[Trailhunter] Rock-Oh, Punta Ala

Winter seems to have set in properly in most places bringing with it harder riding conditions and cold, that is apart from at our testing location in Punta Ala, Tuscany where we have been out trying bikes and bits for the last few days. We rode down one of the particularly difficult trails called “Rock-Oh” and tried to tame it. It did get the better of us a few times.

We thought it would be good as a side benefit of testing the Cannondale Jekyll we have on test, to show one or two of the trails where we have been riding as part of our Trail Hunting series. Rock-Oh is well known as very gnarly difficult trail, there aren’t many trails like this that test rider fatigue, bike and mental stamina all at the same time. In general the trails we test on in Punta Ala can be flowing, easy, sometimes technical but mostly fun. However it makes sense sometimes to push the limits and see what happens.

On Board Video: Trail Hunting Rock-Oh

The trail we rode is located in Punta Ala Tuscany, and has been used as a professional Enduro race trail for the last few years, including during the Enduro World Series. It is about 3.5km long and take anywhere between 25 minutes to 7 minutes to get down it, depending on how good the rider is.

Location

Getting to the top of the trail is pretty easy. It is best to pedal up unless using a 4×4 shuttle as the road up is rough.

Strava Segment Looking down the list there are quite a few famous names on there that have ridden the trail.

The Trail

Rock-Oh is an Enduro trail that features technical sections, flow sections, pedal sections and a huge rock section that seems to be getting rougher as time goes by. When MTB-MAG was testing in November 2014 for our group bike test, one of the comments was, “I don’t remember it being that difficult.” In truth it probably has got marginally harder, but it always was hard and destined to become infamous. Having ridden it more than 40 times means it has become a bit of a “pump track” for some like our test rider. However there is nothing like taking an Enduro rider down it for the first time and watching their face expression dance between enjoyment and difficultly.

To Ride This Trail Visit Here.