Gunn-Rita Dahle

Time to reflect on a busy year

Published:

December 17, 2009, 01:55,

Updated:

December 17, 2009, 02:06

By:

Gunn Rita Dahle Flesjå

Babies and bikes can mix, even at the highest level!

The hours of the day have become shorter than ever since I became a mother, but increasingly exciting as well. We expected the summer of 2009 to be filled with quiet days at home, barbecuing and getting a tan in the garden. However, the gas barbecue is still standing unused outside while we're left with unforgettable memories from an active summer together with little Bjørnar.

Christmas and New Year are approaching rapidly, and we can look back on an action-packed summer and autumn, both on and off our bikes. I'm not quite ready to celebrate Christmas yet, but most of the presents have been seen to. We're still lacking Christmas baked goods and a Christmas tree but luckily we still have a few days left.

End of the season and our holiday

We closed off the season at Rock d'Azur in the second weekend of October, where we both rode the marathon and the XC distances. For us it was nothing but enjoyment, and extremely good technical training for me, as I haven't ridden much off-road this past year. It was also a great opportunity to do a little promotional work for Merida France. This in turn gave us the chance to spend time with some of the Merida riders and support team, something we've done far too little of this past season.

We had a few days of holiday after the race in the south of France together with my mother and father, who came with us to look after little Bjørnar. It's a beautiful area, both for tourists and cyclists, especially at that time of year.

In the last week of October we three travelled to Tenerife for a week of bathing, naturally without our bikes. It was our first holiday with little Bjørnar - a wonderful holiday, but a lot more busy than a holiday without a child. Early up and early to bed, and full speed all day long. Luckily Bjørnar sleeps a lot during the night and almost none at all during the day. The best part of the holiday for him was doubtlessly the outdoor pool at the hotel. He loves swimming, just like his mother.

Winter training

On November 1 we started up base training again, as we usually do, only on a somewhat reduced level compared to earlier years. I'm lacking part of a solid foundation to be capable of training at the same intensity and doing the same exercises that I've done in previous years through the autumn and winter. But if we do things right through this upcoming year, it's likely that we'll be able to do much the same winter training as before, when November 1, 2010 comes along.

The Swine Flu has spread its way through Norway this autumn, as it has done in other countries, and we weren't let off easily either. It caused a 14-day break in our training which was unfortunate for us, but it's always nice to comeplete something and get it finished! A good cooperation is, and always has been, an important element in our efforts, and we run the same system when sick too. All three of us fell ill at the same time, and we probably set a new world record by visiting the doctor's office a total of four times in one and the same week.

Now we're on the move again with training, and can look back on a reasonably good week of varied exercise. Kenneth and Bjørnar still struggle with a bit of phlegm and coughing, but it's nothing serious. We hope and believe that the two remaining weeks of 2009 will give us good days of training with hopefully 'kind' winter weather.

Wonderful experiences

Little Bjørnar will be nine months old two days before Christmas, so he is no longer a little baby. He's begun standing up while holding onto the table and all legs of the chairs, so there's a lot of stumbling and falling going on these days. He's got bruises on his forehead, and they say there are more on their way. It's a fun period.

He says 'Mamma' and 'Pappa' without understanding the meaning of the words. He's totally unafraid of anything, and therefore has no concept of possible consequences of his actions. Now it's no good putting him down on the floor for a second while one has a quick trip to the bathroom, or letting him sit in front of the television while I'm in the kitchen. One has to follow his every move during this period.

In many ways we can look back on a successful season. We won the Gunn-Rita Marathon in the end of June, only three months after Bjørnar was born. (This year the Gunn-Rita Marathon organised the Italian marathon championship, and will organise the European Marathon Championship in 2010 and the World Marathon Championship in 2011).

A few weeks later we both became Norwegian champions in XC, which our mother club, Sola Cycleklubb, organised. We were even able to take part in the Cup race in Bern, Switzerland, which we used purely as a training exercise on our way towards the World Marathon Championship in Graz. In the end of August the whole family took part in Birkebeinerrittet, something we had been longing to do after many seasons without being able to take part in that race.

Unforgettable European Championship gold medal

The greatest day in the season of 2009 was naturally when I got the European Championship gold medal in Estonia on the 20th of September. We put a ring around that date a few weeks before Bjørnar was born. Naturally, it was impossible to make a detailed racing schedule for us this year. Neither did we have any guarantees that I'd be back on my saddle quickly after Bjørnar was born.

Even so, we set ourselves the goal that if I was back on my bike again, the day of the European Championship would be the day I was in best shape this year.

We knew the championship track in Estonia well from previous races, and we knew very well what sort of training we needed to do beforehand for me in my situation, and regarding terrain and type of track. During the last two interval training stints we had before the championship, I experienced high speed and lots of power. After my massage the evening before the race, Kenneth said to me: "These legs are capable of winning tomorrow," and that's what happened.

