MTB Travel Guide: Molini di Triora, Italy

Place: Molini di Triora
Country: Italy
Number of trails: 10+
Predominant riding style: All-mountain/enduro
Level: Intermediate and above

Molini di Triora is a small mountain town only 20kilometres inland from the Italian coastline (the Riviera), but a million miles apart in terms of culture, one of the two main reasons for its popularity among British mountain bikers. The other being the stupendously good trails.

Famed for its witches, this should give some insight to the town’s deep-rooted history and quirky appeal. People are happy and friendly and life is slow and enjoyable. Food is sublime, cheap and plentiful. Sunshine is abundant in all but the deepest winter months and in summer the many rock pools in the gently flowing river that dissects the valley are enjoyed at all times of day by locals and tourists alike.

The Santo Spirito hotel in Molini is worth a stay for its intriguing past and welcoming hosts alone. Most mountain bike visitors stay here.

Aside from the beauty and history of the place, the main draw and the reason that so many Brits flock to Molini is for the flowy and fun trails, many of which are hidden from the fierce summer sunshine as they lurk beneath the forest canopy.

For many centuries the area was mainly accessed on foot, and thankfully so as this fact alone has left numerous long and spectacular flowing rides through the trees that end in or near the town. However, there are some trails that have been cut-in by local riders and all the trails have an annual make-over thanks to the work of Adrian Nash and his team from the tour operator, Rivierabike.

Climbs are mostly on sealed roads or taken care of by shuttle services included in package holiday deals and for the most part drop you directly at the trail-head; the riding around town is of an up-then-down nature. Corners are perfectly cambered, rocks litter the trails (but are mostly weathered enough so as not to cause too much of a problem) and the naturally rolling nature of the hills here gives the trails a flow unlike anywhere else in Europe.

The area is best suited to intermediates and above as trails mostly encounter rock sections, small drops and switch-backs.

Easyjet fly regularly from airports across the UK direct to Nice in France. From Nice, transfer times are around one and a half hours.

Adrian Nash runs Rivierabike in Molini di Triora, organising package deals that take in the trails around town and the surrounding mountains and starting at €535.00 for a long weekend.

For more information visit www.rivierabike.co.uk