Summer 2010. Three friends, Pascal Gaudin, Xavier Chaux and Xavier Contucci, set off on a major sporting and human adventure: crossing the entire Alpine arc by mountain bike. Three fundamental axes sum up the philosophy of their trip: a resolutely “mountain bike” spirit, technical and fun, and a “0 carbon” perspective by carrying out this crossing without assistance. From Ljubljana to Nice, they travel 2,350 km and just over 100,000 m of elevation gain through Slovenia, Italy, Switzerland and France.

But in their eyes, the sporting challenge should not remove two essential components of the trip: enjoy and meet. They therefore take the time, not only to take the "crossing paths" in search of many alpine pearls, but also to stop to interview the people "up there" in order to soak up all the soul of the Alps.

Emotions, sensations, encounters and derision have enriched this journey... and contribute to this book.