The "Ingegnere" is supposed to be Finale Ligure's new super trail. Engineer, so, so. The final of the Enduro World Series will start here in three days' time. The trail is still officially closed. Which is why I, now on foot, crawl through the undergrowth beneath the NATO base. Not even the tip of a marker tape can be seen from the trailhead of Stage 5. Damn. Pietro's directions had sounded pretty easy: from the NATO base over the Crestino to the pass, then turn right onto the Cravarezza trail, which I recognise from last year. Take a short left at the forest road and then after 50 metres turn right into the Ingegnere. As a member of the EWS trail builder team, Pietro should actually know the way. I'm no longer sure whether I should be doubting his or my own sanity. Just like the freeriders who are obviously watching me from the forest road. Although? "Make sure nobody is watching you," Pietro had told me. The trail is only open for official training on Friday. Anyone who rides it before then will be disqualified. But as I wasn't going to start anyway, I was allowed to feel out the trail.
The full-face buddies up there seem to be quite different. "C'è lì il sentiero nuovo?" one of them calls out to me. Is this the new trail? Well, I'd like to know that too. But just at that moment, I finally spot a red and white barrier tape fluttering on a tree in the forest a little further on. So I shout to the guys in Italian: "The new trail? Here? No, it doesn't look like it ...!"
It's incredible. I've probably been to Finale five times now. And every time I come here, the trail builders have created at least one new line in the forest floor. And not just any variation of an existing trail, but always a fully-fledged trail. The main driving force behind this is the EWS, the Enduro World Series. "Supergroppo" and "Cravarezza" were opened in 2014, this year the Ingegnere. All challenging and fun freeride lines. Good reasons for a return visit to Liguria's acclaimed trail paradise. The last four days have once again convinced me that the local trail builders know their trade. Since the launch of my new bike guide to Finale Ligure and its neighbouring spots, I had initially concentrated on riding the stages of recent years, such as those of the upcoming race. Yesterday was the Supergroppo. In another, similarly well-frequented area like Finale, this trail would probably be completely rutted after a year. If you believe the sparse tyre tracks, it looks as if this trail is lying fallow here. "Yes, the Supergroppo isn't really ridden that often," admits Pietro. The trail runs right through the front garden of his agriturismo, so he should probably know. "The transfer to the trailhead is probably too long for most bikers!" Transfer? If you include the upper part of the Crestino trail in a loop over the Supergroppo, the "transfer" is just 800 metres of forest road. Okay, there are two steep climbs at the start of the trail. But in view of the six kilometres of singletrail, you can probably call it a fair deal. They obviously tick a little differently in Finale. But why should you ride uphill when there are so many good trails within direct shuttle range?
Yes, why? I'll admit that I haven't been overflowing with uphill diligence so far. But in the last four days of pedalling, I've seen things around Finale that you get to see little or nothing of as a shuttle passenger. The Roman road with its well-preserved arches behind Finalpia. The witches' tower above the steep cliff not far from Capo Noli. The mysterious shapes chiselled into the stone on the "I Ciappi" rock slabs behind San Bernardino.
"Most of the trails here are not completely new, but follow ancient paths that had almost fallen into disrepair," all the trail builders unanimously confirmed to me. Whether Romans, charcoal burners or Napoleon's foot soldiers - they have all left their footprints in Liguria over the centuries. In this sense, freeriding in Liguria contributes to the preservation of a cultural heritage.
Seriously. Liguria must be every road and path builder's nightmare. Or a guarantee of employment - depending on your perspective. Like a bed sheet after a hot night of lovemaking, this coastal region sometimes wrinkles like a bird. Not a kilometre goes by without a mountain ridge standing in the way, and quite a few of them reach right down to the water's edge. If you want to go west, you have to go over or around all these ridges. Although today there are tunnels. But imagine Liguria without tunnels for a moment. Sure, you could throw a stone from Finale to Borgio Verezzi. But in the old days, if you wanted to sell fruit and vegetables over there, you first had to cross Monte Caprazoppa. Anyone who has ever travelled up there by bike knows how much effort it takes. In a time when there were no road tunnels, but there were donkey carts, the supposed short hop from village to village quickly turned into a day's journey. Olives, chestnuts or wild boar ham had to somehow get from the hinterland to the coast - which explains this incredibly ramified trail network in the Ligurian Alps. The typical trail here balances relatively flat on top of a mountain ridge. To the right and left, steeply sloping paths branch off down to the villages in the valley. This is how it is in Finale and how it should be in the rest of Liguria. So my theory is that as long as you stick to the ridges at the top, you will always be in good biking terrain.
