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European Downhill Roadtrip

ThePriceSeliger

Mushhead
Mar 31, 2004
4,860
0
Denver, Colorado
I'm leaving May 15th for a road trip through western Europe. The person I planned to go with bailed last minute, so this will be a solo trip. I'm flying into Munich and renting a van. I plan to focus the area to Germany, Switzerland, Austria, northern Italy, and eastern France. I know there are a lot of bike parks in that area, but I wanted to hear some personal recommendations from anyone who has experience.

Any help would be appreciated.
 

norbar

KESSLER PROBLEM. Just cause
Jun 7, 2007
11,346
1,587
Warsaw :/
That's a great offer but not all of the parks there are that good if you want dh only (ie. Winterberg). Personally I think must visit places are WC DH tracks.

Maribor is a must and is a great spot overall. Great dh trail with tons of roots and a great rockgarden to kill your chainring on with some nice bikepark and hidden trails.

Schladming is worth visiting if only for the DH track. It's the best dh track I have ever set my foot on and I think it's the same for many people who ride it. It's steep, fast, technical and fluid.

Leogang is so so. It has some great parts but some incredibely idiotic spots, some outright dangerous ones. Not a well designed track but worth a visit.

Insbruck has a nice, long, difficult track but it's only one track. Look up helmetcams.

I've heard good things about Bad Wildbad DH track.

As for France - Morzine/Chatel/Champery as a whole area. Champery is a good test of your abilities but unless you live there and have time to practice I doubt you will be sessioning it but Morzine has some nice hidden trails.

L2A is not really a dh place. Berms and jumps but not very dh'ish.


Alpe d'huez is known mostly for the megaavalanche but the oisans track is the 2nd best track I know after Schladming. Dusty, fast and simply stupid fun.
 
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Kevin

Turbo Monkey
Two must do's tracks in Germany.

Bad Wildbad:

Probably the most technical track and rocky track in Germany. Bring lots of spare tires if youre not running tubeles :D



Todtnau:

My personal favorite even though my two worst crashes were on this track, plus a friend of mine had his spleen removed after crashing there.
Track is super fast and has lots of flow. Small flat part in the beginning but since youre not racing there its no biggie...


If youre into slopestyle I would say Winterberg is worth it, but not for the downhill alone.
The good part is that the world cup track in Willingen is only 20 minutes away so it might be worth the drive depending on how much time you have.

The whole Portes du Soleil area (Swiss and French Alps) is awesome.
 
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Kevin

Turbo Monkey
Ok so I just looked at the map, Munich is pretty far down.
How long is your trip? And from where are you going to fly back?
I might be able to help with the logistics a bit.

Also, theres a bikepark in the east of France called Lac Blanc that is a must do. Cant waitto go back and ride these tracks next week!
My favorite tracks there:


 

Marius

Chimp
Jul 4, 2011
51
0
Germany
In Germany I would suggest Bad Wildbad and maybe Willingen DH-Track, in Austria Schladming and Leogang, in Switzerland Crans Montana and Champery and in France Lac Blanc and Portes du Soleil
 

sethimus

neu bizutch
Feb 5, 2006
4,881
2,132
not in Whistler anymore :/
In Germany I would suggest Bad Wildbad and maybe Willingen DH-Track, in Austria Schladming and Leogang, in Switzerland Crans Montana and Champery and in France Lac Blanc and Portes du Soleil
just stay in the south, bad wildbad, todtnau will be enough. its not worth it to drive to the northern bike parks if you go to the alpes anyway
 

Kevin

Turbo Monkey
From Muchen its only 2 hours to bikepark Geiskopf in Bischofsmais.
Havent been there in years but if its still as nice as it was back in the day you should definitly check it out!
And as a bonus feature, biggest weener schnitzels Ive ever seen...

 

buckoW

Turbo Monkey
Mar 1, 2007
3,777
4,700
Champery, Switzerland
Feel free to get in touch and I can show you some spots. I have more time at the later part of your trip. We have loads of snow up top but there are some hidden gems down in the valleys.
 

General Lee

Turbo Monkey
Oct 16, 2003
2,860
0
The 802
Feel free to get in touch and I can show you some spots. I have more time at the later part of your trip. We have loads of snow up top but there are some hidden gems down in the valleys.
You going to be around any of the Euro races this summer? I'm heading over for Val di Sole through Andorra WC and all points in between. 6 weeks w/out chopsticks. Stoked!
 

yesimaddicted

Monkey
Apr 28, 2007
824
0
centeral Euroland via CA
hey,

my trip to Lake Garda just got canceled and so now i have next week and half free. i am looking to get into the mtns and ride more enduro type stuff, but down with going downhill fast too. really just trying to get on the bike for the next week.

anyone know of any good riding in the german side of the swiss alps that i could get at alone?

also, im in freiburg, near todtnau and would be down to have beers show you around the area a bit
 

Kevin

Turbo Monkey
Does that old creaser Andy still run the inn there? Good place and bike friendly as I remember.

Hehe yeah Andy and his mom are still there. We usually stay at the Inn when we go to Todtnau.
The place is called Andys Pfeffermuhle, anyone whos planning a trip to Todtnau should definitly stay there.
They even have an old trailer in the back yard if youre on a budget and dont mind going white trash for a weekend.

Shouldnt be too long before we do a weekend there...
 

?????

Turbo Monkey
Jun 20, 2005
1,678
2
San Francisco
I was in Finale Ligure, Italy 2 weeks ago. Really nice place. You have to shuttle or ride your bike to the top, but the whole town is set up for mountain biking so finding a shuttle is no problem. The scenery is incredible, and the hotel we stayed at (Hotel Medusa) even had an inner courtyard equipped with shop tools, air compressor, and pressure washer.
 

tabletop84

Monkey
Nov 12, 2011
891
15
Any tips for crans-montana specifically? I'm living there for the following two monts and wondering if I should get the season-pass for the two dh-tracks there or skip that and travel to champery/morgins. Any other good stuff there? Will bring my trailbike too. I heard there is this awesome singletrail called 'the Brazilian' but is there any info on trails around montana itself?

Also is it worth to drive to anzere? I think I can even get the season-pass for crans and anzere.
 

UncleHowie

Chimp
Feb 9, 2011
76
0
Switzerland
My favourites around here are Todtnau(expensive but love the track), Lac Blanc (a few good trails & only 20 € a day), Biel/Bienne, Bellwald, Verbier, and in PdS Morgins/Chatel/Champery. I've never been in Crans-Montana but everybody here loves that place, need to go there in the next few weeks.