Haute Route Norway (2019)

A year or so after our last trip to Stavanger, Lillian and I were back, this time to ride the Haute Route Norway as the two representatives from Eco Team Ne Jetez Plus. Thursday afternoon saw us settle down to the work of helping with the registration process. We had to check if riders had the mandatory equipment and then ask them to sign a charter stating that they would not drop litter whilst riding.

It was interesting to observe the behaviour of different people. A few did not seem aware there was even a kit check – do some people not read any race information! Most produced the kit or went to find it without complaint… but not all. There was the, “I didn’t have to show this at the last Haute Route I did”, excuse (tough luck my friend), and the more effective and sympathy inducing, “my bike and kit did not arrive at the airport”.

One signature done, about 120 to go.

We knew from our experience last year that it’s not easy to organise longer rides around Stavanger, because some destinations are too far away to go out and back in a day and there are few cafés or places to fill up water bottles once one gets into the countryside. The Haute Route organisation dealt with all the logistics leaving us to just enjoy the cycling (and hope for good weather).

Stage 1

Based on the start of today’s stage the event should have been called the Basse rather than Haute Route! The times stage started at a depth of 292m below sea level. To get there we took the newly constructed, but as yet unopened to traffic, Ryfast Tunnel from one of the islands next to Stavanger. Some googling revealed that this was the deepest tunnel in the world. We would therefore break the world record for the bike race to have started at the lowest altitude. It also meant the the initial climb that we had thought was only up to 300m was in fact double that amount of altitude gain.

Riding through the tunnel involved a gentle downhill for about 10km which took us to the official start line of the race and a 7% climb back out. Descending under the ocean reminded me of the following the Ocean Boulevard route under the sea in Zwift, especially when we came to a blue, glacial looking cave near the bottom of the descent. One key difference from Watopia though was that it was cold. As riders started to accelerate up the climb out I moved towards the front mainly because I wanted to warm up. I rode with the first group up out of the tunnel and although the pace was sustainable for me, it was fast enough that I wasn’t unhappy to pull off as we exited the tunnel and wait for Lillian. (As an aside, my Garmin continued to work all the way through the tunnel. Why I don’t know, but maybe the tunnel is just a concrete tube on the sea floor without much overhead thickness. If so it’s a little concerning as there is a lot of water pressure 300m under the ocean.)

Rolling through the blue cavern in the tunnel (from Haute Route Photos of the Day).

We were incredibly lucky with the weather which gave us the opportunity to experience the natural beauty of the region. We rode next to lakes reflecting towering granite cliffs and mountains, followed sinuous narrow roads by the sea and passed red farm houses, summer cabins and small fishing villages.

Dan, Caroline, Lillian, another rider and Amandine.

I think this was a lake rather than the ocean but there were many similar views.

Over the course of the day our group became smaller until only Lillian, Dan from Majorca and me remained of the original group. There were plenty of flat sections were I could perform my duties as a domestique. Dan was useful too as he was a strong rider. The relatively short (200-300m) climbs kept coming and started to sap my energy with the finish in Jorpeland arriving at just about the right point, 150km and 2400m after leaving Stavanger.

A bit of help for Lillian from Helmer who was riding with one of the slower riders on the shorter Compact course.

Lillian on the penultimate climb.

The final descent – which we had climbed up after exiting the tunnel – was neutralised. That was just as well as the only injury of the event took place there when someone crashed on it and dislocated their shoulder.

Our friend Petter had volunteered to help with the organisation and was running the finish food station with his dad. He handed us some welcome cold pizza and a Coca Cola and, adequately refuelled, we rode a final 12km to Tau and our return trip to Stavanger by car ferry. A memorable way to end the day.

Lillian and are racing as a Duo (i.e. a team of two), which meant I felt it was okay to give her a push at a few points on the climbs. It didn’t take much to make a big difference, the difference for example in whether or not she was dropped by a group going over the top of a climb. I felt pretty tired from my efforts but Lillian’s TSS was 20% higher than mine so I guess she feels a lot worse!

Stage 2

A good way to set the scene for Stage 2 is the description from the Haute Route summary of the day, “Teamwork was the name of the game right from the beginning of Stage 2 of Haute Route Norway. The day started with getting everyone – and their bikes – aboard two ferries bound for Lysebotn. After climbing the Lysebotn ascent, riders formed into groups of 10-20 riders to power through the scenic valleys on the way to the finish.”.

All good stuff apart from the fact Lillian and I spent the day powering through the valleys, not in a group of 10-20 but in a group of two!

Everything started well with a ferry ride down the 42km long Lysefjord to the start of the stage. The surrounding cliffs, including those leading to the famous Pulpit Rock, were reflected in the dark waters of the fjord.

Pulpit Rock is somewhere in the clouds at the top of the cliffs.

Our destination, Lysebotn, was at the end of the fjord.

Waiting in Lynsbotn for the start of the stage.

The climb from Lysebotn is justifiably famous having 27 hairpin bends and climbing 860m in just under 9km. It has been dubbed the ‘Alpe d’Huez’ of Norway but as well as lots of bends and a c.10% average gradient it has something that sets it apart; a long, steep section in a tunnel. A tunnel with very few lights and a long bend in it. Everyone was told to turn on their flashing back lights but it was still a freaky experience especially if someone tried to over-take. Lillian was bumped quite hard but luckily stayed upright. Later that day the bumper owned up to it and apologised, which was very honest as she had no idea who it was.

