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Uppvidingetrampet 2014

Author:

Christoph Junge

Category:

Road Race

Location:

Åseda/Sweden

GPS-Track:

Download here

Evaluation

The race as a whole:

starstarstarstar

The catering:

starstarstarstar

The fitness level:

starstarstar

The technical level:

starstar

Report

It was my first time riding the Uppvidingetrampet and the first time ever participating in a road bike event as I normally only ride MTB marathons but I was around that region anyways so I thought let´s give it a try.

There were 4 possible routes: 20, 40, 70 and 120km but as my form still has room for improvement this year I chose the 70km. Wise guy as I should find out later :-)

Before the start I noticed that this event seemed to be like a folk festival. There were pro-like racers, hobby cyclists, elderly people on bikes, kids and people on retro bikes. Really cool scene!

Shortly after the start the field was divided: the 120km racers turned to the left and all the others continued straight forward. My legs felt strong and my mood was great so I accelerated quite a bit in the beginning. In front of me were two guys and I first thought we might ride together but my legs told me to be more ambitious. Ok, 50m sprint to the next group. Their speed seemed well-fitting and I decided to stay with them. We were three adults and two teens/kids. One of the adults and the kids were from "Nässjö Cykel Klubb". Roles were clear: the adults had to pull the kids through the race. Fair enough :-)

After a while I realized that there were no other riders in front of us. What??? My plan was to take it easy and to enjoy the beautiful landscape of Småland! But on the other hand...being in the leading group is not bad either. So full speed ahead!

After approximately 23km we reached the village Älghult where the first depot was located. But no time for that, further on we went.

Between Älghult and Lenhovda the route was a bit hilly (in fact two longer climbs - see the gpx file for details). I was getting tired. But still 40km to go...

We changed regularly the leading position but the climbs demanded their toll and I regretted that I only had electrolytes but no energy in my bottles.

After app. 40km we reached Lenhovda where the next depot was located. I hoped for a short pit-stop but no mercy. Further on we went...

A while after Lenhovda I asked how far we had left to the finish as my bike computer was not working. The answer was not what I was hoping for: app. 25km.

Ok, giving all I had left we went on with unimpaired speed but I was fighting with cramps and had to stretch out more than one time.

When we passed by the last depot app. 10km before the finish one of the kids´ bottle was empty so the guy from Nässjö made a short pit-stop to refill it. When he came back he also brought half a banana for each of us. Thanks for that!

Maybe 2km before the finish the rest of my group suddenly broke out and I had problems catching up. My legs were simply empty and really unwilling to work anymore. The cramps came back. Gritting the teeth and giving all (and even more) I had left I reached the finish only few meters after the rest of my group and made it up to the fifth place in the 70km ranking. According to my Strava tracking it took 2:04h to complete the 70km which results in an average speed of 34km/h. Not bad at all after starting the day with the goal to enjoy the landscape and no other ambitions at all.

In addition to the cool group I was riding with the landscape was so stunning and the weather was just perfect: 20 degrees, only light wind and sunny. The forecast was nearly that good. According to the forecast we should expect rain showers and a bit colder.

After the race everyone received a medal, got something to drink and a hotdog and the crowd was chilling around the finish area.

Some explanations to my judgement of the event:

Regarding the race as a whole: If there was a professional timekeeping it would be even better. Otherwise nice event with lots of friendly people and not to crowded. My guess is that there were no more than 300 people.

Regarding the fitness level: The 70km trip had 421m altitude. No idea about the 120km round. In my opinion 4 or 5 stars should be given to races that are a lot longer or have a lot more climbs.

Regarding the catering: As I never had a pit-stop this is very subjective, but after finishing there was a hotdog for everyone and bananas, water, energy drink and coffee. My guess is that there was the same in the depots (minus the hotdog and coffee). Taking into consideration that the 70km tour only cost 90 SEK (app. 10 EUR) this is really value for money!

Regarding the technical level: As I never participated in a road race before this is highly subjective but as there were no sharp turns and no nasty hills the technical level in my opinion was relatively easy.

All in all: it was my first time but not my last time riding the Uppvidingetrampet! See you again next year!

Pictures

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