FEEL THE FLOW
Hans Rey and Brian Lopes ride Livigno’s new 45km low-trail tour
How does 45km of riding with just a few hundred metres of uphill pedalling sound? Pretty good, eh?! That’s what the Italian resort of Livigno – until now best known for its World Cup DH track – is offering with its new Tutti Frutti Tour. This waymarked, lift-assisted one-day ride takes in a load of the trails in the town’s Carosello 3000 Mountain Park, which are all red or blue-graded and ridable on everything from XC to enduro bikes.
It was trials legend Hans Rey, working with trail building guru Diddie Schneider, who devised the masterplan for the Carosello ‘flow trail centre’, which offers less hardcore tracks than the bike park on the other side of the valley. So who better to try out the new loop? And he roped in his old buddy Brian Lopes for good measure, winner of the 4X World Champs here back in 2005.
The tour starts with a run down Roller Coaster. “This is one of my favourites,” says Hans. “It’s a red trail and the only full-length flow trail in Italy – 4km of berms, whoops and incredible views!” Other highlights include an 18-minute downhill, one of the world’s most scenic public toilets (Hans reckons it has “a million-dollar open-air view”) and the descent into the Val Federia – “a longtime classic, which drops into one of the most beautiful and remote valleys.” Not to mention all the cappuccinos and gelato you can stomach.
And while the trails are all suitable for intermediate riders, they’re fun for more experienced bikers too – as Lopes proved. “It’s always fun to follow Brian,” says Hans. “His skills are so incredible, even on a beginner trail he can link up new and interesting lines, like turning two innocent rollers into a burly double jump.” Whatever your level of riding, it sounds like the Tutti Frutti Epic should offer an awesome day on the bike.