It hasn't been easy getting back into good cycling shape again. It would be a lie to say things have gone smoothly and without pain. Being a mother involves a huge amount of effort, especially the first time round, so they say, something I've certainly experienced physically once in a while. The same goes for Kenneth in his role as a new father.

We've had weekends when we've simply had to refrain completely from exercise and training, and focus exclusively on rest and sleep. Getting up two or three times every night for over half a year, either to feed or comfort little Bjørnar, is very tough. From time to time I doubted whether I'd manage to get in shape for the European Championship as the summer passed, but once again we managed.

This year's European Championship gold has, and will always have, a special place amongst the greatest achievements on our bikes. We would never have managed it without all the help we've received from our family. Their efforts have been worth gold, quite literally.

So no matter what you, as a new mother, have set as a goal for yourself, don't underestimate the importance of receiving help. Rather ask for help once too often than once too seldom. Don't give up on your own dreams and goals, even if you become a mother. If you plan well and receive good help from those closest to you, you can achieve unbelievable things.

And now it's just about time to feed Bjørnar here at home again. Yes, he still receives breast milk, but I've luckily managed to reduce the milk production somewhat so I don't have to pump several times a day. He eats three times a day with porridge and dinner, but he still prefers milk from mother.

This turned out to be a long summary, so you'll be hearing from me again in a week, when you'll be able to read a little more about our Christmas preparations here at home, and how Bjørnar reacted during his first encounter with a Christmas tree. I'll post a few new pictures from our activities this autumn. The most important issue here at home now is sleep and what importance and focus it will have in our preparations for a new season.

A certain amount of physical exercise in the run-up to Christmas is very valuable. It gives you new energy, a great feeling and puts you in a good mood, and that's important when you have busy days and have to fit lots into every day.

Cyclist's greetings from Gunn-Rita, Kenneth and Bjørnar

Multivan Merida Biking Team
www.gunnrita.com
 

Exciting days in China

Published:

October 4, 2005, 00:00,

Updated:

June 11, 2009, 16:06

By:

Cycling News

Our week in China has been action-packed, extremely enjoyable, and very educational. We got to...

China, October 4, 2005

Our week in China has been action-packed, extremely enjoyable, and very educational. We got to experience the enthusiasm of Chinese cyclists through the Great Wall Bicycle Festival, arranged by Nordic Ways; we got to know our Merida family in China; we got a taste of cultural history dating back to the old kingdom of the Chinese Czar; and we got to taste the utterly fantastic Asian cuisine.

Wednesday, September 21

After a substantial plane trip from Stavanger to Beijing, we arrived in the metropolis of Beijing in the afternoon, local time. We were met by representatives from the Norwegian-Swedish organisation Nordic Ways, and were driven to our hotel. Nordic Ways has its offices in the centre of Beijing, where three Norwegian and 17 Chinese employees work full-time, organising and arranging huge sports venues within the country - e.g - cycling, orienteering and cross country skiing.

We were invited to China by Nordic Ways to take part in the Great Wall Bicycle Festival, which was in its second year. The whole event takes two days, and on Saturday there's road racing, while mountain biking takes place on the second day. A good 1300 locals took part, three times as many as last year.

This year Merida China was the main sponsor for the day of mountain biking, and this gave us a great opportunity to meet our Merida friends in the country. Merida will be putting a lot of focus on cycling in large areas of Asia in the years leading up to the Olympics in Beijing. In other words, we will probably be travelling to this part of the world again in the years to come.

We checked into a nice hotel about 5-6 kilometres from the centre of Beijing, and had a short hour of exercise to get our circulation going again. In the evening we went for a walk in the surrounding area and then enjoyed a quick supper. We're feeling somewhat comatose after a long day of travelling and entering a new timezone. Our first impressions are of a place with a lot of dust in the air, many cyclists and pedestrians everywhere, and lots of noise. We're really looking forward to tomorrow.

Thursday, September 22

Today we were fetched by the General Manager of Merida China, Simon Hsu, and some of his colleagues. We were driven to the arena for the weekend's biking event, where the Chinese cycling organisation also has its offices. The plan is for the Olympic race course to use this park too, but at the moment it's not 100 percent guaranteed. In my opinion, this is too small an area for a proper mountain bike race. What we saw and tested today lacked demanding climbs, technical sections and variation.

This afternoon we've had a press conference with a number of television channels and newspapers from Beijing. Afterwards we were driven to a television studio where we did a programme. It was then shown on TV later in the evening, on a show that normally has several million viewers. We've enjoyed a tasty dinner together with people from the organisation this evening - it's been a wonderful and interesting day, and we've both enjoyed ourselves. We had a late night tonight, but that'll probably be the case for the rest of the week too!