I decided to ride up the climb as quickly as I could and was ninth to the top which was decent although I suspect that the other riders at the front were carrying more tiredness in their legs from Stage 1. Lillian enjoyed the climb and was 6 or 7th woman up it. We then rode together to the highest point on the plateau and the end of the timed section where there was a drink and food station.

After the unrelenting climb from the fjord, the road rolled up and down across a high mountain plateau.

Lillian seemed in good spirits as she crested the climb from Lysebotn.

There was still some climbing before we reached the end of the timed section. By this point the end was in sight.

We were in a stunning location, a high plateau with granite domes, lakes, streams and verdant meadows. So spectacular I forgot I was in a race and dillydallied while faster riders set off down the descent. Too much chit-chat also made me forget my water bottle which I only realised about a kilometre below the food stop.

We spent a lot of time taking photos at the food stop! Lillian and Caroline.

The next section of around 15km was neutralised, ostensibly because of the sheep (very dangerous, by all accounts even more likely to wander into the road than Welsh sheep) but also because there was a lot of traffic driving up the narrow winding road. By the time I’d ridden back to find my water-bottle and reached Lillian at the start of the next 85km timed section, she had a let the group she was in go and was waiting for me with Caroline.

There was 15km on the flat to the next food stop. No matter, I got on the front and we moved along it at a decent clip but were frustratingly caught by a group of Brits not long before the road headed uphill. And so it continued. We left the Brits and Caroline at the food stop and rode 30km of descent (I use that word loosely as most of it was into a headwind and did not feel downhill) on our own until we were caught by Caroline again, this time with a new and stronger group. At the next food station Lillian pushed on without stopping while I filled up a bidon and said hi to Petter who was working there. I caught Lillian and we rode another 10km before being caught by the group again. I figured that although we were not riding tactically, we were going at a consistent pace which was better for Lillian, and if nothing it was at least good training.

By coincidence when I took this photo of the sheep in the neutralised section I captured the three guys who were in Caroline’s group and with whom we rode up the final climb.

On the final climb (about 300m of ascent to Seldal) Caroline dropped us all which made for an exciting 15km run into the finish as first Lillian, David (presumably from Belgium as he was wearing national colours) and I first had to catch her and then the four of us had to stay away from the remnants of the group. Good fun and another tough day. In spite of my efforts on the front, Lillian still had a TSS that was 20 higher than mine!

Lillian on the climb to Seldal with a view in the distance of where we had come from.

Looking at the results we lost about 10 minutes over the c.3 hour timed section. That would have been significant had we been in the running for a win, but the first two Mixed Duo pairs are much faster than us and we are secure in our third place (the couple in fourth did not complete today) so it worked out okay and made for a more memorable day.

Stage 3

The daily Haute Route massage last night certainly helped with recovery, but my legs did not feel like a 35 minute all out effort when I woke up this morning. However a warm up eased the stiffness and as I lined up on the start ramp of the time trial by the cathedral in Stavanger I felt ready to go for it.

Caroline starting the time trail.

Waiting for our start group to be called forward (the riders went in reverse GC order).

The course may have only had 330m of ascent in it but we were warned in our briefing that this included 4 ramps that were around 20% in gradient. The course finished on the top of the highest hill in Stavanger, Ullandhaug. Lillian and I decided to ride this at our own pace. Strangely although it must have hurt the TT in my memory was not as painful as a regular one, perhaps because the hard bits were 30 second to one minute efforts. I thought I’d ridden it well and had a few minutes of fame as the fastest rider until I was knocked off the top spot, falling eventually to 23rd position. On reflection the course was probably better suited to a powerful rider as although there were steep climbing sections these were over quickly, whereas there were several long flat and gentle downhill sections which took longer. Lillian rode well finishing as the 8th fastest women (including the women from the leading two Mixed Duo teams).

One of of the steeper sections (from Haute Route Photos of the Day).

Lillian being cheered up the final ramp by Laura and Fran.

Amandine, Lillian and Caroline.

Another finish line photo, this time posed for the official photographer (from Haute Route Photos of the Day).

Lunch at the Clarion Hotel (which provides the best post race feeds that I’ve experienced in an Haute Route) was followed by a final prize giving. The prizes for the winners were mini granite replicas of Pulpit Rock, an original and unique trophy.

Then it was time for goodbyes after a great three day event. Sadly it is also, for now, goodbye to the Haute Route Norway as the event is not going to held next year. We’re all hoping that the fact that everyone had an amazing and memorable three days this year will mean it will be reinstated by popular demand. This video put together by the Haute Route team does a great job of showcasing the stunning scenery we rode through and contains some nice aerial shots of the Lysebotn climb.

Finish photo of Eco Team Ne Jetez Plus. We came third in the Mixed Duo competition but had everyone been riding individually we’d have come 60th out of 117 riders on the Original Route with Lillian 7th out of 18 women. (9 riders started the Compact route.)

Finally, for more photos of Stavanger in the sun, an account of our trip last year is here.