Its a long way from Barcelona to Crimea Yalta, but as I found its such a nice spot to ride, right next to the coast we found loads of the great trails to enjoy a couple of perfect days riding here in Yalta. The crew from FreeRate took care of me and showed me the best places to ride enduro and enjoy a week of riding in Crimea!

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Trails and Mountains in Crimea

Taraktash

Just a few kilometers from the city, there is the big mountain with amazing woods, it’s packed full of trails where you can take the road and climb over 1h 30min or take the gondola that leaves you in Ai Petry and then a small pedal for the last few km to the trail. The views and terrain are just unreal, I can’t get over how good the trail and views are all over the valley! Some parts are just epic, with super big rocky mountains where we can ride on the edge of them, whilst other parts are super steep until we get onto the low part of the mountain where we discover flow lines that takes us back to Yalta! Honestly, this place takes my breath away!

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Yagodka

Here we rode with some of the best Russian downhill and enduro riders, starting from the left side of the mountain between Yalta and Sevastopol… Starting with super fast rocky sections, we then get to woods with sandy turns. Over 12 minutes riding this trail, the roots and rocks taking the Bronson close to the limit! The lower part is full of nice flowing natural jumps which eventually takes us back to the road. The runs on this trails made my day, after we went back to the apartment to check our onboards and have dinner together, looking forward the next day on my favorite spot!

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Ai Petry

This is the most popular enduro and downhill spot in Crimea, with loads of races held here. Taking the gondola in the city next to the beach will take about 10 minutes and take you to the highest point with insane view of all the coastline. Every time we take the gondola will cost us 600 rubles, around 6€. The spot has everything from nice flow lines to lush green forest and some spots perfect for taking a break, they certainly won’t disappoint you with the great scenery you can enjoy! I loved these single tracks, with many loose turns and rocky parts, in the middle there are switch backs and many different lines depending on the skill level to choose, the descents on the different trails vary from 15 minutes up to 20 minutes! All the trails are in the app to make sure anyone that visits Yalta and the surrounding area can find them easily and can enjoy them!

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There are many good places to visit and eat, with big hotels and apartments next to the trails and coast! The best option for visiting them is to check out the guys from FreeRate, for the shuttle from the airport and also for riding, they have a few vans ready to help you have a perfect day riding your bike!

For more information email Sasha on crimeamtbcamps@ya.ru


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Words: Jordi Bago Photos: Naska Dovbnya