Friday, September 23

Today started with an hour of running on a treadmill at an exercise studio just next to the hotel. We were then driven to "The Forbidden City" in the centre of Beijing, and it made a powerful impression on us. We've only seen this place on TV and read about it in books, but today we were actually able to see and touch these mighty buildings. I could have wandered around in this village for many days in order to catch all the historical details and all the things to touch and see.

This afternoon we visited a Merida bike shop in the centre of Beijing, and it turned out to be an experience to remember. I wasn't aware that I actually more or less have my very own Gunn-Rita/Merida shop right in the centre of Beijing! I was greeted and welcomed like a queen by enthusiastic cycle-fans from the whole region. I was given flowers and presents, and lots of pictures were taken and big posters signed.

This evening we've been to a sponsor's dinner together with other cyclists and people from the organisation. The restaurant was very special - in the old style, hidden in some narrow back-streets in the city. You don't have to move all that far from the very centre of town before you're in quite different surroundings. Here people live in small creep-ins which remind me more of sheds. The streets are very narrow and almost impossible to drive a car down, and vendors stand along the streets selling fruit and foods. They even have portable bike-repair shops along the roads down here, and I've never seen that before. Here they'll patch your inner tubes and fix your chain for a small sum if you're unlucky as you cycle to work.

Saturday, September 24

Today we were able to sleep in a little bit, and it did us good. We took a taxi into an area with large shopping arcades, and were especially interested in visiting the so-called "Silk market". Here they haggle for low prices from morning to night, and it's just teeming with people, including many visitors and foreigners. I don't think this was our best day, though, because after a while we had had more than enough of people shouting and jostling us, vendors grabbing our sleeves and dragging us over to buy their merchandise, and so on. We would've liked to buy a couple of nice bags, some belts and maybe a couple of silk scarves, but we'll just have to do that on our next trip to Beijing.

This evening Merida was responsible for the dinner, and as usual, there was no skimping. They had chosen a restaurant called "Slow Food" with an interesting interior, subdivided into sections and small compartments as one typically finds in China. Each room has a large round table with space for 5 - 20 people, depending on how large the party is.

You can order the menu beforehand, or one person chooses various vegetable dishes, a range of seafood, and meat dishes. The lighter dishes are served first and are placed on the large round glass disc which can be rotated. Thus one can help oneself to a little of each dish, and thereby get a taste of everything. It's a very enjoyable way to eat together, and it's very social. Eating with chop-sticks doesn't take long to get used to!

Sunday, September 25

We had an early start to the day today, and were woken up at 6:30am. We left for the park where we were going to take part in the mountain bike race, part of the festival's second day. I made a short speech at the opening ceremony at 9:00am, followed that with an hour of autograph signing before Kenneth and I both lined up on the starting line with the elite men at 12:00pm. It was a short and fast track, and we were to do four rounds. We got a small lead after the first round which gradually increased through the next rounds. As always it was a lot of fun for me to leave the male cyclists behind!

The women's elite group started at 2:30, and I didn't exactly have too much power in my legs by then, but after a few minutes of warming up and getting my system going again, I was ready for another trip into the woods. I managed to get a few hundred metres into the race before puncturing and having to change the tube on the front wheel. I reckon I must have had a slow-flat; I felt that the bike wasn't working as it should from the start. I guess something had stuck into the tyre from the previous race. Changing an inner-tube easily takes some minutes. In such a short race (25 minutes), there's no chance of catching up with the leading group again, so I ended up in third place today.

I then had a new round of autographs to sign after the women's race, and then a final ceremony for the trophies before leaving for the hotel again. A quick shower and some nice clothes, and we were all set for the banquet together with sponsors, the organisation and many cyclists. It ended up being a very enjoyable evening with delicious Thai food and friendly people. We even had time for a quick visit to a "disco" before leaving for home, and my "dancing legs" worked surprisingly well after a particularly long break from dancing!

Monday, September 26

Today we've spent most of the day on the Great Wall of China. It was an amazing experience! We didn't get to walk all that far on the wall, since I was modelling with and without my bike. I had many new dresses from Gunn's Stil with me, and I modelled them on the historical wall. Gunn is travelling to China in November to sell her first clothes collection, and this could turn out to be an exciting collaboration for the little company from Bryne in Norway! There was both a stylist and a professional photographer for the shoot on the Wall, and the resulting photos were very interesting.

This evening we've had a Norwegian-Swedish evening together with people from the organisation, and there was some very spicy Chinese food on the menu - wonderfully tasty food and an exciting culinary experience for everybody who was there. I'm going to really miss the food and the chopsticks when I leave for home tomorrow, not to mention all the very friendly and nice people we've gotten to know during our stay.

Wednesday, September 28

The flight back home went as planned, and was dreadfully long as expected. We were at home again in our own sitting room before 11:00 last night, and as usual it felt very weird to be back again after a period away from everything we're used to. We unpacked most of our stuff before going to bed last night - I slept somewhat fitfully, since my body doesn't know what's actually night and day now; but I hope it doesn't take too many days before we're back to the normal sleeping routine again.