To substantiate this theory, I start with Monte Carmo. At 1389 metres, it is one of the highest mountains in the area and dominates the coastal strip around Pietra Ligure and Loano. From its summit, trails flow down into the valley in all directions. One of them runs over a ridge, passes a small pilgrimage church and in between, as far as I could find out, it is intercepted by the Strada Napoleonica. I'm curious about this military road. So off we go. At the crossroads below the Colle di Melogno, the shuttle buses are parked bumper to bumper. Dozens of freeriders are taking on the classic rollercoaster trail here, only to continue on to the EWS trail to Calice Ligure further down at the Madonna della Guardia church. Just five kilometres further on as the crow flies, on the other side of the valley, there is not a single biker to be seen. At the top of the Giogo di Giustenice pass, wafts of mist are now pushing through a bizarre maple forest. White wild horses graze between the trees, almost ghostly. Even more frightening, however, is the upswing towards which the path is now heading. Another hundred metres, then the path is too steep even to push. At some point, the sun pierces through the clouds. We stand at the summit of Monte Carmo, throw the bikes off our shoulders and look out over a sea of mist. Peaks rise out of it like islands. Our ridge trail also dips into the sea of fog up ahead. Three hours and nine challenging kilometres of trail later, we arrive in Borghetto Santo Spirito by the sea. What a holy trail again, and there are still a hell of a lot of ridges in Liguria!
The five top tours:
Masterfully built and accessible by shuttle, or unspoilt and challenging: the current top trails on the Ligurian coast.
1st Le Manie EWS / 38.1 km / 1190 m elevation gain / 4 h
If you want to know what the Enduro World Series (EWS) is all about, you should take a look at this lap. The DH Uomini trail to Varigotti and the last section of the San Michele trail to Noli (part of the elite Enduro race) in particular offer plenty of rock and opportunities for crashes. A full-face helmet is advisable!
2nd Carabiniere & Neonato / 24.9 km / 1290 m elevation gain / 4 h The Forte Monteschio above the Colle di Nava is the starting point for two of the best trails in the Ligurian hinterland: the Carabiniere and the Neonato. They both offer just the right mix of built line and natural trail, flow and challenging sections. Enduro riders will love the tour.
3rd Monti-Mare-Albenga / 44.5 km / 1120 m elevation gain / 5:30 h
If you're travelling by mountain bike by the sea, you want to ride tours that finish right on the beach, right? Voilà! This Monti-Mare follows the mountain ridge from Castel Ermo and Mote Nero to Albenga, where it ends at the mouth of the Fiume Centa. In between: Pure adventure!
4th Supergroppo / 38.6 km / 1170 m elevation gain / 4:15 h
The Supergroppo trail was reshaped for the 2014 Enduro World Series. The way the stage ran back then, there is a longer dry section to overcome in the middle section (Cravarezza trail and transfer to the forest road to Colla di San Giacomo). The tour described here takes in the upper section of the Crestino Trail instead. This significantly increases the proportion of trail.
5th Melogno - Monte Carmo / 24.5 km / 500 m / 1520 m downhill / 4:30 h
A scenic and technically interesting tour starting in the hinterland of Finale Ligure and finishing by the sea. However, the trails are sometimes a little "untidy", so progress is slower than expected.
You can download the GPS data for mountain bike tours 4 and 5 free of charge below. The GPS tracks for the other three tours are available at www.trails.de.
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Info about the Liguria mountain bike region
The precinct Finale Ligure is known as the single trail paradise of Liguria. The trails there are maintained in exemplary fashion and the trail network is generally in very good condition. However, there are very few really easy trails. If you want to have fun in Finale, you should be reasonably confident on the S2 grade. The same applies to the trails at Colle di Nava. The shuttle operator there does an exemplary job of trail maintenance. The trails on Monte Carmo and around Albenga have a completely different character. These are rarely used or travelled on. Accordingly, they are somewhat "raw", so you have to expect branches and debris in the trail.
Arrival By car: In most cases it makes sense to travel from Germany via Switzerland. This means Bregenz - Chur - San Bernadino - Bellinzona - Como - Milan - Savona - Finale. From the German border, tolls are charged throughout! Distance: 680 km, 7 hours from Munich.
By train: Travelling to Finale Ligure is easy, except for the bike transport. Hiring a bike locally may be a better idea. Info: www.bahn.de
Maps
"MTB Finale Ligure", scale 1:50000. Highly recommended: Fraternali Editore, sheet 20 "Finalese", scale 1:25000. For Colle di Nava: Fraternali Editore, sheet 19 "Alta Val Tanaro", scale 1:25000, all available locally
Tour information
Ralf Glaser, "Liguria Trails! Volume 1, Finale Ligure, Loano, Calizzano, Colle di Nava", from March 2016. 40 tours with GPS data and smartphone digital map to download, price: 29.80 euros, www.trails.de/trailsbooks
Shuttle service
Although there are now many shuttle providers, you should book in advance, especially at Easter or Whitsun: Cascina del Groppo, tel. 0039/348/7247816, www.cascinadelgroppo.com
Alpi del Mare (Calizzano), tel. 0039/340/3269003, www.alpidelmarefreeride.it
Nava Freeride, tel. 0039/333/4643726, www.alpidelmareoutdoor.com
General information
Accommodation and general information about www.finaleligure-bikeresort.com
