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Xterra Sweden Race Report

15th Jul 2014

I have always wanted to visit Sweden and Xterra Nordic was the perfect excuse. It certainly didn't disappoint!!

The strongest Xterra field I’ve raced so far… happy to finish on the podium (5th)

My first impression of Sweden was it's just so stereotypically, well, Swedish! Abba on the radio as we arrived, lovely swim in the unspoilt lake of Hellasgården- the venue for this inaugural Xterra. I swam to an island, found naked people, so continued swimming! Sauna at the youth hostel (nudity compulsory!) and then relaxing in my IKEA bed. Anything else would have been disappointing ;) I even bought some sild (herrings) at the grocery store. Ahhhh Scandinavia, it's been too long! I love this country already.

Rory and I set 5:30am alarms for the 6am bike recce… but only Carina was there- where were the organisers? Seems Kahuna Dave played a trick on us and we later found out the official ride was at 6pm! But we’re ready to go, so we crack on. I was expecting woodland and fire roads, but this was by far the most technical Xterra course I’ve raced- rocky, rooty, log jumps, drop offs… it was (mostly) rideable in the dry, but the rain forecast for race day could change everything!

One of the rocky drop-offs. Photo courtesy GunnarEld.com.

The run was a technical surprise as well- a proper adventure trail of rocky scrambles and stunning scenery. The courses were going to be way tougher than the altitude profiles suggested!

The race location was perfect- only 10 mins drive from Stockholm- so we took the opportunity to explore Gamla Stan (the old town), sample the local cuisine, and satisfy Ben’s quest for Gelato! We squished 6 of us into Kahuna Dave’s car (did anyone else know he’s a racing driver?!) and off we went- the Sat-nav’s pronunciation of Swedish street names providing entertainment for the journey! (“Folkungagatan” proved particularly amusing!)

Carb loading in good company ;)

After 3 days of perfect weather, would it hold for race day? Thankfully yes- after a threatening start the sun came out, the water was 23 degrees- and for the Pros- a non-wetsuit swim! Awesome. I had my best swim result so far, exiting the water in the lead group on the feet of Brigitta and Carina. Onto the bike, and it was all about not panicking, ride the obstacles smoothly and don’t crash…

Within minutes super biker Helena went by, and a few km later Renata. This is the only trouble with being at the front of the swim, the only way is backwards on the bike! But not unexpected so I stuck to my own plan. That’s until 10k when I went flying far too fast off a big BMX-jump-shaped rock… totally dived onto my front wheel and I almost landed it… almost. But not quite. Instead headlong over the bars with visions of broken collarbones flashing through my mind!
Am I OK? Seem to be, just cuts and bruises, nothing broken. What about the bike? I’ve only had it a week, so hopefully not trashed it already! My gear lever is bent but it seems to work, let’s go before someone else catches you!

I probably lost less than a minute, but with crashing you lose nerve as well as time. With still 20k to go, I was riding more cautiously and walking stuff I’d ridden in practise. Another Pro lady passed me around the halfway mark, and suddenly my result is not looking so great. But don’t give up, just try and keep her in sight. Hopefully I’ll run faster than some of the other ladies!

Enjoying my favourite discipline on the run (and relieved the race is nearly over!)

I couldn’t wait to get off the bike, and sure enough once on the run I moved back up to 5th within the first km. I definitely need to practise the technical terrain though- I never usually get to train on it, but here all the time is lost. This meant I didn’t manage to catch any other ladies, but did open up a comfortable gap behind. Top 5 finish again I will take!

Overall I loved this trip- Xterra Sweden was well organised and friendly, and a proper tough course. I would love to come back next year better prepared! My respect to the other ladies, especially race winner Helena who bikes and runs the technical stuff at speeds I can only dream of- despite crashing on the bike herself. It was a day of many crashes, so imagine the carnage had it been wet!! That’s the challenge of Xterra though ;)