We can summarize by saying that our visit to China has been an unforgettable experience, providing us with experiences that we'll take with us for a long time. Now action-packed days at home await us, and naturally a fair deal of exercise. You'll all hear from me again within a good week, at which point there won't be many days left before the wedding bells chime for Kenneth and me. We always associate the autumn with long hikes in the mountains, so we'll probably have our first trip to the mountains this coming weekend. Maybe that could be an exciting activity for you this weekend too…

Cyclist's greetings from Gunn-Rita.

[Translation: Crispen T. P. de Lange]

Gigantic wedding celebration

Published:

March 15, 2008, 00:00,

Updated:

June 5, 2009, 22:53

By:

Cycling News

We've won many a gold medal on our bikes during the last seasons, but the greatest event was...

Norway, November 30, 2005

We've won many a gold medal on our bikes during the last seasons, but the greatest event was celebrated with a big wedding feast in Stavanger on the 15th of October. With lots of help from our families, led by Kenneth's older sister, Hege, we had an unforgettable wedding ceremony and feast. Three days of enjoyable wedding celebrations were rounded up with three fantastic weeks in Mexico.

As I write, we're sitting here at Lanzarote (Club La Santa). We've been here since Thursday for a photoshoot for PowerBar, who sponsors both me personally and my team (Multivan Merida Biking Team). We had a week at home in Stavanger after Mexico, days which were used for getting into a more normal routine, catching up on work, and struggling to overcome the jet-lag. The greatest contrast we experienced when we came home was bitter winds and bucket-loads of rain after three weeks of blue skies and temperatures above 30 degrees centigrade!

An unforgettable day

I can't quite manage to convey to you how fantastic our wedding was in writing, but I'll try to give you a small impression of what the day was like. We said our "yesses" to each other, loud and clear, in the Stavanger cathedral, one of Norway's most impressive medieval churches from the 1100's, during a very personal ceremony.

Straight after the wedding ceremony we had a short bike ride...on a three-wheeler which Kenneth had to pedal and I got to sit on like a lovely princess. The reception was held at the Radisson SAS Atlantic Hotel in the centre of Stavanger. There was never any doubt that our wedding was going to be a success. Everything was so well prepared and planned down to the smallest detail in an impressive setting.

We had many helpers on the big day, in addition to the unforgettable efforts of our family. Gunn's Stil was responsible for a fabulous wedding-dress (very much my style), plus beautifully tailored clothing for the closest family. My wedding flowers were done by Kolnes - Zwerg Flowers, who also decorated the church and wedding reception area with flowers. The flower decorations were a very important element, with a mixture and contrast between Norwegian heather and exotic orchids.

The wedding day started with many hours spent at Frisørsenteret at Bryne, where I, together with my mother, Brit, and my sister, Peggy, were made up and prepared like never before. It's almost a little weird how beautiful one can become when professionals do the job. I was reasonably nervous and could feel the tension building from the moment I woke up, after only a very few hours sleep that night.

I won't go into more detail on the actual reception, except to mention that the food tasted fantastic and was served in a very nice fashion to a large number of guests. Our toastmaster, Eivind, did a fantastic job, we got to listen to varied and interesting speeches, and the wedding cake, made by Kenneth's parents, looked and tasted fantastic. It had five layers! The renowned comic "Bøggvald" (Dag Schreiner) made a grand entry and made everybody laugh with plenty of hilarious jokes. The gift tables were amazing, the band that played for us got everybody out onto the dancefloor, and all the guests said they enjoyed themselves despite five solid hours of sitting at the tables.

Celebrations for three days

As I mentioned in the introduction, we celebrated the wedding for three continuous days. On Friday evening we had a sort of get-to-know-each-other party at a bar called "Halv-12" in the centre of Stavanger. We had a good 100 guests come to this party, where we were served good food and enjoyed good entertainment in cosy surroundings.

On Sunday morning after the wedding party, there were 18 of us left, so we set off for a trip to the Prekestolen, perched hundreds of metres above the Lyse fjord. Many of our foreign guests came along, and it turned out to be a memory for life for all of us. The weather gods provided us with sun and warmth for the whole weekend. The grand finale for us was sitting with our feet dangling over the edge of the ledge at Prekestolen on Sunday afternoon with a clear view to the very end of the Lyse fjord and the sun shining happily down on the mountains.

Wedding trip to Mexico

Our first week in Mexico consisted of some promotion work and an MTB race in the town of Pueble, a few hours drive from Mexico City. We were well taken care of by our Merida friends in Mexico throughout the week, and closed off the first week by taking part in the Popo Bike Festival. I would like to thank all our friends and Merida dealers in Mexico who really took good care of us and gave us very memorable days experiencing Mexican culture. Popo Bike turned out to be a bike experience we'd love to repeat, and we hope to be able to take part in it again.

