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Pass'Portes du Soleil MTB 2014

Endurance biking event based in Les Gets and the Portes du Soleil

featured in Activity reviews Author Pam Williamson, Morzine Editor Updated

What more could you want from a weekend of mountain biking in the Alps but sunshine, rain, mud, great people, great trails and a lot of cheese!

And that is exactly what I got this weekend at the 11th edition of the Pass'Portes du Soleil MTB, a really fantastic experience, despite the rain and mud, plus a few surprises and insights into what's new in mountain biking at the Portes du Soleil.

Up early on Saturday morning, I made my way to the tourist office in Morzine to collect my pass, free event t-shirt and wrist band for the food stations. Already at 8am there was a great atmosphere and a real buzz with all the participants eagerly grabbing coffee, bread, cheese, fruit and chocolate before then heading to the Super Morzine lift to begin the day of biking. I was surprised at how many large groups of friends and teams were participating, and also a little shocked to be one of only 3 women at the registration area...I was hoping to find more along the way!

The queues quickly formed at the cable car and chair lifts but thanks to the great lift staff of the Portes du Soleil they went in as fast as they formed and we were on our way for the first leg of the route. Following the signs through to Avoriaz and down in to the Lindarets bowl we met bikers from many different countries and on a huge variety of bikes, from hard tails to full suspension enduro bikes. Despite the dull skies and threats of thunder storms we were incredibly lucky to get a mostly dry day and the occasional spell of warm sunshine.

As I was riding with a couple of locals from the Morzine area we took a few alternative routes to test out the other trails around. So moving away from the fire roads and on to the more well known downhill trails of Avoriaz and Chatel, whilst still following the Pass'Portes du Soleil route so that we met up with it and joined it at various points. Chatting to the other participants along the route it was clear that it would be a tall order to complete the entire 80km in just one day and with the weather looking like it was going to turn we decided to make the most of the journey over Chatel and then make our way back over toward Les Gets to catch some the riders as they were finishing there later in the day.

Stopping off at the food station in the Lindarets bowl we were treated to a great selection of meats, cheeses, cakes and fruit, plus a hearty portion of tartiflette which was clearly a winner with the exhausted bikers. Here we chatted to a Dutch participant who rode with us for a while. He was suffering from the previous days riding and had told his friends to continue the circuit without him and although he was struggling he was still keen to be out on his bike and having a great time!

As well as the food stations along the route there were also local bike mechanics on hand to help out with any issues and get participants back on the road as soon as possible. I ended up at the Morzine Mountainbike Mechanics tent to get my brakes checked out (an essential part of the bike!) and got some new brake pads put in so I was soon on my way again.

Making our way over to Les Gets via the new Pleney gondola we met a lot of tired bikers, many of them rushing down towards Les Gets to enjoy a well deserved end of the day beer in the sunshine at the food station there. Obviously we joined them! But only after a few laps of some of our favourite downhill trails to end a fantastic day of mountain biking.

Then it was straight home for a shower to scrub off the mud and back out to the evening Press event in Les Gets and to enjoy the Pass'Village short-track competition. The big surprise of the event for me was to see and meet the Lapierre Gravity downhill mountain bike team and in particular one of my idols, Emmeline Ragot, two time winner of the Downhill World Championships.

She was a really lovely person to chat to and very randomly we got chatting about the new electric mountain bikes by Lapierre. She had been riding over the last few days with some friends who were not quite as experienced at mountain biking and so they had taken the electric full suspension bikes in an attempt to keep up with her, and they had really loved them! My friend and I were excited about the prospect of testing them out the next day for ourselves and seeing just how much better going uphill could be with a motor. However, that evening the torrential rain started and didn't let up until Sunday afternoon.

One look out of the window on Sunday morning made up our minds and we opted for a wander round the Salon in Les Gets instead and of course a coffee in town! With more than 200 brands represented there was more than enough to keep us entertained and seeing the mud covered bikers come through the resort we were definitely happy with our choice to stay warm and dry. The sun eventually showed itself later in the afternoon when we were able to sit in the sunshine and enjoy a glass of wine while one of the bands entertained the last of the participants as they arrived in Morzine at the end of a very long and wet day.

Regardless of your biking abilities the Pass'Portes du Soleil MTB is a fantastic opportunity to see the area and be part of a really fun event. I returned home having had an awesome weekend, with a muddy bike, some new kit and a belly full of cheese! Happy days.

Location

Map of the surrounding area