I’m riding the Marmotte next weekend and will be in town for the Sunday. I was planning on a road ride, but I’m contemplating hiring a MTB and doing some of the trails.
I’m not bad down hill, but I’m not a jumper or DH rider, mainly XC and trail riding. What are the trails around there like? Is it worth doing if I’m not doing the DH stuff? Plus the bike hire is quite expensive, and I am used to SPD’s.

If you aren’t going to do the megavalanche route, (you should) then I’d do a road ride tbh, there wasn’t an enormous amount that wasn’t dh based around the village or the dmz lift. Might be more round the bottom of the hill though?

I would be saving my legs for the Marmotte!

However, there is some nice XC type stuff in the valley bottom.

Head ot of the back end of Bourg d’Oisans and follow the river in the direction of Venosc.

There are free maps in the Tourist Information Office.

Free WiFi at the Cafe des Negotiants next to ht ebig bike shop.

road bike – back up alp d’huez – through the village over past the airport to col de sarenne to freney de osian then up to auris.

the road back from auris to la garde is pretty spectacular as is the descent off the col de sarenne

if you cant face the climb up to alpe dhuez try the villard reculas route – its obviously the same height but less steepness

Stick to the road. Why take the risk MTBing, injuring yourself and missing or spoiling the ride of a lifetime.

Nice road ride would be down from Alpe d’Huez to La Garde then take the D211 balcony route to Le Freny, then down to Bourg where you’ll be nicely warmed up to take a dry run at the Alpe

The Marmotte is on Saturday, so have Sunday free.

I did the Sarenne descent last year, so was looking for something different.

I don’t think it is worth the expense of hiring a MTB unless I do the megavalanche route. It is rated black, but how technical is it? Also how do you get back up as I’m staying in Alpe dHuez.

It’s not that hard to ride at all. The challenge is racing it with 300+ other dickheads 🙂

You can get the bus from Allemond to the lift station in Oz, which takes you up to DMC1, you can cruise down part of the qualifying track or one of the other trails back down to the town then.

It’s rugged in places but generally not too step and no unavoidable gaps or drops.

I’d recommend hiring a bike and trying it out. The change from road to MTB might be quite welcome on the legs after the marmotte.

To get back, there is a free bus from Allemont up to Oz, then take the Poutran lift back up to above Alpe d’Huez. Mega route is OK for any reasonable experienced rider, but you may prefer to ride with someone else.

If I were you, I’d hire my bike first thing (take your own SPDs and shoes), zip up the DMC to the first station, then take a red or blue back to the bottom to get used to the bike, then zip back up to the first station an take one of the EN trails down to OZ (3, or 3a I think). Then up the Poutran, upper DMC then top cablecar. Ride the Mega trail, catch the bus back up to Oz, catch the Poutran. At the top of the Poutran, check the time and your pulse. If both are OK, hit more trails, if either reading it too high, hit the ice-bath.

Have fun. We should be arriving in Allemont next Saturday too.I’d forgotten about the Marmotte though…

Apart from the odd random drop offs on blue routes (which you can avoid if you’re riding within your ability), most of it is rideable for ‘average’ mtbers.

First year we did it on 100mm and 120nn travel bikes. The locals gave us some funny looks, but it was doable.

Megavalanche descent is worth doing – rocky up the top and then rooty and woodsy past AdH into the valley.

Col d’Izoard…nice 70 mile loop from Briancon down to Guillestre, head across then ascend the South side followed by a fantastic 12 mile descent down the north all the way back into Briancon.

You can make it a recovery ride 🙂

curiously how much to hire a bike and do the mega route …. i arrive in bourg d osian 2 weeks on monday.

You want to go riding the day after the marmotte ? Bless, chances are all you will want to do is sit in the square, watch the world go by and refuse to ever sit on a bike again.

Awesome ride, done it twice now, the Galibier is the worst, once over that it is all downhill (ish, except for the alp ……)

Have fun

It’s my second Marmotte, so I do know what to expect. I know my legs will be messed, but is don’t really want to sit around doing nothing all day.

here wasn’t an enormous amount that wasn’t dh based around the village or the dmz lift

:-O There’s loads of riding in the area, enduro-y stuff, XC stuff… you just need to be able to read a map/explore/know some routes.

Google “bike osians” there’s a good pdf with some routes in it. Some stuff needs a car to get to really, but there are good options from AdH especially if you’re willing to gain the altitude. Which I assume you either:

a) are, cos you’re doing the marmotte.
b) aren’t cos you’ve just done the marmotte 🙂

If you want to ride more DH stuff though, ride the mega qualifier and the mega route. Both are good, there’s some tech in the qualifier but you can always walk the dodgy bits if you don’t fancy them. Get up to the glacier first thing tho, the snow’s easier when it’s cold (though is there much snow this year? not checked yet…)

One point tho, are the lifts open to bikes on the sunday? They open around then IIRC might be the monday though…

I could be more specific with route advice, out there for mega week, but not doing the mega, using it as a handy base for the other ace riding in the region… (though base with car for day-trips admittedly).

Oh, and if you just want a fairly easy spin on an XC/enduro bike, but down some sweet singletrack, a suggestion:

Spin out of town up toward the col du sarenne on the road (there’s actually a trail round the back of the airport mind). You’re looking out for a trail that cuts back down into the gorge off to the right, like a 170deg turn into it. Alternatively, there’s a steep switchback-y trail before that from a little car parking space if you’re feeling keen.

Pick up the track along the bottom of the valley, head down it, keeping an eye out for singletrack off to your left, take that, it keeps diving onto/off the road, and is ace. Eventually you end up in Huez, take the chairlift back up to AdH or spin up the road.

Alternatively, and a longer ride, find the bike osians pdf and the relevant top 25, roughly, you want to climb the col du sarenne, descend the other side (there’s a trail no longer on the FFC maps that’s quite “intense” if you fancy skipping the switchbacks. hard tho). Then you want the route down the near side of the valley, looping round to climb the col du cluy then descend to sarrenne gorge and pick up singletrack to huez as a above. The climb to col du cluy tends to get the sun but no breeze tho, can be very punishing.