The next two weeks were spent out by the coast on the south-west side of Mexico, far away from both bikes and people. We never got a chance to take a holiday after the bike season, so this was a very welcome break for both of us.

Exciting days

Our honeymoon is now over, and we're well underway with our winter training programme and everything else that's part of our lives. Our programme is intense for the next two weeks, but we prioritise training first. We get lots of good help from our manager, Roar, in dealing with sponsors and various requests that naturally pop up around this time of the year. We expect to be in the Stavanger area during the weeks leading up to Christmas, and we really need to settle down a bit at home after 250 days of travelling we've had during the season of 2005.

You'll all be hearing from us again in about a week. We'll be back in Stavanger this coming Thursday and expect that King Winter will be in evidence along the roads of the sunny coast. Our next project is to build a house together with our sponsor, KleppHus, and we're really looking forward to that.

Wishing you all a great week and good health,

Biker's greetings from Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjå.

[Translation: Crispen T. P. de Lange]

Merry Christmas

Published:

February 16, 2008, 00:00,

Updated:

June 5, 2009, 22:52

By:

Cycling News

And so the festive season is upon us again, and I'm full of expectations! We've decorated our living...

Norway, December 21, 2005

And so the festive season is upon us again, and I'm full of expectations! We've decorated our living room here at home and given it a cosy Christmassy atmosphere, and every evening we light the candles. Even though all the necessary errands and chores are finished, the true Christmas feeling isn't totally present yet, but it doesn't usually come before Christmas Eve anyway.

I've had a reasonably relaxed week regarding both exercise and other activities, mostly because of a tedious cold I've been struggling with. I guess the period after coming home from the holiday was a bit too tough, and my body always makes it clear in this way that it needs rest and time for recovery. I'm still a little stuffed in the nose and not quite clear in my head, but I'm already exercising again and my energy is on its way back.

All the Christmas shopping is out of the way, so now it's just to lean back in my easy-chair and look forward to cosy and relaxing days together with my closest family. Tomorrow evening we're going to the movies together with Kenneth's youngest brother and sister, Henriette and Nicolas, and we're really looking forward to that.

On Christmas Eve we'll be celebrating together with young and old at Lura with Kenneth's parents and it'll definitely be a lively evening for all of us. On Christmas Day we'll leave for my parents at Bjørheimsbygd where delicious Christmas food and hikes in the mountains await us.

The only Christmas get-together we're arranging in our home here is a Christmas porridge evening together with brothers and sisters between Christmas and New Year's Eve. Apart from that there'll be a lot of exercise according to the schedule, and most likely many enjoyable evenings in our little sitting-room here in Stavanger.

Christmas time means quite a few days off for most of us, some of which can be used for taking friends and family out for a trip somewhere. Use your legs, your jogging-shoes, your hiking boots, or wheel your bike out. Nothing but your own fantasy can decide how much excitement, fun and experience you have during these free days. A bit of extra exercise is no disadvantage either, as one is usually served a fair deal more delicious food than normal during these days.

I wish all our biking friends, supporters and sponsors a very merry and enjoyable Christmas. You'll all be hearing from me again on New Year's Eve, when I will include a few "goodies" from our food-menu and training-menu.

Christmas hugs from Gunn-Rita

[Translation: Crispen T. P. de Lange]

Two months of conquering the world

Published:

January 15, 2008, 00:00,

Updated:

April 22, 2009, 19:18

By:

Cycling News

We've won gold, gained valuable experience, been in Brazil for the first time, competed on bikes at...

August 30, 2005

We've won gold, gained valuable experience, been in Brazil for the first time, competed on bikes at almost 3000 metres above sea-level, written a new contract with Merida, and nourished both body and soul with simply amazing experiences. Our travels with our bikes through the past two months have given us a lot, demanded a lot from us, and been extremely exciting. It's a long time since you've heard from us, so I don't know quite where to begin. Last time I wrote a few lines, we were on our way to Brazil to take part in the World Cup round in Santa Catarina. So much has happened since then. I'm going to have to give you a short version this time, since I could probably write a couple of books about everything I've done and experienced these past weeks. During the autumn I promise to write a more extensive recount of the season, in which I will include more details which have made an impression on both body and mind, and which might be interesting reading for you.

World Championship Marathon in Lillehammer

Fresh wares usually taste best, so I'll start with the World Championships for MTB marathon at home in Norway last Saturday. It ended up being a perfect day for both Kenneth and I. An exciting race against marathon specialists on a demanding track, an impressively well organised championship by the Birkebeiner organisation, amazing numbers of spectators along the race course, sun and blue skies, a cheering mass of spectators at the finish line in Lillehammer, and a World Championship gold medal on Norwegian soil!

The day of the championships will always remain a special day for us, with the heavy expectations lying on our shoulders, the media focus, the enthusiasm of thousands of mountain bikers, Norwegian flags everywhere, the pride of being Norwegian, and naturally also the joy of once again being successful. It still feels great to be confronted by foreign cyclists who tell us that their experience of Norway was fantastic.

