For centuries, trails and natural paths have criss-crossed a mountain that is both humanized and wild. On your mountain bike, you’ll discover man’s imprint on the mountain pastures where sheep graze, while nature reveals itself in the valleys and wild ridges. Playing on both southern french air and the greatness of a high-altitude massif, the Queyras has an “ambience” rarely found elsewhere in the Alps: in this land up there, mountain biking has found its purpose.
The Queyras has a strong identity, and one that is inevitably beautiful. The mountains are formidable fortresses that house a whole nation’s cultures and traditions. And the “electric fairy” will take you to the summit: the Queyras mountains have never been that accessible. E-bikes will carry you pretty high to reach several passes in a day: it will be your means of escape to reach the Fromage and Lauze passes, the Furfande barns or the Saint-Véran “fustes”.
Among cyclists, mountain passes both fascinate and worry. You’re alone in the effort, you can’t hide in a peloton or a group. The Izoard and Agnel Passes are the realms of the solitary. The cyclists rise, become celestial like Coppi or Bobet: at the “Casse Déserte” of Izoard, a stele is dedicated to them. The great champions have brought to this pass a second wind that never ceases to revive. The exploits of yesterday and today intersect and merge in the same suffering of a forced ascent. In this respect, the Izoard mountain remains universal.
Despite its high altitude, the Queyras and Guillestrois mountains have the charm of pastoral mountains and easy access. Wide paths and tracks criss-cross the valleys of the Guillestrois and Queyras to lead to cattle in summer pastures, ideal terrain for gravel biking. At lower altitudes, this type of biking is the ideal travel tool for discovering a culture and heritage rich in military forts and picturesque villages. In this region, you’ll discover these magnificent mountains, made of simplicity and wild harmony, on a gravel bike.
