Chasing trail in the Vosges Mountains with Rémy Absalon
A video of Absalon shredding on some of the world's best single track.
Les Vosges is a mountain range located in the Alsatian and Lorraine regions of France. The mountains are not as high or boast as spectacular vistas as the Alps but the diversity of terrain, the quality of the soil and the abundance of forests make it excellent mountain biking terrain. Enduro is a discipline that largely emerged from France and Rémy Absalon cites the region he grew up in as a deciding factor behind the discipline of MTB he pursued.
Rémy Absalon is one of the most celebrated riders to come out of the Vosges, along with his brother Julien who has two Olympic gold medals along with numerous world championship and world cup wins. Rémy has won ten Megavalanches events. These events are a combination of marathon downhill and enduro with the most famous race in the Alps hosted from the ski resort town of Alpe d’Huez.
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Remiremont is one of Absalon’s favourite trails and is where most of his training sessions take place. Absalon spends countless hours maintaining and building the trails he rides. His favourite feature is the very technical Descente de Nol an old hiking trail with stone walls, green moss and large granite blocks. Greater-elevation change can be found in the Hautes-Vosgues where La Bresse is found which features a wide variety of terrain, leafy and loamy singletrack in pine forests.
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Absalon has raced cross country, downhill and enduro, it was the later that suited him best as the region he grew up in allowed Absalon to develop and explore his strengths as a rider.