Our family, sponsors and supporters were also there and made sure the day turned out to be perfect. Many of our sponsors competed in the Birkebeiner race for the first time, and all of them impressed us with their results. I've been told that almost all of them plan to take part again next year, only with a bit more experience in their backpacks.

The Birkebeiner race always means both cycling and pushing the bike, which can be both a good and a bad thing. I can well understand that people get 'hooked' on cycling after taking part in the world's largest off-road race in sheer numbers of competitors on one and the same day. It also cheered my heart to hear that a good 1,700 of the 11,500 competitors who were cycling from Rena to Lillehammer were women. Perhaps all these sporty women would like to bring a female friend to take part in the race together with them next time!

The Shell race

The preceding weekend, before Birkebeineren, we took part in the road race from Lysebotn to Bryne on Saturday, and also took part in the Shell Race the following day. The Lysebotn - Bryne race is spectacular, starting furthest in the Lysefjorden fjord. From there it winds its way over the Sirdal mountains towards Ålgård, with the finish at Bryne. Kenneth and I took part in the race as a pure exercise stint, and were rewarded with a perfect warm-up for the World Championship Birkebeiner race. We completed this fantastic nature experience on a very demanding route together with a good 500 other cycling enthusiasts.

The Shell Race this year was staged for the third time, and 427 people took part. The route goes around the Hafrsfjord fiord around the four Shell-stations in the area, and is a good 30 kilometres in total. It's a nice race for the whole family to take part in, for both young and grown-up riders. Participants can choose which Shell-station they would prefer to start at and one can register for the race between 10:00am and 2:00pm.

Each of the Shell-stations offered free buns, fruit and drinks, in addition to a range of activities for all age groups at every stop. Everybody gets a start-number, a certificate upon completion, and the possibility to win on the raffles after the race. The Shell Race has really become a success. Many people come with their whole family and make the day into something social and fun for everyone. Kenneth, Lene and I set up camp at the Shell station at Madla where we handed out various Merida paraphernalia and signed our autographs for the children.

Nordic Championships

On Sunday the 7th of August I became Nordic champion at Roskilde in Denmark. Our original plan was to take the weekend off, but two weeks before the race we decided it would be smarter to keep our race-training up to scratch. We combined the race with a trip to Lillehammer just before the weekend in order to try out the final section of the World Championship marathon race course, and it turned out to be a smart investment in time and effort. The final part of the World Championship race course up from Lillehammer was technically demanding both upwards and downwards, so it was a good idea to test out exactly that part of the course.

Four-time European Champion

I made use of the road race, Thüringen Rundfart, as a warm-up for the European Championships this year. Same recipe as last year. I already had three gold medals from European Championships in my pocket from before, so I was somewhat more nervous and focused than usual as I stood there on the starting line in the small Belgian town of Kluisbergen. I knew I was in good fighting fettle after a relaxed week of exercising, during which we had focused on rest and relaxation after many kilometres of on-road cycling the preceding week.

I think Kenneth was just as excited and nervous as I was, since a championship is quite an experience no matter what. We enjoyed the company of four friendly supporters, our closest family, who cheered for just about everybody on the starting line that day. The European Championship race course was a high-speed track with short, steep climbs and descents, and lots of mud. Just after the race started for the women, the rain started bucketing down, so it became frightfully slippery after a while. I won't go into details about the race, but it was wonderful to win, once again. With these four European Championship wins in a row, we wrote mountain-biking history - a great experience.

Norwegian Champion

On Saturday the 16th of August I became Norwegian Champion on Skullerudsletta in Oslo. It was a particularly jet-lagged and rather worn out Dahle who stood there on the starting line. Kenneth was just about as giddy as I was, since we had only just come home from USA four days before the championship. Next to becoming Norwegian champion again, the most enjoyable thing was to see how many competitors, both boys and girls, men and women, were lined up in the various age-groups. It really makes us happy to see how many are taking part, and we clearly have a big job to do for these young, enthusiastic people who hopefully will be taking over the mountain biking scene with time.

Two new World Cup victories

The two World Cups following the Mont Sainte Anne round in Canada should be recounted together, since many things happened simultaneously. From June 25 to July 12, we visited three continents and competed in three World Cup races (America, Brazil and Europe). The trip from Canada to Brazil took two whole days to complete. We got to our hotel in Santa Catarina, about one hour's flight southwards from Sao Paolo, on Tuesday evening. The following evening we got our bikes, and the following Sunday we were racing at the World Cup. My legs weren't exactly in supreme shape, but I don't think any of the other girls who took part had managed to recover completely after the race in Canada either. The long flight also took its toll on my body. We won with a reasonably good margin to German Sabine Spitz, and were very grateful for yet another first place.

