Bennevy Ripping

1600m of spectacular pedal powered descending

Following on from my recce a few days ago, and still on a bit of fitness buzz after 3 weekends of lots of lift riding with friends, I headed back up to la Flatiere.

Today I descended all the way down to Servoz. 600m of descending in about 11mins!
After a bite to eat I started my second climb of the day, this one around 700m vert, in 27.C heat, ouch! I cruised up the road through le Mont, up to Lac Vert where I caught my breath and then up more to les Bennevy. My previous ride up here earlier this season had found difficult conditions with patches of snow and many tree's down.

Fingers crossed for a clear descent

The descent starts through a meadow with a few flowing corners before dropping into steep, tight corners, then into the tree's for some loam and big roots. I came across one tree about 300m from the beginning, but otherwise the descent was clear! Awesome. The trail begins technically with roots and rocks and drops, but it gradually picks up speed the further down you get. Don't get fooled, keep your eye out down the trail as there is always a rock section to keep you alert.

trail head

the only tree down

rocks, roots, loose dirt and pine cones

a fast section part way down

I descended almost all the way to Servoz at high speed. My legs were feeling good again so I headed back up towards the downhill track that has been built by some local Brits which drops you near Vieux Servoz.

I cruised back along the road into Servoz and got the train back. What a joy after 1400m of climbing! Except for the fact that it was a Swiss train carriage so there was not much space for bikes. Squeeze in, and don't let the Conductors kick you off!

p.s- I only saw one walker on all of the descents I rode today.

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