Molini MTB Grand Tour

What is the trip in a nutshell?

Based on 7 nights in a beautifully rennovated bed and breakfast in the centre of Molini. The trip is catered 6 mornings and 6 nights, breakfast at the accommodation and dinner is a mix of eating in and out at local eateries. Uplifts and guide are provided for 5 days as are your return transfers from Nice Airport.

The below program is a rough idea of the kind of riding you will experience, it is not fixed. Factors such as the groups ability, energy levels, trail conditions, weather and previous seasons snow fall can effect the program.

Day 1 - Arrival

You will arrive at the airport in Nice and a shuttle will be waiting for you and your bikes. The drive to Molini will take approximately 1.5 hours the view on the French and Italian Riviera and the obligatory espresso stop will keep you stoked!

After arriving you will have your time to check in the guesthouse, your new home for the upcoming week, relax, unpack your luggage, build and make sure it’s ready to shred the next day. In case you need tools, or help Luca's workshop has you covered! After aperitivo time, beers and wine with some tasty snacks you'll be heading out for dinner, this is best had at the Santo Spirito restaurant, around 30 seconds walk from the accommodation.

Day 2 - Shuttles

Approx 3500mt descent

We'll load up the shuttle bus and head up the mountain road to begin a full uplifted day on the incredible dusty, rocky and rooty singletrack descents that await us on these classic Maritime Alps trails. You will ride the classic Molini trails including some of the most iconic trail in the Valle Argentina. We will start with some shorter flow trails such as Minigolf and Fantasy, to build up to more rocky and longer trails such as Fascisti or Partigiani. Lunch will be taken at 1600mt at the well known Allavena Refuge, sitting just in front of Toraggio, Pietravecchia and Monte Grai, some of the most beautiful mountains in the area, with home-made pasta and one of Marco’s special desserts. After lunch and another espresso we will ride Palazzo del Maggiore, into Val Nervia. Then back up with the shuttle, then you will experience Agrifoglio, the trail that we are most proud of, with its steep and rocky sections, technical corners, to finish with the its breath taking super fast rollercoaster. Then our final descent called Andagna Trail, takes us back directly into the village of Molini for a well deserved beer in the bar Gallo Nero.

Day 3 - Big Mountain

Approx 3600mt descent

Today we will drive up past Triora, toward Monte Saccarello, as far as the van will be able to go. We will then pedal on fire-road and single track for 45 - 90 minutes (fitness and photo stops pending) to reach Passo della Lecca, one of the most remote places in the Valley, with a breath taking view on one of the longest and most beautiful trail you will experience: Rocca di Mea. This trail descents for 10km and 1200mt directly into Molini Village, with an incredible variety of terrain, from alpine grassy ridge riding, to technical pine trees in the forest, to rough rocky fast sections. A light lunch in Molini will get us ready for some more epic riding in the afternoon. We’ll ride trails such as Belenda, Fast at 40 and Numero 1, all long and epic, to keep the big mountain feeling, but don’t require pedalling. 

Day 4 - 

Approx 3500mt descent

Your first uplift will be to Drego’s view point, if you are lucky you can spot the mountains of Corsica. The trail is long, physical and varied, with a stop at the Saracen Tower which is over 1000 years old! Another uplift to Langan and a long and loamy descent onto Buggio trail which will take us down to Pigna for lunch in a bakery, huge salads, pizzas, freshly baked brioche and Cappuccino.

After lunch we’ll ride Love Tunnel, the rollercoaster of Molini, and then shuttle up to Monte Ceppo for a long descent of 1300mt to Badalucco, for gelato and maybe a cold beer.

To make this day special there will be an amazing BBQ all together on the terrace of the Atipico Guesthouse looking at the sun setting behind the mountains.

Day 5 - Down Day

Normally your day off, so you can take your time for your big breakfast and chill a bit more on the terrace. We can drive you to the coast to have a relaxing day at the beach and do some shopping in San Remo, or you can book a Canyoning Tour. If you can’t stay without riding even on the day off, we offer the possibility of renting some Specialized Levo SL E-bikes and go for a self guided tour, or book another shuttle day with the group and add some more meters of descent to your tracker.

Day 6 - France

Approx 3400mt descent

The shuttle will drive you above Triora to let you warm up with a 10min pedalling and a spectacular descent through the Parco delle Alpi Liguri, into Verdeggia for a coffee. We’ll be driving up one of the most spectacular road in the valley, all the way to Sanson Pass, on the ridge that separates Italy and France.

Half hour pedalling will give us access to the Crete de Rionard trail, that runs from the saddle between Cima Marta and the Balconi di Marta, to La Brigue, 1430m below. Steep, loamy corners at the top, technical rocky ridge riding in the middle section and a super fast final section on a much drier terrain will take us through the village of La Brigue and to the Auberge Saint Martin for a proper meal with some tasty daily specialities to choose from.

