Biking in La Clusaz

The Alpine resort of La Clusaz provides some ideal terrain for providing exhilarating rides. There are over 22 freeride and xcountry trails, 2 dedicated downhill courses, north shore x-treme jump zone and 4 cross course in the two Aravis resorts of La Clusaz and Le Grand Bornand alone. Further afield there are plenty more long and challenging rides at Semnoz, Manigod, and Mount Sulens. Choose to stay on a catered or self catered basis or one of our organised MTB weekends in July, August and September, it's up to you.

Similar to the winter ski slopes the xcountry mountain biking circuits are graded by difficulty from green to black and vary in length, which provides a good guide to how much can be ridden in a day. The most difficult (black) circuits can vary from 3.5km to 25km, and are mainly hard uphill mountainous terrain, with challenging gradients on the downhill, and best left to the most experiences riders.

The green and blue circuits can be tackled by almost anyone, especially children, who have ridden a bit before. The trails still need a bit of negotiating at some points on the circuits, but on the whole the terrain they cover is a lot gentler. The red circuits provide more challenging rides for the intermediate mountain bikers and vary from 3km to 13km. 

La Clusaz offers two challenging downhill mountain bike trails. The Descente de Beauregard - La Ferriaz is the longest with a North Shore park half way down if you fancy a distraction. The ride takes an hour, is 3.3 kms, and descends 600m with turns, jumps, obstacles and a bridge. Not for the faint-hearted!

Make sure your saddle is low and you are hanging off the back as you start the descent, warming up with a couple of jumps, followed by number of high speed banking turns and some further well placed big air jumps. The route then takes you through forest, over twisty tree roots, bridgesand open fields. There are plenty of chances to get your speed up for the banked turns and jumps to get big air.

The route is well marked so you don’t have to stop and check your map every five minutes. Crash mats protect you from impacting on the trees, and stopping places have been set alongside the route to catch your breath or let others past. 

Road biking, as it is commonly known is a favourite past time of the French and one of the major sports in the region. The Tour de France rode through the Aravis (and past our front door) in 2004 on one of the last main mountain stages of the 'tour' which ended in Le Grand Bornand - Lance Armstrong winning after performing strongly as always. The writing still remains on the roads, and there are many local bike races (including the pre-tour qualifiers and warm ups) held through neighbouring villages throughout the summer months.

It's the ideal location, if you fancy slipping on a yellow jersey and tackling the mountains, following some of the previous 'Tour de France' routes and following in the footsteps of the great masters of this sport. In addition to these leg burners there are various easier scenic routes in the area (some with separate cycle lanes), which range in difficulty and length. Bring your own bike, or hire from one of the local shops. You will find there are always plenty of other French riders out there tackling the mountains too. 

If you find the mountains a bit of a challenge then there is a great route in Annecy which is flat and great for a family outing. Bikes can be rented from the town and the route follows an old tram line half the way aroud the lake, so it's off the road and very safe. As you cycle around the lake you'll ride through a range of countryside with intermittant beaches along the way where you can take a dip if you get too hot. There are also a number of snack bars and restaurants along the route if you need a break.

If you go on a Tuesday or Friday be sure to visit the market in the Old town to get some goodies for a lunchtme picnic.