The following day we travelled to New Mexico and Angel Fire Resort where the next World Cup race was to be held the following Sunday. It meant two whole days of travelling again. We used the dead time at the airport in Sao Paolo to cycle for one and a half hours on rollers, to get the blood circulation up and hopefully shorten the period needed for restitution. Angel Fire Resort is a good 2600 metres above sea level, so we had a bit of a shock when we finally arrived at our hotel on Tuesday evening. We managed to take a jog before going to bed and woke up on Wednesday morning feeling totally knocked out.

On Thursday we cycled around the race course at a low pace twice, and were actually about to pass out on several occasions. The highest point of the race course was all of 2930 metres above sea level, so you can imagine that our training stint together that day was somewhat out of the norm. It was simply impossible to speak and pedal at the same time with that little oxygen available, even though we were cycling slowly and at a relaxed tempo, in easy gears.

The race course at Angel Fire Resort was awesome, especially the descent. I use singular here since it was single-track for three whole kilometres from the top to the very bottom of the course. Loose and deep sand, roots, short stony sections, thick forest, with many bends and turns. The remaining five kilometres of the race course had several short flat sections, but one more or less continuous climb to the very top again. I was very tense before this race because my strongest rival, Marie Helen Premont, had dropped the World Cup race in Brazil. But once again we prevailed and secured another overall victory in this year's World Cup series, even with one race to go.

New contract with Merida

One of the greatest things that happened through these last weeks was signing a new contract with Multivan Merida Biking Team and Merida Taiwan. The new contract outlines that in the first three years I'll be a competitive cyclist just like now, followed by three years as a sort of ambassador or promoter for Merida. I'm very glad that we're continuing with Merida. Both Kenneth and I are looking forward to many exciting and challenging years together with our pro team Multivan Merida Biking Team and the bike manufacturer Merida. We're naturally also very happy to be able to continue our work with our Merida family here in Norway, Stians Sport.

Apart from this, Klepp Hus and Ramp are working on getting the blueprints for our new house approved by the authorities. The wedding plans are going fine, without us actually knowing exactly what'll happen on the big day, the 15th of October, in the Stavanger Cathedral. I at least know that the rest of the day will be celebrated at the Radisson SAS Atlantic Hotel in Stavanger. Kenneth's older sister, Hege, is the main brain behind the planning of the reception and party afterwards, with lots of help from the rest of our wonderful family. The new 'Gunn-Rita - the Buff' is to be found in all the shops in Norway now, and it turned out to be a really nice piece of apparel. Our new engagement rings made of carbon, by Siv & Adam, get lots of attention.

Gearing up for a new World Championship

At present we're in a little mountain village called Pontresina in Switzerland, not far from St Moritz. It's Saturday evening now and we're soon going out to eat supper. We're living in a beautiful and very well-kept hotel called Sporthotel. We can easily recommend this hotel to anybody passing through these parts, either for hiking in the mountains or for traversing the many mighty mountain-tops in this region. See this site for details.

It was on this very day, August 27, exactly one year ago, that we won the Olympic gold medal in Athens, and it's a little frightening to think of. Time really flies, and still we often experience more than we're able to digest. One just has to enjoy the day today and be happy for what we has here and now. Tomorrow we're moving all our gear across the mountain, crossing into Italy, and will live for a week in Livigno where the World Championships will be held next Sunday. We're really looking forward to another big race.

This turned out to be a long report, and without all that many interesting details, I'm afraid. I have no one but myself to thank for the fact that I haven't kept you all updated more often, and probably ought to do better in this area in the weeks to come. Now a tasty dinner of Italian salad, barbecued salmon and lots of lovely greens and pasta awaits us. Have a really good evening and a weekend full of happy experiences.

Lots of warm greetings,
Gunn-Rita.

[Translation: Crispen T. P. de Lange]

Doing it tough at World Cup Canada

Published:

January 15, 2008, 00:00,

Updated:

April 22, 2009, 19:18

By:

Cycling News

The World Cup race at Mont Sainte-Anne in Canada turned out to be an experience I won't forget in a...

July 6, 2005

The World Cup race at Mont Sainte-Anne in Canada turned out to be an experience I won't forget in a hurry. Everything started out just fine, right until my legs suddenly became completely and utterly empty of any trace of energy. The race turned into a fight to simply stay on my bike. I managed to complete the race as number two behind Canadian Marie Helen Premont, but lost three whole minutes to the winner on the last lap.

Sunday evening has arrived here in Mont Sainte-Anne. The place is probably best known for its popular skiing facilities, and is situated a short hour's drive from Quebec. We left the high altitudes of Boulder on Tuesday morning and were in place here on Tuesday evening. We met up with Lene Byberg at the airport and travelled with her up here, where we've been living in rooms together as part of the Multivan Merida Biking Team, only a short kilometre from the World Cup race circuit.

