As an advanced/expert mountain biker, you may want to challenge your fitness level with the famous Tour du Mont Blanc. Originally a tour for walkers, the route has been adapted to make the most of the trails for mountain bikers. It involves 3 countries, 200km of mountain biking with around 10,000m of ascent/descent! This is a true all-mountain/enduro tour, with some long, steep climbs (occasionally lift-assisted) and technical descents, passing through France, Italy and Switzerland circling the Mont Blanc Massif.
Or, have a look at the Enduro course where the UCPA instructor will guide you to the best singletrack in Chamonix, as well as a couple of day trips to Italy (La Thuile, made famous by the EWS) and Switzerland.
Advanced/Expert Courses
UCPA MTB - Enduro (Argentiere)
UCPA MTB - Tour du Mont Blanc (Chamonix Valley)
You may also want to take a look at any of the courses suitable for intermediate riders above. The pace may be slightly slower, but the singletrack (particularly on the Mont Blanc Massif courses) is just as varied and covers a vast area in the Chamonix Valley (as well as Les Contamines, Les Saises or across to Switzerland and Italy)
What skills should I already have?
You have likely been to the alps several times before and experienced lift-accessed riding, but if not, you should be experienced and comfortable in descending on steep and technical terrain.
What mountain bike equipment is required?
Unlike other UCPA holidays, the bikes aren’t included in the advanced/expert mtb trips. The thought is that you probably won’t want to hire a bike, because you love your own mountain bike too much and it is set up correctly for you! (though don’t worry, there is the option of bike hire, if you’re not so keen on boxing your bike up to fly with it - just drop us an email and we can add the bike hire on for you).
If you do hire a bike, they are good quality 160mm travel full suspension enduro bikes (or 120mm travel for the Tour du Mont Blanc week). More detail about the equipment is on the individual course descriptions.