We have a week in July booked in a villa on the french side of the Pyrenees. The nearest sizeable town is Saint-Gaudens. Can anyone recommend some lift assisted riding within a couple of hours drive? Master OTS is all about the send, but I’m happier with wheels on the ground, but any options considered. Ta

the Pyrenees isn’t really assisted mountainbike territory like the Alps is, heading to Luchon would be your best bet, google says it’s 48 mins drive away

I had a half day with Ian from AQR, who are based in Luchon. Some good trails and he seemed very knowledgeable.

I found the ‘marked’ trails a little un-marked TBH, and got frustrated doing it on my own.
But, i was fortunate to get chatting with some random French locals after Ian’s morning of guiding and they showed me the real gnaarrr….

In fact, i had to be carefull as they were taking some roudy lines whilst i was ‘just’ keeping up.

I reckon there’s loads of unmarked and great trails right off the lifts at Bagneres Luchon. Nice little ‘shi-shi’ town, with SPa etc:

There’s also uplift at Le Mourtis, which is a bit closer than Luchon, but I believe this is of the van type, rather then Gondola. The trails do look good there though. Have a search for Nicolas Luduque on Youtube, I think he’s a Cube sponsored rider who posted some videos from the area. Also have a look at Val D’aran which is just over the other side in Spain. We’re going to Luchon this weekend, but I tend to stick to the road bike as some of the trails are a bit scarewee.

Thanks guys, we are south of Saint-Gaudens, so Luchon looks to be about 30 minutes away. Good result!

Luchon is great. One of my favourite uplift places. The trails are semi marked but if you keep going downhill you’ll get back to the lift. After a few runs you’ll have a feel for it. Lots of off piste too. Just look for the tyre tracks. There is only one lift but it is a big one. The stuff under it will keep you happy for a day or two. Plenty more if you do a little climbing and navigation.