Masterclass – Henning Sørum and Thomas Svane Jacobsen share their experiences from Styrkeprøven . Hopefully it can give you both inspiration and the desire to participate, but also practical tips.

There are now 12 weeks to Styrkeprøven 2023 – a cycle race from Trondheim, Lillehammer, Hamar or Eidsvoll to Oslo. The race will be organized for the 54th time or 55th time if you include 2021 where it was possible to cycle alone with QR registration. There are many thousands of Norwegians, Germans, Danes, Swedes, Belgians and probably several other nationalities who pedaled all the way from Trondheim to Oslo or one of the shorter distances.

This year too, Henning and I will cycle the longest distance from Trondheim to Oslo together. Henning has already managed to cycle this distance a total of 42 times. That’s pretty impressive! I myself have booked 16 completed trips from Trondheim. On 10 of my completed trips, I have cycled with Henning from start to finish. Most of these trips Henning and I cycled on the Express team to Rye, but in recent years we have done the distance as a trip to cultivate the passion for cycling and maintain the friendship.

Together, we have experience of cycling slowly, fast, at record speeds, in wind and rain, sun, snow and sleet and with and without escort vehicles, alone and in small and large groups. Henning also has experience of cycling with a large pack on his back! The idea with our small blog posts on the Masterclass is to share our experiences and experiences with you. Hopefully, it can give you both inspiration and the desire to participate, but also practical tips for completing Styrkeprøven or other rides.

It is now spring in large parts of our country. The roads are starting to be ready so that the road bike can be put into use and the good long trips can be completed. Do you have any favorite laps that you can’t wait to ride again? I am looking forward to cycling some of my favorite tours, such as around Hurumlandet, to Vikersund and Tønsberg or on all the fine country roads in inner Østfold. Henning cycles his trips between Oslo and Hvaler at weekends, and otherwise round trip to work every day.

We are not going to set up a training plan for how everyone should train for Styrkeprøven , but Henning and I think the following plan should be a good starting point to have a more comfortable trip from Trondheim to Oslo:

• Most important: Regular cycling training in the weeks remaining before Styrkeprøven . We regularly use home work on weekdays as the most important training.
• Have 10 long trips of around 100 km completed before Styrkeprøven .
• At least 2-3 of these 10 long trips should be up to 200 km.
• Participating in races ahead of Styrkeprøven can be very good preparation! It gives you experience of what food and drink intake will be like when you cycle a little faster than usual. Check the riding calendar at NCF – or check out www.osloclassics.no .

Does this sound like a lot? Yes, it does take some time, but it will make you well prepared for a long trip of over 500 km. There are still a few weeks left so you just need to plan your activity a bit! Good luck!

In the next Masterclass, we will say something about how you can mentally prepare for the trip. Then you will find out a little more about Henning’s experiences after taking part in Styrkeprøven a total of 42 times.

Good luck with your preparations! Tread carefully and have fun!