Kenneth and I focused on rest and recuperation all week in order to gather as much energy as possible before the five World Cup races of the season. I had two really tough weeks of training at high altitudes in Boulder, so my legs weren't great during the week, but not too bad either. The race-day was to be Saturday, and not Sunday like last year, meaning that we had one day less at low altitude after our stay at Boulder. Apart from that the weather had been reasonably good in the run-up to the race day, with only a few afternoon showers on a couple of days.

On Friday evening we experienced a change in the weather which really let us know the meaning of extreme humidity. So when we all lined up for the race on Saturday morning at 11am, the sun was extremely hot; a good 30c, combined with very high humidity. Usually I don't react badly to hot weather, so I didn't expect to have any problems on the race day.

During my warm-up, which I usually do on rollers for 45 minutes in all, I felt fine and my body felt all geared up, ready to race. The women were to ride five laps, each 5.4km, plus one start lap. Marie Helen Premont took the lead up the first climb after the starting round, but I passed her before the top and into the first technical section. I rapidly gained a few seconds which I kept stably through the first lap, and I completed the first lap a good 10 seconds in front of Premont.

During the second lap I increased my lead by a few more seconds, but Premont turned out to be very strong today and refused to let go. I had a few places on the course where I counted seconds back to her while she caught up others in previous parts of the round. At the most I had a good 30 seconds' lead back to Premont, which is not a comfortable distance at all, especially not in this kind of technically demanding and tough race circuit which they have at Mont Sainte-Anne.

When the fourth round was half finished I still had a lead of about 30 seconds, but then suddenly everything said stop. It felt as if my legs had absolutely no energy left in them at all, my skin was covered in goose-bumps, and my arms started shaking. My water bottle and energy gel were frantically emptied in the hopes of getting a bit of feeling back into my legs, but this time nothing would work. I hardly noticed Marie Helen passing me on the last hilltop of the fourth lap, and at the next check-point I was a good 30 seconds behind her.

The fifth and last lap was extremely long for Ms Dahle! I didn't know how I was going to get up all those steep climbs that still remained, much less how I was going to stay on my bike through all those technical and demanding descents. Gratefully there were long distances back to our closest competitors, so luckily no other fit women caught up with me. The last lap included a few extra spills and knocks, as my entire body just felt completely powerless, and my eyesight was blurred too. I crossed the finish line almost three minutes behind Premont.

I was placed on a chair at the finish-line, drank copious quantities of water and energy drink, my cuts and scrapes were cleaned, my arms and legs were washed for me, and I talked to countless reporters all at the same time. The noise from thousands of people who had came to see Premont (who lives in this area) race was deafening, and they naturally welcomed their hero with plenty of cheering.

After a while I regained some energy in my legs, and managed to change into a clean and dry uniform. After that came the ceremony, and all the usual business. I was naturally very pleased to have managed to crawl my way to the finish-line and be number two again, and as I still keep the combined lead in the World Cup I can't be too disappointed.

Kenneth and I have gone through the race and evaluated the good and not so good happenings, as we always do. It was somewhat unusual this time, because I never usually go completely empty. In other words, a totally new situation for the both of us, and we've looked at various possible reasons for what went wrong yesterday. A second place isn't a bad result at all, and the strongest woman won.

Today we've been out cycling for a few hours together, and Lene and I have both had a great massage from Kenneth this afternoon. It's very important to get the circulation properly running again for a quicker restitution, thinking of the weekend. We're now as good as all packed up and ready for a new trip, and we're looking forward to seeing new places. We have a long trp ahead of us, but with time we've gradually learned that a travel day is something you've got to get used to.

We really hope that things are going well with all you people who love to cycle, and that your motivation is at an all-time high. If you feel you lack that essential spark, take a break and think through what you're missing in your exercise set-up. The trio from Norway wishes you all a continued great summer and exciting training. You'll hear from us again in a couple of weeks. On our schedule we have the World Cup race in Brazil, and after that there's a new race in New Mexico the weekend before we come home again to good old Norwegian soil and fresh west coast air.

Training stint of the week

Today Lene, Kenneth and I had a relaxing two-hour ride during which we stopped for a lovely Coke-break in gorgeous sunshine at the halfway mark, followed by a great cruise back to our little hideaway here at Mont Sainte-Anne.

Dinner of the week

Lene and I have been cooks together this whole week here, and we've had tasty dinners in the living room every evening. Mostly we've eaten salmon, trout, chicken and sole, and it's really tasted fantastic. Maybe we've all smelt somewhat strongly of garlic each day, but so be it…

Weekly advice

Tomorrow we're off travelling again and our water bottles are standing at the ready...but a good drink of water should be within reach at any time, no matter what your daily programme may be. Water is good for your circulation, your mood, your energy level, your metabolism, your wellbeing, and your rosy cheeks.

Cyclist's greetings from Gunn-Rita
(Multivan Merida Biking Team)

[Translation: Crispen T. P. de Lange]