For eleven years, the season-opening event "Pass Portes du Soleil" has been attracting thousands of mountain bikers to the region. The demanding and varied circuit is either 50 or 80 kilometers long and has 1,000 positive and 6,000 negative vertical meters. A challenge for every freerider. Since 2011, the race has started on one of the three days in any of the nine destinations. On the Swiss side of the Portes du Soleil region, these are Champéry, Les Crosets, Morgins and Torgon.

There is no timekeeping: the focus is on having fun and enjoying the impressive scenery and regional specialties at the numerous refreshment stations. Around 16 mountain railroads along the route transport bikers and bikes to the freeride routes, making the race accessible to everyone. Children up to the age of 16 start in a separate category with a specialist guide; since last year, there has also been a category for hikers.

The event has been part of the Portes du Soleil tradition for many years: it has been possible to register online since mid-February. Around 4,000 registrations are usually received within 24 hours. For safety reasons and so that the trails are not overloaded, the number of participants over the three days is limited to around 6,5000 people.Champéry is one of the "Portes du Soleil" destinations. In summer, "Portes du Soleil" is the largest contiguous mountain bike area in Europe. This includes Champéry, Champoussin, Les Crosets, Morgins and Torgon in Switzerland as well as Avoriaz, Abondance, Châtel, Les Gets, Montriond, Morzine and St. Jean d'Aulps in France - connected by 21 mountain railroads and a single lift ticket. 800 kilometers of marked trails, 80 kilometers of trails that open up the entire "Portes du Soleil" in conjunction with mountain railroads, 30 downhill trails with different levels of difficulty (black, red, blue, green) and differences in altitude, numerous air bags to practice jumps and 5 bike parks.

www.passportesdusoleil.com

Source: Press release