Pics: Daniele Castellani
Italy's Swatch Bikepark Livigno, operated by Mottolino, opens its redeveloped trails on 13 June. Among the tracks are the 2005 Downhill World Championship course, giving the opportunity to find out just how many orders of magnitude quicker than you Fabien Barel actually is. There are three other trails covering all skill levels and, of course, some North Shore sections.
The whole lot has been rebuilt for 2009, as has the dirt jump area near Passo d'Eira (with a little help from Kona's John Cowan - Bikepark Livigno is one of eleven Kona Groove Approved bike parks worldwide).
If you're after some big-mountain XC riding, Livigno has plenty to offer too, with an impressive 3,200km of trails waiting to be ridden. Handily, tracks of the whole lot are available to download and stick on a GPS from .
Also woth noting is Livigno's tax-free status, which makes up somewhat for the currently not-terribly-favourable £/€ exchange rate. There are also various tempting accommodation/gondola packages available from fourteen specialist "bikehotels" - two days' B&B and two days' lift passes can be had from €109 (£95). Or if you just want a bike park ticket, it's €21 (£18) for adults, which seems like a pretty good deal.
You can find out more at www.mottolino.com.
