliding... the choice is yours. Please have a look at the choice of activities by clicking the activity list button below. Please note some activities are outside of the resort of Orcieres and would require a car to get to. Please ask for advice if you are unsure when choosing. We can arrange taxis if required (extra cost)
There are groups for all levels and no specific downhill biking experience is required. However experience of mountain biking on a range of off-road terrains is essential for this trip. An adventurous spirit and a thirst for challenge are probably the other 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...
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