Prologue - Vik 5.8km

We've just completed the challenging 335m ascent of the 5.8km long prologue stage. Statistics as follows :


Distance 5.8 km
Ascent 335m
Temp Ave 22
Temp Max 24
Temp min 22
Iain
Time 29min 5sec
Ave. speed 12.2km/h
Ave pulse 167
Max pulse 177
Calories 690

Stephan
Time 23min 4sec
Ave. speed 15.4km/h
Ave pulse 150
Max pulse 177

Time now for some well deserved pasta, pack the car and prepare for the real thing tomorrow!

Final preparations

Surely it's not healthy to eat 5kg of carbohydrate in one day?

Anyway, fresh after the morning training run all that is left to do is have lunch, relax and wait. Already the course is being prepared and the atmosphere in Vik is building up ahead of the prologue's 5pm start.

The international mix of this year's start list is evident from the number of languages heard in the villages's shops & cafes (unless it's just 20 different Norwegian dialects we're hearing!).

D Day!

Finally, months of training and preparation are over. Today we start to race!

After a healthy breakfast we checked in at the race office, getting our numbers, chips and race book and meeting the race leader, Geir. Together with a large group of volunteers Geir has somehow succeeded in organising an international cycling competition in this spectacular but logistically challenging location. Great work guys!

Afterwards we set off for a training run. The pattern for the coming week has been set - Stephan cycled up the full length of the prologue climb, Iain cycled half way then found a suitable flat section to do some more training on.