Guiding Trans Piedmont

Editor's note: Text and photos for this story were provided to us by flatsucks.at and can be seen in a way as a continuation of our story about the Bikeguides Austria - especially since author Markus Emprechtinger is actively involved as Flatsucks managing director and Bikeguide Austria project developer.
The tour offer itself is in the Flatsucks program twice again in 2025: from June 22-29 or from September 7-14. It goes with a certified guide and daily shuttle support from Queyras to the Ligurian coast. Solid riding skills in the S2 area, condition for up to 1,800 meters of elevation gain in the terrain, and practice in handling carrying and pushing passages are prerequisites. The price of € 1,950 includes 7 overnight stays with breakfast, 7 dinners, travel to/from Innsbruck, and luggage transport.
If you prefer to go elsewhere: Here you'll find other Flatsucks enduro trips.

Seven to eight hours of travel from Innsbruck is quite a number; but there is this one spot, a hairpin bend above Briançon, which, after the long drive, for the first time reveals the impressive landscape of the Southern Alps. From here, it is always clear that it was worth it.
Half an hour later, when you drive up the Col d'Izoard in the evening light, all the travel strains are forgotten. The first stage starts at the pass height of this well-known tour test in the border area between France and Italy, and the anticipation for the coming days rises immeasurably at the sight of the sunset.

As a guide, you already know pretty well what's coming. Nevertheless, the feeling before the start of such a tour is always something special. The big unknown is usually the group. What is their level, what is the condition of their members, and what dynamics will develop over the course of the week?
Of course, there are some levers to influence this. However, this tour, which starts with three properly full-day stages, leaves little room for that.
Some guests will reach their personal limits. In professional guiding, it's about touching these but by no means shooting beyond them unchecked. The limit is like a soap bubble that gets bigger with a bit of feeling; however, if you blow too hard once, the vacation dream suddenly bursts.

Day 2 is traditionally the biggest challenge of the week. The trails are just as good as on the first day, but the overall workload is tough.
It is the longest day of the week and also the most alpine, and guiding is a fine line between challenging and overwhelming. Getting up early and guiding efficiently is a must to avoid standing on the trail in the dark in the evening. Efficient means: no unnecessary standing around; breaks when they are necessary and sensible, photo stops only at the good spots, keeping the group in flow, everyone at their own pace and yet no one alone. The leadership style must fit each section, and the announcements should be short and clear.
Anyone who misjudges or gets bogged down here will have to cancel the second half of the day.

The stage starts with a short shuttle to the end of the valley to Refugio Meleze, followed by a really long climb with a double peak, meaning: when you’re at the top, you go down first, but then immediately continue upwards carrying to get to the actual target pass. The only thing you still have from the shuttle now is Elton John's "Rocket Man" as an earworm: "It's gonna be a long, long time...".
Here, you fight for altitude meter by altitude meter in impressive and lonely surroundings. First pedaling, then pushing, and finally carrying again. The pace of the group must be chosen correctly; not fast, but constant, otherwise everyone is somewhere and you lose track.
Every time on this climb, my gaze wanders to the left towards the supposed shortcut. On the map the logical way, in reality a path of suffering. I remember exactly a scouting trip. It was a foggy, mystical carrying passage that led us directly into a landslide area. The path was hardly to be found here and the fridge-sized blocks were anything but solid – a classic example of "I know a shortcut"...

Once at the top, the view stretches from Mon Viso in the north to what feels like the sea in the south – if it weren't for those mountains in between and the curvature of the earth, of course... But yes, even without the sea, the course of the next few days here is easy to imagine.
What follows is yet another endless trail ride, forever along the slope. Several times you think you should have been down long ago – only to realize that from the pass height you just reached, there's still another 1,000 meters of descent to go.
The time here says: early afternoon. Hunger strikes, and hunger while guiding is dangerous. After all, you're not the only one who needs something to eat.

Again, I have to remember an exploratory tour at this point: Anyone who chooses the wrong trail here ends up in the weeds – and I don't mean the edible kind.
The density of tourists and hikers in this region is much lower than in Tyrol, so the paths tend to become overgrown – so much so that riding becomes impossible. Everyone can imagine what it's like to push through the undergrowth for a good 500 meters of descent while hungry.
So it's better to take the right trail: enduro at its finest, fast with good switchbacks from top to bottom, grippy ground and roots – simply the perfect 1,000 meters of descent to the late lunch snack, which is already prepared at the shuttle.
The strenuous part of the day is done, followed by relaxing in the shuttle.

When getting off at Col di Sampeyre, the sun is low and bathes everything in golden light. As a guide, I know there's no time to dawdle; as a photographer, I want to take advantage of this light.
If the group is robust, we do just that and take a bit more time in the upper part. The atmosphere is brilliant, a sunset ride at its finest, and everything fits perfectly in terms of timing.
If it weren't for these breakdowns... the professional high-speed tube change begins with a deep brake disc tattoo on the forearm (I love my job!) and ends 300 vertical meters later with another nail in the same tire. When it rains, it pours.
Well, never mind, a fixable defect. However, all our time reserves are exhausted. We reach our shuttle in the twilight, the hotel in complete darkness.

