Get organised

If you’re travelling a long way or across several time zones to Finale we advise arriving in Nice, France a day early to allow your body to adjust to local time and to make sure any flight or luggage delays don’t spoil your trip.

We recommend spending the night before your adventure at Novotel Suites or Radisson Blu hotels at Nice airport, as this is where your driver will pick you up tomorrow morning.

Your driver will meet you at your Nice Airport hotel in the morning and transfer you to Finale, where you’ll meet your guide.

Over a seaside lunch she will go through the all-important pre-trip briefing. She will set the tone of the week ahead, explain the trails to come and answer any questions that you may have. We’ll then put our bikes together and set up any rental bikes, before hitting the trails in this beautiful corner of Italy.

Today’s ride is a short warm-up to prepare the legs and the mind for the Finale style of riding. We’ll climb at a gentle pace that gives the opportunity to chat and soak in the stunning views, before dropping into our singletrack descent back down to the seafront.

We’ll then return back to our hotel to freshen up before heading to one of your guide’s favourite restaurants for a celebratory welcome meal together as a team. With home made focaccia straight from the oven and a variety of Italian dishes on offer, this sets the scene for your culinary adventure throughout the week ahead.

After breakfast together we’ll head to the bike room to collect our bikes and get ready for our first full day on the trails. Once loaded up on our shuttle vehicle, we’ll make our way up into the mountains that surround Finale to an altitude of around 1000m and drop into our first of multiple laps.

This morning’s ride will build you up slowly as you begin to understand the terrain and riding style of Finale. With trails that mix up flowy turns through the forest and technical rocky sections, your excitement for the week of riding ahead will only build!

As our stomachs start to rumble we will exit the trail network and make our way to a local cafe to refuel for even more descending in the afternoon. Once we’ve had our fill of local dishes and coffee, we’ll shuttle back up the mountain to continue the riding.

This evening your guide will reserve a table in a nearby restaurant for the group to enjoy yet more delicious food together. You’ll have some free time in the evening to enjoy the sunset, stroll along the beachfront, or simply relax at your comfortable hotel.

Today is your pedalling day. A classic, old school Finale enduro ride with sweat and good chats on the uphills to earn our descents. Our effort will be well rewarded with stunning views out over the ocean and epic trails.

In the morning we will meet in the now familiar ‘piazza’ in the middle of Finale. We will kick-start our ride with an espresso and chat about what today’s ride has in store for us. As we pedal out of town and start climbing up and away from the seashore we will gradually leave behind the traffic and humid air. Climbs today are sustained at 30-40 minutes each, so plenty of water and suncream are essential.

The descents on the coastal mountain range are beautiful, technical, and at a perfect gradient for finding your flow. As your guide leads the way, they will highlight the committing and technical rock features that require your brain to be in gear and ready for action.

After working hard for our descents this morning, we will drop into the medieval center of Finalborgo where we will sit next to the 13th century town walls for our lunch. Counted among the most beautiful in Italy, this late 12th century town provides a feast for your eyes as well and your stomach.

After lunch we will take on a new trail that flows and swoops its way through the landscape. With an impressive chalk cliff dominating a large part of the trail, it leads us to an almost jungle environment. This afternoon’s trails will drop us back directly to Finale’s piazza, where ice cold beer and snacks are waiting for us. Life is pretty special in this corner of Italy!

Today your guide will reveal a true secret and take you on a trail safari!

In the hills behind Finale lies a private beech forest that is home to secret swooping and flowing trails that will take us into sleepy lumberjack villages. These ‘off the map’ trails are reserved for those in the know. You won’t find these online or on Strava so, hush – let’s keep it that way!

After breakfast we will meet with our jeep driver outside the hotel and head up into the forest to begin our search for incredible singletrack. This day will leave you feeling like a VIP as we open the gates to these trails. As always, expect an amazing lunch in a little restaurant tucked away in a remote village – your guide always knows where to find the best food.

After an incredible day of searching out the best kept secret trails, we will roll back down into town for some relaxing downtime before dinner.

After multiple big days on the trails, we’ll give our legs and arms a bit of a rest with a half day of riding today. In the morning we will shuttle up to the Nato base, a historical landmark of the region, that is home to the true old-school classic trails that first popped up in the early 2000s. We’ll spend the morning picking off your favourite trails, and sample some new guide favourites that she has up her sleeve.

To finish the morning off we take a long flowy descent that was purpose built for the 2015 Enduro World Series race that takes us all the way down to the valley floor. We will pedal our way back through the town to our hotel where you can freshen up and enjoy some downtime to re-fuel in town.

This afternoon, we have a very special treat that requires you to roll up your sleeves. After sampling the culinary delights of the region all week, it’s now time to get stuck in and learn how to create some of these flavours ourselves in a private cooking class at a local agriturismo.

Based on the local produce available and the dietary requirements of the group, we will create a shared meal that we’ll savour together and toast to a great week of mountain biking so far.

After re-charging our internal batteries yesterday, we will head into the backcountry today for a full day of adventurous shuttle riding. We will head out of town and off the beaten track, we’ll uncover trails that even many locals haven’t even ridden!

Setting off early in the morning from the piazza we will travel for around an hour and half along the coast and inland to our secret trail network near the village of Nava.

We’ll spend the day shuttling and riding on a number of mountain ridges that resemble the fingers on a massive rock-and-tree-lined hand. Your guide will weave from one side of the valley to the other, linking trails together in such a way that you will feel you have been in multiple regions in one day.

As we pull up to a small village in the early afternoon we will be welcomed into the locals’ restaurant, where all walks of life come together to enjoy a three course lunch and down tools for an hour of chatting and relaxation.
As we finish up with a coffee and grab our bikes, we’ll decide together which trails to ride next – the choice is unlimited. A day to remember!

On our final day in Finale we’ll enjoy a slower start to the morning, with time to relax, sip your cappuccino and enjoy a pastry as others head to the beach.

Today’s ride gives us the chance to revisit some of our favourite trails that surround Finale and tick off those features that you’ve been excited to ride all week. We’ll begin with a shuttle to the top of the mountain and drop into the iconic Nato base trails where you can retrace your tyre marks and ride with confidence.

After a morning of world-class singletrack, we’ll peel off of the well-known trails and onto one of your guide’s favourite trails that has a more natural feel.

After our late lunch of delicious home-made Ligurian food, we will ride a short uphill to the shuttle that will take us back to the tops of the mountain. From here, a varied selection of trails lead us all the way back to the beach bar for a post-ride beer and last chance to swim in the Mediterranean.

This evening we will share a celebratory meal together with your guide and toast to a fantastic week of riding and soaking up the Ligurian culture.

Sadly this is the end of your adventure in Finale with us. It’s time to pack your bike and head for home.

Your guide will arrange pick up times from your hotel and your driver will drop you to the airport at around 12 noon to catch your flight home. Arrivederci!