Etappe 3: Livigno - Zuoz

Excerpt from BIKE magazine:

Livigno to Bernina:

The Val Minor Trail starts directly on the opposite side of the road into Switzerland, but is anything but a borderline experience. High alpine in terms of magnificent views, but not a bit rough, exposed or threatening. The air is thin, the landscape spectacular. We are surrounded by a single Piz parade. We want to know from Nico what the plural of Piz actually is. "Pizza!" he answers, but ducks his own joke and pulls away on the following ups and downs towards Ospizio Bernina. The railway station on the pass of the same name is the highlight of the Bernina Express, which has been crossing the Alps here since 1910 and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. For us, this is where we continue with the collection of fine trail kilometers. We cross the railway line, circle the lake at the pass, roll along the foot of the Palü glacier. What was that, please? Nico grins and throws his bike on the already waiting shuttle. "That was a great ride," he says. Yes, that's how we see it.

The route from Livigno to Forcola di Livigno (2316m) runs along the new bike path and the pass road and is ideal for rolling in. The route continues to the right from the pass road and follows the attractive "Val Minur Marmotta Trail", which connects the Forcola di Livigno with the Forcola Minor, which reaches the highest point at the Motta Bianca (2561m) and continues to the Ospizio Bernina.

From 'Alpine-Bike':

Flow and trail instead of Gucci and Prada: Back to sophisticated St. Moritz, three passes await, but only one real climb. Because from the Bernina it rolls by itself. Through mountain meadows and larch forests, past the magnificent glacier scenery with Piz Palü and Piz Bernina, and all the way to the luxury holiday resort.

While the numerous racing cyclists have to share the main road to Forcola di Livigno with the even more numerous cars, mountain bikers are more privileged. Parallel to the road, the bike route leads away from motorised traffic to the customs office at the state border.While mountain bikers used to suffer the same fate as racing cyclists from here, today they roll directly over to the Bernina Pass on a specially designed high-altitude path. What's coming now is top-of-the-line singletrack riding – so good that the International Mountain Bike Association has included the Bernina Express route in its list of Epic Trails. The descent down to Morteratsch is part of this award-winning route. The single trail impresses with its fluid nature, it is hardly steep at one point and meanders gently through the rugged mountain world.The backdrop with the glaciated Bernina massif is no less attractive. The third stage of the Alpine Bike in St. Moritz ends with such impressive impressions – if possible with a swim in idyllic Lej da Staz.