Nobody told me it was a 95 km individual time trial!!!
I’ve wanted to try this race since I started racing again a few years ago. It is organised by my local club; Molde CK and literally starts/finishes from my home. This is the first year that I have had the opportunity to take part and I was really up for it!
The race goes from Akerhallen in Årø (about 5 kms east of the City of Molde). It starts with a climb of about 200 metres elevation up to Skaret. It then descends to Malmekleiva before flattening out to Eide, Høgset and Batnfjordsøra. There is then another climb with about 250 metres elevation up Fursetfjellet, down to Hjelset, and flat along Fannefjord to Årø, finishing at Akehallen.
Course map & elevation profile
The race has been growing in popularity in recent years. There were 95 entrants last year but the start line was almost deserted with just 36 entrants this year. This could have been due to a rather crowded race calendar as there had been an mtb race the day before and ranking races in Eidsvoll the week before but I can’t help thinking that it was actually due to the weather. There was a mighty cold northwest breeze (force 4, gusting up to force 6), maximum temperature of 7 degrees (although it felt MUCH colder!), and heavy rain. You normally need to get to the start line up to 10 minutes before the gun in order to get a good start position for races but with 1 minute to go, cyclists were still hiding under whatever shelter they could find!
The start
I turned up wearing far too little. Thin tights and a short sleeve top with arm warmers, summer socks with thin overshoes, and short-finger gloves. My wife made me wear a hat though so that was lucky! Most of the other riders were covered up in full winter gear including ski gloves and fleece-lined rain jackets! I guess my inability to dress properly comes from being a warm blooded Englishman that was raised in an environment where shorts were a compulsory part of the school uniform and the saying “be bold, go cold” applies whatever the weather. I have become more sensible since moving to Norway and no longer ride around in shorts during winter (like I did the first year I moved here!) but I still struggle to dress appropriately now and again and Sunday was not a good time to get it wrong. I stopped drinking and consuming energy gels halfway into the race because I couldn’t bend my fingers!!!
After the gun, we followed the race car up part of the first climb. A number of local ‘big boys’ were in attendance including Bjørn Tore Hoem (pro-rider with Plussbank BMC), Hallvar Barlaup (Fannefjord SK), 4 riders from Nesset CK Elite, and Frode Kolstad (Molde CK). I stayed with the first group of 8 riders up most of the climb but let them go as we neared the summit. I did consider giving everything and going even deeper into the red to 'try' and stay with them but I was worried that with 95 kms to go, I would end up in a group that is too strong for me to keep up with, and would blow my socks off later in the race. I took a look back to see which of the regulars that I normally ride with were nearby and realised that I was completely alone. Only 3 kms into a 98 km road race with nobody behind me and a group of 8 very strong riders ahead of me was not good news. I panicked and gave everything I had to chase down the lead group. They had slowed at the top of the climb so the gap closed significantly but as we began to descend, the gap remained the same. It then grew rapidly as we reached flatter terrain and I realised that I was well and truly stranded.
I thought that riding alone for 95 kms would soon take its toll on me and that I would eventually get caught and dropped by chasing groups so I took it easy for a while to conserve energy and wait for the main group to come along. What I didn’t realise it that many of the guys I normally ride with had not started the race and that the small field of riders had split into pieces on the first climb. After about 15 kms, I could see 2 cyclists trying to chase me down so I waited for them and we began to work together. I tried to get them to crank up the pace. As I did, one of them dropped off, and then the next one dropped off. I had been taking it easy for a while so I was eager to raise the pace. I felt great and although we had a strong headwind at the time, I knew that the wind would be behind us for most of the race so I decided to continue alone.
Apart from taking a wrong turn about 1 km before the drink station and having to go back on myself, I had a great ride. Yes, it was cold and wet but the strong tailwind for most of the race meant that the pace was high and my legs felt great. I powered up the race’s second climb and down the other side. I did a lot of looking back during the race and towards the bottom of the descent, I thought I could see 2 riders chasing me down but I couldn’t be sure as visibility was poor. It really motivated me to give it everything for the last 20 kms on the flat terrain that runs alongside Fannefjord towards Molde and I was surprised to catch and subsequently fly past one of the riders that had been in the lead group. 2 of the Nesset CK Elite riders from the lead group had also dropped out of the race early on – no doubt feeling the effects of the mtb race that they did the day before. I finished in 6th place overall (2nd in my age group) in a time of 2:48:47. My average speed was 35.6 km/h. A great result for me, especially considering that I had raced alone for 95 kms.
Boris 'passing' the drink station (no need for a drink after consuming so much rain!!!)
Predictably, the race was won by Bjørn Tore Hoem (Plussbank BMC) in a time of 2:33:42, followed by Hallvar Barlaup (Fannefjord SK) and Magnus Espeland (Nesset CK Elite).
A cold but thoroughly enjoyable experience!
Race results
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