How good is it to find a trail with just one other tyre mark in it?

Hard, soft, vast and often dangerous, giving opportunity for speed that most places fail to offer. For a window of two to three months a year from Bonneville to Bratislava the lifts open for a window of chance like no other. The Alps slip their veil, uncovering leaky greens, hoof browns washed out with frosty, brisk waters. The sound of cable and the reassuring chatter through the pylons, the nervy swing and shudder as a rider fails to mount, the quick step off, the exposure.

Decisions of what pocket to put your lift pass, what tracks to run, the avoidance of the mandatory berm every bit as ordinary as you find worldwide. The Alps. Majestic peaks and towering runs, dry mouths, wet riding gear….and gangs of blokes. If all else fails, there’s always cheese.

True, many places can be real and resort but ironically it’s the resorts that suffer from most xenophobia, no surprise given the transient populations at these altitudes.

The centre of the downhill universe might once have been the Alps, in fact it’s still the Alps but there has been a shift. Long travel trail bikes have stretched to 170mm and now offer sizing and geometry that allows for rapid sure-footed descending. Enduro has captured imaginations, offered up possibilities and the Trans Provence has captured the spirit of adventure.

The Riviera is raising the tempo, offering upliftable and an often drier alternative to the Alps. A four-hour journey from London will have you locked into some of the most inspired runs amidst mesmerizing landscapes. What makes the Riviera work is the range of options meaning that for now at least you can be sat in a square quietly (or not so quietly) going about the business of riding. You can return to inexpensive food, a dip in the Med’, some banter with locals, for now at least.