France

19) Tignes

Situated in the mountain ranges of Palafour, Tovière and the Grande Motte, Tignes is a a high altitude mountain bike resort with rocky trails and a BikePark downhill runs and tracks for all abilities. It is close to Les Arcs, Pila , Courcheval and has good graded trails which will suit riders with rounded skills

The natural ups and downs of Tignes’ landscape makes an ideal playground for all styles of mountain biking: rugged or hilly, grassy slopes that are suited to downhill runs or gentle slopes for beginners, rare spots such as “doline de gypse”. The treeline is around 1800m - its not great to look at but that is more than made up for in the extent of riding.

FREE BIKE ACCESS FOR 2010 SUMMER SEASON

The nearest airports to Tignes are Geneva, Chambery and Lyon all being under 135 miles away.

What does Tignes have to offer?

The terrain in Tignes is wide open and rocky - all of the new trails in the bike park have been man-made... by the self proclaimed 'Dr Love', Karim Amour, one of France's many World Cup racers.

The Toviere side offers gondola access to the three downhill tracks and two cross country trails, with the top of the trails at 2700m it is open every day from 10.30am to 12.30pm and from 1pm to 4.30pm.

The Palafour side has  chairlift access to two downhill tracks and four cross country trails and again is open every day from 10am to 1pm and from 1.30pm to 5pm.

There is also the funicular (Grande-Motte sector) which is every day from 9pm to 4.30pm - although this depends on the snow conditions on the slopes.

DOWNHILL
The two easier Downhill tracks of the Troviere run down to Val Claret and are both really good fun with easy jumps and berms spread over 3-4 km. The two harder trails are pretty unrelenting and steep, meaning there is little opportunity to let the bike run.  On the opposite side both the Downhill tracks are relatively easy and mellow with the easiest stretching to 5 1/2 km.  There are other secret trails to seek out around the Tignes bowl.

FREERIDE
There is a good freeride area halfway down the red run with some fun features including an excellent step up that you can hit at any speed and a 360 degrees wallride.  The slopestyle area features boxes of all sizes, a dirt spine, wallrides and drops.  At the bottom of the Troviere side you will also find a 4x tack and dirt jump area.

For an easy run, take the 'gunpowder' downhill down from the top of the Troviere lift which drops you back down to Tignes Val Claret.  You will have to spin across to Tignes Le Lac to pick up the Troviere lift again.

For the more difficult run, take the Troviere lift from Tignes Le Lac and then take the Gypsy downhill route from the top.  Halfway down you can leave the trail to take the Black Metal tougher downhill route  - giving you a steep run back to Le Lac.

With 6 enduro trails mapped out and built in the BikePark there is plenty to keep you busy on these fun routes down to Bourg St Maurice from where you can access Les Arcs by ski lift - definately seek advice before doing this though!

In 2009 Tignes added BIKE LAND with a mini-downhill track, a pump track, a duel slalom course and two 'wooden' zones.

CROSS-COUNTRY
Tignes is still developing its cross-country loops and in 2009 added 2 new circuits - Cow-Lanta and Trailspotting

Free shuttles

Linking between Tignes Les Boisses and Tignes Le Lac from Sunday June 28th:
8.15am / 11.15am* / 1.45pm / 2.45pm / 3.45pm* / 4.45pm* / 5.45pm
*except Saturday

USEFUL NUMBERS
Weather : + 33 (0)8 92 68 02 73
SOS : 112 or 18
Maison de Tignes : +33 (0)4 79 40 04 40
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Tignes have a fantastic website that is well worth a visit... www.tignes.net

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