Sauze Freeride

More information: www.sauzefreeride.net

BikeMagic says:

The trail network in Sauze mostly revolves around the terrain on offer underneath the two lifts that function during the summer months. These are both chairlifts, the Prariond-Sportinia and the Rocce Nere.

The chairlifts are fast and take you to an ultimate altitude of over 2500metres, although the majority of the trails are accessed from the lower Sportinia lift.  From the summit views stretch seriously far, it’s a great place to start a ride.

Trails are mostly of a flowing nature with the hillside being a much mellower gradient than that of some French resorts and the natural features of the mountain are used well with rises, crests and fades making the ‘rollercoaster’ sensation that much more fun. There are berms where absolutely necessary and the odd jump thrown in along the way but the trails, although purpose-built, really do retain the ride character of natural trails.

Rocks are present but not overly abundant, tree roots feature on some of the more challenging trails and open sections send you flying down ribbons of narrow trail through the long grass. There is one ride that is completely the opposite of those previously described though, which consists solely of jumps, berms and wooden stunts, just to keep things interesting.

Still relatively ‘undiscovered’, another bonus to riding in Sauze is the lack of traffic with the trail conditions certainly benefiting. Braking bumps are non-existent in Sauze, so too lift queues.

This really is one of the best Alpine riding spots for those with a penchant for flow and definitely for riders with bikes at around the 160mm suspension travel mark.

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