From day 3, the shuttle bus and driver are really put to the test. The Colle Fauniera is quite demanding for our bus with a trailer: partly steep and riddled with potholes, as well as narrow and without detours for long stretches. The desire for a more off-road capable bus grows here every time, before it becomes even greater in the coming days.
By the way, the condition of the roads reflects the general population density of the region quite well. Especially outside the main holiday seasons, the phrase 'gentle tourism' is still an exaggeration in these areas. As a guide, you are welcome here, after all, we bring guests to the accommodations and local establishments, and ensure that the area leaves a lasting, positive impression. It is not uncommon for participants of our Trans Piemont to visit the Valle Maira or Valle Varaita with their families in the following years, as there is still much to discover here.

If I could wish for an e-bike on the tour for one day, it would be Day 3: 100% singletrail uphill, 99% rideable with an e-bike, maybe 50% with a regular bike, unless you want to completely destroy yourself, which would be a bit too early on Day 3.
Both on paper and in reality, this day, when considered individually, is not so wild. However, due to the long previous day, the group increasingly notices a lack of energy.
The morning with the Panorama CC Trail, pushing passage, and 5-star gorge trail is still great. But during the subsequent ascent, it's easy to hit a wall. By no means should you rush ahead here. Because if you expend too much energy, you won't be able to make the final climb to the summit, will have to divert to a gravel descent, and will therefore miss out on an amazing trail on the way to the stage destination in Vinadio.

In calmness lies strength, pacing is everything, and as with all my tours, the rule is: no climb is for nothing. If it weren't truly worth it, I wouldn't go up a second time. Certainly not with a group, because you have to choose your words carefully here; motivation and demotivation are often close together. And of course, the guide is to blame for the route choice.

Vinadio in the Valle Stura is known for countless brilliant single trails built by locals.
Additionally, you should definitely visit the village pizzeria: the best pizza of the tour, and at prices that you could only dream of in Innsbruck even before the Corona times.
Individually considered, the physically toughest days are now behind us, and the character of the tour changes significantly. There are no noteworthy pushing sections anymore, and significantly more frequent, but slightly shorter shuttles are the order of the day.

We now leave the high mountains of the Valli Occitane and cross the Ligurian border ridge on day 4. The construction of the old military road on the Italian-French border, lined with numerous forts, dates back to the year 1880. The road crosses the national border several times, which is due to the fact that the border ran differently before 1947.
For our bus, the true off-road adventure begins here. Sometimes I wonder how my Transit feels among all the G-Classes, Land Rovers, and Land Cruisers. It certainly gets enough skeptical looks. Especially when both the pass road and the tunnel at Col de Tende are closed. Then there's an additional border ridge adventure on top.
And if a participant runs out of brake pads and doesn't have any suitable ones with them, you can listen to the stories in the hotel in the evening about how much crazier the car ride was than the biking and how cool, helpful, and nice the Frenchman in the garage bike shop was.

As for the bike, after many days of exploration in Val Roya, I can guarantee the following: No enduro biker in the world would want to miss the trail combination we ride to Tende. There is a view only at the very top. But what happens in the forest afterward is beyond good and evil. Flow is redefined, riding fun reinvented. 1,200 meters of descending trail, of which the middle 600 are guaranteed to be among the best you have ever ridden.
The French trail builders should definitely do a few semesters abroad in Tyrol. It's incredible what can be built by hand when no forestry law prevents it and when a local racing community is accepted, tolerated, and even partially promoted. Val Roya must be on the to-visit list!

On day 5, the journey begins with a shuttle back to the Ligurian border ridge road and from there continues to the queen stage of a Trans-Ligurian tour - Monte Torraggio.
Then comes another moment where it's important to feel the group's mood to explore what is still possible. Guiding mistakes happen quickly here; the Molini region offers a variety of rewarding shuttle options. However, if you choose the wrong trails because you are tempted to want too much, the vacation dream quickly ends in overwhelm - even before the finale on the last day.

If you only look at the elevation profile and are aware of the proximity to the sea, you might think that day 6 is just a half-day tour, if at all...
However, appearances are deceiving. This day still needs to be ridden, and the final descents are physically demanding once again. Enduro riders will enjoy steep sections with catchberms, all-mountain riders can really let loose on the cross-country passages, and even technical riders will get their money's worth on a switchback section.

The grand finale to Bordighera by the sea is a flow trail of a special class with a slickrock finish.
The fact that you can ride this section really fast and don't need a race for it was evident on my last tour. Upon reaching the entry point, the familiar view of the sea unfolded. Only this time it was entirely different. We looked into a black wall. After 5.5 days of brilliant sunshine, everyone knew exactly that the clock was now ticking.
Guiding means making decisions, and sometimes they have to be made quickly. Especially if you've obviously wasted too much time beforehand. The only choice was to escape forward, as far down as possible before it really started.
A race against a force of nature that you can't really win. The radar clearly showed the path of the thunderstorm, and I knew exactly that if we weren't down in half an hour, we would have to find shelter.
Breaks on the trail were canceled, the group rode confidently – no breakdowns, no falls, no signs of fatigue. And so we reached the beach just as the rain began. Happy and thrilled by the last descent, by the whole tour, and by the timing, we stood under a wildly romantic underpass by the sea.