Race day

All riders can bring an bag to the start with clothes to change into, after showering at Voss. The bags will be transported to Voss by lorry and can be collected at Voss sports arena where participants shower and eat a hot meal. Bags must be marked with the label given out together with the start numbers.

There are three food stations along the route to Voss. At Bjørkheim (after about 50 km), at Norheimsund (after about 90 km) and at Kvanndal (after about 125 km) At Bjørkheim you will find drinks (water/sports drinks/juice), chocolate and bananas. At Norheimsund you will find a larger variety of solid food in addition to drinks. At Kvanndal the menu takes into consideration that cyclists have lost a lot of salt and minerals. Here you find food to complete the last part of the course.

There are toilets at the start (Edvard Griegs plass), at the three food stations and at Voss.

As race organisers we are bound to follow the Norwegian Cycling unions rules and regulations for cycle sportive events, based on the UCI’s Cycling for all. The Norwegian cycling unions rules state that a standard road bike should be used. The bicycle can have straight bars or racing bars, but time trial handlebars are not allowed. Nor are clip on aerobars allowed. A regular mountain bike is allowed but thick knobbed tires will slow you down because of added friction. Any form of suspension (front or rear suspension) is strongly discouraged for a long road race like Bergen-Voss, as a lot of the power you create will disappear in the suspension instead of being transferred into the pedals. Everybody has to have lights on their bicycle, a white light in front and red behind. This is compulsory as the Bergen-Voss route goes through a number of tunnels. Riders that don’t have lights in working condition on their bikes will not be allowed to start the race.

Do not dress too warmly. As soon as you start cycling, your body will start to produce heat. If the weather is anything like it has been the last 15 years (sunny and warm), and you overdress, you will loose important salts and minerals and risk dehydration. Arm and leg warmers are a good alternative. You can also have a ultra thin windbreaker jacket in your back pocket.

It is important to remember that your body is under stress during the race. If you bring your own food with you it should easy to digest. Your body looses salts and minerals during such an event so you should compensate for this. Sports drinks are a better choice than water and juice on a long ride like Bergen-Voss as they have important minerals and salts that help your body absorb liquid and solid nutrition. Sports bars are also specially developed to replace nutrition that your body burns during long rides. It is very important that you try out new products on training rides and not during the race. On race day you should always eat food that you are used to. You should also practice eating while cycling before the event.

It is strictly forbidden to receive food and drinks from spectators along the route. We have this rule to minimize unnecessary traffic during the event. We have officials placed at strategic points along the route and cyclists that receive food and drinks from spectators risk being disqualified. If you don’t have enough food to get you to the finish line, there is more than enough at the food stations.

Participants will leave Bergen between 07.00 and 08.00 in the morning and the first cyclists are expected to reach Voss around 11.00.The event ends at Voss at 18.00. Cyclists that haven’t passed the last feeding station (Kvanndal) by 16.30 will be “taken out of the race” and offered transportation to Voss. This is for safety reasons, as route officials will be sent home, signs informing traffic about the race will be dismantled, all activities around the finish line will end and we will stop serving the complimentary hot meal at Voss sports arena. Make therefor sure that you choose the right group when registering for the event.

We ask all participants to think about the environment and not litter along the route. Please hold on to paper and other waste and throw it away at a food station or at Voss.

If you see someone in trouble it’s better to stop and help than to ride past. If an accident occurs it is better that race officials and medical personnel are alarmed one time to many than not at all. On your start number you will find the most important phone numbers of the day. Norway’s medical emergency number 113 (for serious accidents), Norwegian Red Cross (Røde kors) for minor accidents and the organizers own telephone number for those who can’t continue the race and need transportation.

During the race you should be able to change a tyre tube yourself and you should always have an extra tube or two with you. At the feeding stations you can get basic technical service (adjusting gears, breaks etc.), but you cannot expect technical help from the race organization in addition to this. We encourage once again all participants to help their fellow cyclists in need.