The bike park season is ready to kickoff

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It is now time for the opening of the bikepark season. The arrival of summer, in fact, allows downhill enthusiasts to take advantage of the wonderful paths of the resorts equipped for this purpose. Downhill is a discipline that has developed enormously in recent years, and after the forced stop for Covid, it is ready to start again in a big way. Italy offers an enviable range of bike parks, as the territory (especially Alpine) has made it possible to combine the beauty and quantity of routes with the cycling tradition that has developed towards the modern disciplines.

How to start practicing downhill MTB?

As for the bike, you can opt for either rental on-site or purchase. Many bike parks provide rental bikes, as well as protective equipment and helmets. This way, you can have a first taste of the specialty and try the characteristics of the vehicle. The other advantage of renting on-site is for those who live at the resort and cannot or do not want to carry their bikes.
Obviously the true enthusiast will sooner or later face the choice of buying a downhill bike. Due to the particular characteristics of downhill, the vehicles are superspecialized: compact and extremely sturdy frames, double suspension system with motorcycle-derived fork travel up to 240mm and central shock absorber of 140-200mm. Powerful hydraulic brakes and solid 2.5 size knobby tyres.
Since you cannot skimp on technology and quality of materials, the price of downhill bikes is not among the cheapest: for the entry range (but still with excellent technology feats and nothing to do with the poor quality of cheap bikes of other types) you have to spend more than 2000 €. To give an example, the Cube Two-15 Pro model 2021 is offered for € 2599. The top bikes of the range, recommended for extreme use or in competitions, exceed € 8000, such as the 2021 model of the Scott Gambler 900 Tuned.

The thrill of the bikeparks

The ski resorts have almost all the elements necessary for the downhiller, with splendid downhill slopes of varying difficulty, ski lifts and service facilities: bars, restaurants, technical and rental services. They have therefore seized the ball with the spread of the discipline to become a bikepark during the summer, only with small adjustments (for example to make the tracks safer for bikers) or with the integration of specific elements (e.g. jump or tracks for Dirt Jumping). In Italy and in Europe, not to mention the USA, there are many bike parks, and their number is growing as is the number of enthusiasts who frequent them. Among other things, we remember that our country has the distinction of having set up the first bike park in Europe, the Fly Down in Finale Ligure, from an idea of ​​the flow rider Erik Burgon.
Today these structures are modern and functional and many of them equipped not only for downhill and free-ride, proper mountain disciplines but also for four-cross, cross-country, dirt, north-shore and BMX. The routes are marked and diversified according to degrees of difficulty. For the lifts you pay a valid day pass which costs on average from 20 to 25 €. In addition, you can make multi-day, weekly or seasonal passes. For the bike parks that offer rental, you can opt for a day pass + bike + protection which costs between 65 and 90 Euros depending on the resort.
The resorts are normally equipped with bars, restaurants and hotels for those who want to take a holiday of several days, without mentioning the presence of supermarkets and all the daily convenience stores. In addition, the technical facilities are very functional: the rental office, bike, spare parts and clothing shop, the washing facilities and even the school. In fact, the presence of qualified instructors for downhill and other disciplines is becoming more and more widespread. What could be better than tackling reckless descents led by an expert in the area, perhaps an ex-competitor, who can suggest how to tackle the trajectories, and give you useful technical advice on how to improve?

The main bike parks in Italy

Mottolino Fun Mountain, Livigno (SO): one of the most famous in Italy, with 12 routes, 20 km of equipped slopes, an entire jump area and one of the first Italian North-Shores

Bike Park Val di Sole: 4 routes of 3 different difficulty levels served by a modern cable car. From 24 to 29 August this park will be the scene of the UCI DH World Championships: you can try the world tracks or follow the top world event where top athletes such as those of the Rock Shock Factory Racing will participate

Caldirock Bike Park, Calibratola (AL): An historic park opened in 2000, which can satisfy the needs of savvy downhillers but also beginners. Well connected with Milan, Turin and Genoa, it is open every weekend from March to November!

Pila Bike Park (AO): Connected to Aosta by a modern cable car, it offers many opportunities in the world of gravity, for every level of preparation, in a very suggestive natural and landscape context

Bike Park Bardonecchia (TO): Renowned winter resort, Bardonecchia, 50 km from Turin, turns into one of the largest bike parks in summer: 40 routes not only gravity but also free ride and cross country

Bike Park Gravity, Piani di Bobbio (LC): A paradise for two wheels, this park offers numerous possibilities in a mountain area, both open and wooded: breathtaking descents, all-mountain and single track

Cimone Bike Park, Sestola (BO): One of the few resorts in the Emilia area, it is located about 80 km from Bologna and offers three chairlifts, a cable car and a bus for transporting bikes, for a total of several kilometers of slopes

Many other ski resorts have equipped bike parks that operate from June to September, we remember Cervinia, Madesimo, Fai della Paganella, Pozza di Fassa, Kronplatz, Piancavallo, ...

These are the stations in northern Italy, where they are concentrated in the absolute majority. However, let us remember the two main ones in the center and in the south:

Amata Free Ride: In the territory of Abbadia S. Salvatore (SI), near the Monte Amata massif, there is a bike park immersed in the beech forest capable of satisfying both downhill enthusiasts and free-riders

Pierfaone Bike Park: The first gravity park in Basilicata, is located in Abriola (PZ). From the top of Mount Pierfausto, 5 tracks wind up between jumps, walkways and parabolics for a total of 10 km

The main bike parks in Europe and the USA

Chatel Bike Park (France): One of the largest complexes in Europe where you can indulge yourself from gravity to all-mountain. Three resorts connected by ski lifts: Chalet and the famous winter resorts Morzine and Les Gets, from where breathtaking descents start

Bikerepublik Solden (Austria): A paradise for downhill, this area (which reaches the glacier where you can ski even in summer) has many challenging routes and is very well served, not surprisingly it is called Little Canada

Saalbach-Interglemm (Austria): Another bike park originating from a large ski resort. 15 trails, descents of all levels of difficulty, modern cable cars in a fabulous alpine setting

Geisskopf (Germany): One of the best parks in Europe immersed in the Bavarian forests. Suitable for everyone: from beginners, to families, to savvy professionals. 13 trails from the descent, to the slow-trail, to the nature trails.

Whistler Mountain Bike Park (BC, USA): This great ski resort has long since converted to mountain biking and was among the first to adopt gravity logics, with great success. The downhill area integrates very well with the all-mountain and slope-style areas

Angel Fire Resort, (New Mexico, USA): Angel Fire, a popular ski resort in winter, is considered one of the top ride parks with stars and stripes. 100 km of slopes for all tastes: downhill, flows, chunks, jumps, single-tracks in the majestic scenery of the Rocky Mountains.
 

Fabio Strufaldi

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