Risoul Ridge Ride

Risoul Ridge Trail (Source d'Eau Chaude)

The Kretenweg to the Source d'Eau Chaude in Risoul is a sensational descent from the Risoul bike park down to Mont-Dauphin, 1500 meters below.

Description

The starting point of this tour is the retort town of Risoul, just south of Briançon. If you prefer, you could take the chairlift directly to the start of the Crete Trail - however, this variant includes a rewarding additional loop in the direction of Vars. To do this, first take the functional but ultra-slow Clos du Vallon chairlift and then the lift further up to Col de Valbelle. From there, you roll a few meters further uphill on the gravel road to the Col du Vallon, the start of the first descent of the day. The "Mystik Valley" trail offers 500 meters of pure riding fun: flowing, technically challenging in places, it leads through a quiet valley away from the hustle and bustle of the bike park - as scenic as it is technically varied. At the bottom, you come to a gravel road that leads back to Risoul. Shortly before the finish, you can still use individual sections of the bike park to return to the valley station.

The second part of the tour begins with the chairlift ride up to the Belvédère de l'Homme de Pierre. On the way up, they are impossible to miss: the deep scars that winter sports have carved into the landscape. What are ski slopes in winter are transformed into bike park trails with a questionable connection to nature in summer. But once you reach the top, the contrast begins - and what a contrast it is. As you enter the "Source d'Eau Chaude" trail, the ugly winter sports face is quickly forgotten. The trail leads along a spectacular ridge path through sparse forest. To the left, the terrain drops steeply towards Embrun, with the turquoise-colored Lac de Serre-Ponçon peeking out between the trees time and again.

The trail runs seemingly endlessly over the ridge - technical in the S2 range with individual S3 sections, sometimes steeper, sometimes playful and flowy. Finally, you enter a dense forest where the trail descends further in tight bends. In the last section, it becomes more technical again, but is always easy to ride. The descent ends directly at the natural hot springs that give the route its name. In other words: Don't forget your swimming trunks - because after this sensational trail descent through the forest, meadows and rocky ridge, a relaxing finish awaits in one of the warm water pools.

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Details of the tour

21 km

210 m

2200 m

1 day

Risoul

Mont-Dauphin