Soon ready for Styrkeprøven 2024
11. June 2024
By Thomas Svane Jacobsen
In just a few days’ time, the longest bike ride of the year from Trondheim to Oslo will take place. There’s excitement in the body right now and my thoughts are spinning around both the weather forecast and a new mountain pass in the distance. The big question now is what to wear from the start and what to send in the bags to the three different bag stops.
In 2024, we will cycle from Trondheim to Hjerkinn (approx. 167 km) as the route has been for several years now. The elevation profile may look quite brutal, but for those who have cycled Styrkeprøven a few times, we know that it’s actually quite easy. It’s just a matter of holding back a little on the slopes and not pedaling too hard. There are still many miles left to Oslo, so there’s plenty of time to use your energy later.
After Hjerkinn, we’ll turn off in the direction of Folldal, which is new this year. We will have good speed all the way down to Folldal. Take a break at the food station here and get ready to cycle along Rondane towards Venabygdsfjell. There are many places along the road here where the view on our right is great. Try to take a look so that you also get to see the mountains of Rondane on this trip.
Up to Venabygdsfjell it’s a bit steep again, but the distance from Enden to Muen is surprisingly short. Suddenly you’re at Muen, the highest mountain on Venabygdsfjellet. From here it’s very much downhill, but this mountain pass can be exposed to a lot of wind!
On Strava there is a separate segment from Enden and up to Muen:
When we arrive at Trabelifjellet, we cycle steeply down towards Ringebu. There will be a time-out zone here and down to the E6 again at Ringebu. Everyone must take it easy and spend at least 27 minutes, i.e. no higher than 30 km/h in average speed.
New this year, but not completely new to Styrkeprøven, is that we will be using the west side of Lake Mjøsa. The last time Styrkeprøven visited Biri, Gjøvik, Skreia and Feiring before Minnesund was in 2019. It will probably be a pleasant reunion in a beautiful landscape. The last bag stop for those coming from Trondheim will be in Totenvika.
Dressing and packing bags
The weather forecast for Saturday is better than feared, but the temperature will not be the same as in 2023. We have retrieved the weather forecast for Tuesday 11 from the Rittvær website. June. We have set the start time to kl. 04:00 and that we should use 24 hours.
Fortunately, there will be little wind except over Venabygdsfjellet. The temperatures can probably be described as cool all the way. The rain is coming in over eastern Norway on Saturday evening and there may be a good deal of rain showers for all participants.
As the weather forecast now indicates, it will be good to have a thin wool jersey (or super jersey) under the cycling jersey from the start. You should probably wear either a cycling jacket or a windbreaker in addition. Short gloves are fine, but if your fingers get cold easily, long gloves are the best option. It’s a good idea to wear loose legs or cycling shorts that go above the knees.
At the first bag stop just before Oppdal, it’s a good idea to send a light cycling or rain jacket. Carry this in your pocket so you can put on your jacket when crossing both mountain passes. In particular, it would be wise to put on a jacket after passing the highest point on the road over Venabygdsfjell. A lot of wind is forecast here, so it could get cold.
The second bag stop is at Ringebu. It’s probably a good idea to leave some clothes here. Now the temperature is better. Rain/wind jackets can be left here, but only if you have sent another one to Totenvika (third bag stop). The rain comes in during the afternoon and evening in central Eastern Norway. That’s why it’s a good idea to have sent a wool sweater or similar to Totenvika.
A great trick is to have a plastic bag (e.g. a shopping bag from Kiwi) cut open on the sides and at the bottom ready at Totenvika. Since the plastic bag is cut open, it’s easy to pull it over your head for rain and wind protection under your cycling jersey. This works perfectly well.
Otherwise, there are more tips for packing the bags on last year’s article in Masterclass: https://styrkeproven.no/masterclass-bekledning-fra-trondheim-og-pakking-av-poser/
We wish you good luck with the final preparations for the trip! And have a good trip on Saturday 15. June!