03/08/2018

Glorious fjords and fantastic riding on Stage 1 – Maserati Haute Route Norway

Travelling to the start line by ferry this morning, the 250 riders participating in the inaugural Maserati Haute Route Norway experienced a unique start to their day as the ferry took them across the fjord from Stavanger to reach the start line in Jørpeland.

Setting off from Jørpeland at 8:30am, the international peloton of riders was faced with 157km of riding on this first stage, featuring a total of 2700m of climbing. The theme of the day soon became apparent, as riders came face to face with their first short and punchy climb within the first 500m of the stage.

Quickly splitting into smaller groups, the riders soon found their riding partners for the day and worked together as they fought their way through the first part of the stage that suffered from some poor weather conditions. Snaking along the fjords on narrow roads, riders enjoyed incredible views nonetheless, and many were blown away by the beauty of the country they were riding through.

This was typified by Zibi Szlufcik, winner of the 50-59 category on the day and 10th overall, as he shared his impressions of the beautiful landscapes: “It really is beautiful, it’s not just a race you always need to take the time to look up from the wheel in front of you,” he said, “the scenery is truly amazing. I’m jealous of the local riders”.

With numerous short and sharp climbs peppered along the stage, the two longest climbs on the route were up to Heia and over Krågåsen, reaching altitudes of 280m and 320m respectively. With very few flat sections on the stage, the constant up and down was quite demanding as there was little time to rest. Riding his first Haute Route, Norwegian Knut Andreas Lone gave his impressions of the first stage: “I think I underestimated the profile,” he said, “you needed to pace yourself and not go too hard. I’m from Norway so I’m used to this kind of terrain, but it was nice to ride some new roads that I’d never been on before”.

Swedish rider, Patrick Klasêr was also enjoying his first Haute Route experience as he stopped to take a picture at one of the feed stations: “I’m from Sweden but I’ve never ridden in Norway before,” he explained, “I’m loving my first Haute Route so far, riding along that fjords on the small roads is beautiful, you have to enjoy it”.

Crossing the finish line with an ear to ear grin, Michael Farrell from the UK seemed to have enjoyed his day as well: “what a beautiful country,” he exclaimed, “the weather doesn’t matter that was a lovely ride and a great day”.

After crossing the finish line in Tau riders were able to collect their backpacks and change into dry clothes before getting back on the ferry to return to the race village in Stavanger for lunch, a massage before relaxing and heading to the evening briefing.

Stage winner on the day was Haute Route veteran from France, William Turnes in a time of 4h42m11s ahead of Markus Rose from Germany and Philllip Kneubuehler from Switzerland. The first woman over the line was Beathe Tvelta, in a tight race ahead of Lucy Deschamps and Stacey Brickson. The DUO winners were team Autoxo Sport for the men, Lou Al Fjord Rock for the women and Team Yorkshire for the Mixed.

Tomorrow’s stage starts with another Ferry ride, this time to Lysebotn, where riders will start the stage with a long and winding climb up to Stølsdalen before heading towards Sandnes with a total of 122km and 2400M of climbing on the menu.