Morgane Charre

Morgane Charre is a former DH world champion and World Cup winner, she now races EWS for Pivot Factory Racing.

“La Clusaz was one of the first bike parks I ever rode. I think it was summer 2008, just after I moved to Annecy for my studies. I saved up to buy a summer season pass and made the most of it, riding the downhill tracks pretty much all day, every day. The tracks weren’t really that good at the time but everything was so new to me; I just loved spending as much time as possible riding my bike there.

“As I got more and more into mountain biking, I kept riding in La Clusaz. I saw the tracks develop and started to discover many beautiful rides in the area. I loved the mountains so much that I moved to La Clusaz in 2012 and would ride my trail bike there every day after work.

“One day I noticed an opening in the woods – I went to have a look and couldn’t believe my eyes. There was a brand new track with deep, fresh dirt and amazing corners. The trail played with the shape of the terrain, following its curves and diving in and out of the trees. It was all natural and perfectly soft under the tyres. I rode down and just couldn’t stop smiling, I had never experienced anything like it on a bike. Even better than a powder day on skis!

“The trail was one of the new ‘enduro’ tracks that the shapers from La Clusaz had started building. It was called Les Encarnes and it would become my favourite ever trail, even to this day. In the following weeks the team continued their work to make it more than 700m of descending, all hand-built with endless turns and the best imaginable flow.

“I’ve ridden Les Encarnes countless times now and I have so many great memories riding it with my best buddies, trying to find creative lines on it, coaching the local kids on it, racing it, riding it in the snow, in the wettest conditions, with a beautiful sunset, etc. This trail always puts a big smile on my face and I don’t think I’ll ever get bored of it.”