The drive back will be a 15km on a gravel road on the Route de l’Amitié. Half hour pedalling will take us to the entrance of  Gerbonte. 8km and 1400mt of pure adrenaline through the forest, amongst some of the biggest and oldest trees of the Valley. At the bottom a quick refreshment at the river pool will give us the energy to climb 15 min back to the main road and jump on the van for the last descent into Molini, a short and intense ancient mule trail that will slowly lead us back home after one of the most epic MTB day of your life.

Day 7 - Summit to Sea

Approx 3000mt descent

We’ll head to Melosa to have a quick espresso and start the adventure. Riding along the ridge to Passo Langan, with a little detour down Palazzo del Maggiore, one of the fastest trails in the area. Then the shuttle will take us to Monte Ceppo, where we’ll have to climb 10 minutes to gain the best view of the Valley and the beginning of the descent into Bajardo.

Here we’ll have a lunch at Au Casun, sitting in front of the Mount Toraggio. From there we’ll be driving around Monte Bignone and let you experience the gnarly DH World Cup Track into San Romolo. From there we’ll shuttle and ride a combination of some of the most fun trails in the San Remo Bike Resort, such as Bruciato, 2 Muri, Up and Down, Isola and I Tubi di San Lorenzo, to finish through the Old Town of San Remo, where the Urban Downhill goes, and reach the cycling path along the coast. A chilled 5 km pedaling will take us to the beaches of Arma di Taggia where a good swim in the sea and a cold beer on the beach will refresh our tired bodies and minds. 

Day 8 - Departure

It's time to say goodbye, packing the bikes and drive to Nice airport.

We try to keep all groups together but sometimes when numbers are odd you might be sharing a room with a member of another party. We will ensure the room are the same sex unless we specifically ask you before mixing it up! 

The accommodation has 1 double room which shares a bathroom with another triple room, then 1 Triple room with it's own bathroom and a studio attached to the accommodation.

To check your ability we have developed the Ability Assessor to see if this holiday is for you. This will ensure you get the maximum enjoyment from your trip.

The riding in Molini is extremely varied and natural. Though trails are maintained, they are all quite raw and the low amount of traffic on them means they can appear quite wild, especially at the beginning of Spring and late Autumn.

Once you get up high the exposure can increase on some lines, with many of them being old pathways there can be quite afew switchbacks, many trails combine the fast, flowing elements of picture perfect single tracks, loamy forest and epic ridgelines, with technical euro style endo turns.

You'll descend at least 2500m each day, and you'll also do a fair bit of climbing, hiking and pushing to get some of the bigger trails. Though the idea of the trip is uplifts, some effort, around 300-500m vertical on a day, is to be expected. You do need to be fit, strong and able to handle a big day on the bike.

It is essential and a required part of your booking process that you have holiday insurance in place for your trip that covers against medical and personal accident and all the activities including mountain biking you will take part in. 

We have worked with Yellow Jersey Cycle insurance for the past 3 years now and feel they offer the perfect Travel and Bike insurance package. All Atlas Ride Co clients also receive a 15% discount on their Mountain Bike and Travel policies. Your discount code will be in your booking confirmation. 

Yellow Jersey

You should bring with you one kit bag, with several changes of riding kit and riding shoes, several changes of casual clothes, shoes and toiletries. There will be a chance to wash your kit.

You should also bring spares for your bike. We advise a full set of pivot bolts, a spare tyre, a spare derailleur hanger, a spare derailleur, 3 tubes and any bike specific spares you would normally

You will also need to bring a pack for riding in. It is essential to carry this with you on all trails. In this pack you will need to bring at a minimum;

• A strong bike specific riding pack that can ride with all day, able to carry the following;
• Hydration (unless you carry a water bottle)
• Multi-tool
• Tyre levers
• Tube
• Mini pump
• CO2 cannister x 2 and a valve to be able inflate them
• Tubeless tyre noodles/dyno plug
• Basic medical kit - Bandage, sling, plasters and antiseptic wipes.
• A light rain jacket
• Your phone, fully charged and able to accept calls
• NB* Though we highly recommend and use bike carry systems such as OneUp EDC tools and straps for pumps, you still need to carry a pack for the other spares, jackets and kits. There will be some runs where a pack is not essential, Luca your guide can advise on these occasions and you leave it in the shuttle vehicle.

Your basic kit should include;

• Bike shoes
• Biking Clothes
• Rain jacket
• Mountain Bike
• Helmet
• Sunglasses/eye wear
• Gloves
• Mountain bike backpack
• Sunscreen
• First Aid kit
• Toiletries
• Swimming kit

Transfers from Nice airport are included in the price.

We advise all clients to book flights landing before 15h, we'll aim to collect everybody at the same time, so the van will arrive in Nice when the last flight is due to land.

For your return transfer flights departing after 13h are advised, as the van will be leaving Molini in line with the earliest clients departure.