The World’s Toughest Mountain Bike Race | Stone King Rally

by | Jan 17, 2023 | Bike Video Features, Bike, Bike Events & Racing, Bike Story Feature, Event Experience, Sports

The Stone King Rally launched off the back of the 10 year history of the famed Trans Provence adventure Enduro in the Southern Alps. The Stone King Rally is about a journey. Yes some segments of the route are timed but the experience goes so far beyond that. To have 6 back-to-back days hiking and riding your bike through some of the planet’s most breathtaking mountains, discovering ancient pathways that connect the hidden valleys and towns, meeting people who call the region home along the way, and sharing the experience with like minded people.

The Stone King Rally also about more than just one race event each year. The organisers make the route available to the public after the race event has taken place in order to bring more people to this spectacular region so that they can experience the glory of these trail networks and bring new visitors to the little towns along the way. Get a feeling for what it is all about and what it took to create by watching the video below, and then add it to your bucket list!

Our good friend Dan Dobinson was lucky enough to be a part of the inaugural Stone King Rally in 2022 and the stories he told afterwards were the stuff of legends. Descents exceeding 20 to 30 minutes, hail storms, perfect corners, breathtaking vistas, and hour long hike-a-bikes. Memories that will last a lifetime. You can find out more about the Stone King Rally event and Touring Club here.

Santa Cruz Stone King Rally is the evolution of backcountry MTB enduro competition. Containing the same blend of wild adventure and gravity racing excitement that Trans-Provence introduced in 2009 and refined over the course of a decade, we now take things to new levels on a 100% original itinerary from the High Alps to the Mediterranean.

Stone King’s truly transalpine itinerary – crossing the Alps’ central watershed not once but twice – will take in two countries and four distinct regional areas: the majestic Queyras Regional Park (France), the mystical Occitan Valleys of Piemonte (Italy), the wild Roya Valley (France) and, last but not least, the revered coastal mountains of Liguria (Italy).

Each of these zones contains its own brand of mind-blowing descents and incredible journey-style trails. The inextricable link between these trails, the cultural heritage and the agricultural or industrial history of each valley is critical to the spirit of a backcountry adventure like Stone King; riders will experience in a variety of formats a thread of associated stories throughout the race and tour versions of the itinerary.

Stone King rally

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