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MTB and Cycling in Oisans |
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MTB Trails
in Oisans :
- » Cross country
- » Freeride
- » DownHill
- » Raid
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Season's events
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MTB and Cycling in Oisans |
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Season's events
Cross country
Leave your car in the covered car park in Vaujany.
This short route finishes with a fine decent, including some lovely hairpin slide bends.
From Vaujany, go down the main road, past the church on your left and take the small road that leads steeply off to your right. That’s right – you’ve a 5-kilometre climb ahead, sometimes reaching a 14% gradient! Take a breather at the panoramic table, from which you can admire the Belledonne, the Eau d’Olle Valley and Les Grandes Rousses.
When you get to the surge shafts, take the small path down to their right. This brings you back on to the tarmac road and then onto another path a little further down. There are some steep, quite technical sections ahead – a mountain-biker’s delight!
When you reach a crossroads, take the left-hand path which will bring you gently down to the centre of Vaujany, next to the bar/restaurant du Rissiou.
What on earth are surge shafts?
Surge tanks are part of the huge piping network of the Grand’Maison hydroelectric power station, the most powerful in France. At an altitude of 1700m, these surge shafts are in fact 200m deep wells, 10m in diameter and completely steel-armoured.
They play an essential role, preventing any damage being caused by a pressure surge in the water in the pipes when the gates are closed 750m lower down. This pressure surge is also known as the water hammer effect. Easy, isn’t it?
The surge shafts
