With 21 ATB trails of varying grades (in total 120 km) having been established and marked out according to FFC standards and the chair lifts to get you started, the Three Valleys has become well known for its terrain. Mountain bikers can use these trails throughout the summer, along with the other courses in the Three Valleys.
Suitable for all levels, including those enthusiasts who are happy going as fast as they can down steep hills! There are championship level courses and for those of you who would like a more relaxed ride there are many routes where you can go it alone (possibly ending as a picnic & sunbathing in the middle of an Alpine meadow...!)
or even have a guided tour. Cross-country enthusiasts will find all the conditions they long for: long descents of all grades through Alpine meadows, forests, fording rivers - highlighting the diversity of the countryside here.
The chair lifts are open during the summer for access to downhill courses. Bikes can be hired locally for the duration of your stay. Take a look at some of the routes available here (Les Menuires & Val Thorens), here (Three Valleys), here (Meribel) and here (Courchevel).
Mountain Bike Events:
The Three Valleys Mountain Bike competition takes place in Méribel. Running over the weekend, this is a ‘Free Bike’ competition which is open to all, with a variety of events including a timed descent from the top of the Saulire (2700m) to Brides-les-Bains (600m), a 70kms 'Rando Tour' event completing circuits around the Three Valleys at various levels of difficulty thanks to the use of the ski lifts!
In 2005, the timed decent from La Saulire to Brides-les-Bains saw 494 entrants, the winner completing the course through the thick forest and narrow tracks on the bottom section in an amazing 26 minutes!!
For further information see here : 3VTT
Bike hire in Les Menuires:
Try out Trailsource (thousands of Trail Maps routes, 5,000 More Biking Trails, 10,000 Trail Descriptions. 5,000 Trail Maps).
Other useful mountain biking websites:
Mountain Biking Konaworld
What Mountain Bike
Single Track World
Dirtmag
Big Bike Magazine
Transcend Magazine
Bringing your own bike with you:
It is quite easy to bring your bike with you on the plane to resort. You bike will go as outsize baggage and we will supply the vehicle when we meet you at the other end to take you back to the chalet. Simply package up the bike in a bike bag or a plastic/polythene wrapper so as to avoid any spillage of hydraulic oil or grease onto other peoples luggage. Weight limit is approx 32 kilos which is enough for the meatiest of DH rigs. (But please check this with the airline) .
It is not necessary to deflate tyres for air travel the cargo hold is part of the pressurised tube which makes the fuselage. The maximum variation in pressure is one atmosphere, which with tyres designed to be inflated to between 4 and 7 atmospheres worth of pressure, is well within the margin of variation for sound tyres in normal use. You do not need to go to the expense of a serious bike bag for air travel, the following link is for an accepted bike carrier on Easy Jet flights (click here). Easy Jet will charge £30 for carriage (check with airline). We will charge £5 (rtn) at the other end to cover the cost of our trailers. We will add our cost to your holiday invoice if you are paying for bike carriage.