Yesterday I raced the Lysebotn Opp, a 7.5km uphill rollerski race which was part of the Blink Ski Festival which is currently being held in Sandnes, Norway. It was one of the toughest but most fun races I’ve done!
All the athletes got to the race start on boats which was a first for me! It was a fun way to arrive, and also nice to be a bit of a tourist enroute.
Impressive cliffs on the Lysefjord
The race started at Lysebotn, at sea level beside Lysefjord, and climbed 640m over the 7.5km course. There were lots of switchback corners, and a 1km long tunnel with minimal lighting which was interesting to race through. The race was boradcast live on Norwegian national TV, so there were several helicopters, quad bikes and cars whizzing around filming.
The route (screenshot from NRK)
A lot of the best cross country skiers and biathletes in the world were racing – the start list consisted of large numbers of Norwegians, French, Germans and Finns. It was mass start, and the junior and senior women all raced at the same time which meant there were about 100 women racing which is quite unusual and really cool to be part of.
The womens’ race a few hundred metres after the start (screenshot from NRK)
I had on okay start, but lost a bit of time on the flat at the start as it was easy to get stuck behind people as it was so narrow. But after we hit the climb things got a lot better. I overtook a lot of people on the way to the top, and didn’t get overtaken by anyone.
There were a lot of people lining the road and cheering, making it an amazing atmosphere. They really helped me up the hill, as pretty much every part of me was hurting! When I saw the 500m to go sign, I got a little bit excited and started my big push for the line, forgetting how long 500m takes when you’re going up a really steep road. There was also a banner across the road 50m before the finish which I thought was the finish line. So by the time I crossed the finish line I was definitely ready to finish! I was really pleased with how it went, coming 22nd, ahead of quite a few people I didn’t expect to beat. Liz Stephen from the US won in impressive style – I’ve still got a bit of a way to go to keep up with her!
Me after the race, with the view back to where the start was
It was then fun to watch the men race up afterwards.
French skier Magnificant on his way to win the men’s race
Brit Andrew Musgrave racing to the top (furthest right skier with the orange helmet)
As you can probably tell from how this blog is written, I had a really fun day, and hopefully will be back to race the Lysebton Opp again!
Fiona Hughes 