I did the Pass Portes du Soleil last year and really enjoyed it. I’m aware of the Freeraid, but are there any other trail/AM type events in the Alps? I’m not a downhiller so the Mega is not an option.
I’ve never done the Passportes de Soleil but the Mega isn’t quite as fearsome as it’s made out to be – it’s a gnarly track all right, but there aren’t any big jumps or drops involved.
Aye but it’s not a big lift assisted ghey-fest covering 80km either is it? There’s that daft start to begin with, people barging each other out the way to get to the icy slush first. The only barging or rough behaviour on the Passportes you’ll see is at the food stations.
It might not be the gnarl-fest some make it out to be but the two don’t really compare in my mind. I saw a gut on a commuter with pannier rack doing the Passporte last year FFS, not sure he’d have got down the Mega track…
Check out the 3VTT. Similar thing to the PdS, but based in the 3 Valleys (Courchevel, Meribel, Val Thorens). It’s not that far away from us and we’re thinking about offering some kind of combined deal this summer (i.e. do the 3VTT weekend, then come ride the Tarentaise singletrack with us for a week).
MussEd your summation of the mega was funny! I haven’t done it but having seen the pictures, your review paints a vivid picture.
To the original question, I think the Freeraid Classic is what is now the PPDS. they changed the name when it stopped being a timed competition (I think).
It’s a 2-day event with one day being a timed-but-not-a-race mega-downhill event, running from the top of Meribel down to Brides les Bains (near enough 2000m of vertical, fastest do it in something like 15 minutes!). Second day is very similar to PPdS – a set route to tour most of the 3 valleys in a day, using lots of lifts!
Get yourself to the “Freeraid” in Les 2 Alps. Its the 2nd to last weekend in June (same weekend as Mountain Mayhem, only difference is the sun has shone for the last 3 years I’ve done it). It is organized by the company that originally started the Passport before they moved on and did this so its all very well done. The town has all the manufactures and bike companies doing the roadshow (which you would have seen at the passport) and you can test ride the latest bikes and get mechanical help if required. The big difference between the Passport and the Freeraid is all the runs are around Les 2 Alps so there isn’t a rush to get back to the village at the end of the day. The course is 70k of excellent riding most of which is downhill which you can rag it or take your time.
