We explored the first day trails of the Enduro World Series’ in Italy, in this round of the Bluegrass Finale Enduro powered by SRAM. Le Poste, Cavatappi, and Cromagnon are epic, challenging trails for the incredible riders of this event, but the trails on the second day continue to provide epic scenery and even more epic rides. And that first day to ride takes place on the trail named Crestino.
Finale Enduro Stage 4 - Crestino
Marked by the familiar wind turbines of an abandoned NATO base, this trail starts high, descending from Melogno, and flowing into a long singletrack that meanders through beech and birch. Terrain and scenery changes mark this grippy, compact, snaking course.
The iconic turbines.
The course offers flow turns amongst the trees.
Riders probably won't have time to read these signs.
Underbrush pattern.
Racing through the woods is a unique experience.
The snake twists and turns through the trees.
White guideline.
Winding, twisting, tight and fast.
Finale Enduro Stage Five - Rocche Gianche
Michele is a local trail builder and mountain bike guide who is the mind behind the next trail. Rocche Gianche is his creation, and it’s intense.
Finale is an intricate net of lost trails, just waiting for a trail builder to rediscover them. Michele’s vision for this rebuilt trail was born out of respect for the mountain. He started looking at the old cadastral maps provided by the municipality, which detail the borders of the land and the old roads used by farmers. Here he found what would be reborn as Rocche Gianche, named for the white rocky wall nearby.
From the top of the ridge you can see most of the terrain Finale has on offer to the Enduro world, the ride rocky and precarious. Cycling down to the second portion of the trail, riders arrive in a dusty, scrubby section and finally woods.
The top of Rocche Gianche.
Rocche Gianche (white rocks).
Michele references a map of Finale’s lost trails.
The variety of terrain on Rocche Gianche is impressive.
My friends and I stay with Michele (Mike) every Spring at his lodge (Ciapin Mountain Bike Lodge). Very much a stand-up guy; whom's passion for mountain biking and nature are in a league of their own. We were fortunate to have ridden most of Rocche Gianche before it was on any map. Great to see Mike's vision coming to life - it will be a few months before his smile returns to normal levels.
Kudos to Michele. He seems to march to the beat of a different drummer and his vision is totally clear and focused. Very stylish rider to boot. His new trail is gonna be epic.
And kudos to all the other trail builders in Finale, grazie ragazzi!
It is, and all these fantastic trails are accessible for pretty much the entire year (although i prefer to go when the shuttle companies that also invest heavily in maintaining the trails are open for business).
Last time i was there, i rode with plenty of Brits and Scandinavians that had made the long pilgrimage to Liguria, and they all agreed that it was absolutely worth it.
Last time i was there, i rode with plenty of Brits and Scandinavians that had made the long pilgrimage to Liguria, and they all agreed that it was absolutely worth it.