Finnish champ Noora Kanerva visited Huskvarna

Of course knowing the track, the surroundings could be beneficial going into a race. Finding the right angels, choosing your lines and more. But also getting a feel for the area and town you are visiting could make you at ease before a championships, focusing on more important things.

Here´s is Nooras impressions after some laps around the XCO-track;

The Race track of the XCO European championships 2016 in Huskvarna is generally fast to ride. When raining, the soil gets really slippery and the mud sticky, so selecting tyres for the race may be an issue considering that the championships are scheduled for early May.

I liked the track profile a lot. It has three main ascents of suitable length for a modern XCO track. It is more interval-type riding than old school steady pace climbing. Technical sections are located so that climbs are on easy terrain, but when you get to the top the ”fun stuff” starts… which is kind of the clue of the track: It takes a lot of power to ride these technical sections right after the uphill since you do not get any recovery before it. I believe that these are the sections where the toughest riders are filtered from the others.

From the top of the hill there is amazing scenery to the lake Vättern. If you are participating the race as a spectator, the top of the highest climb is the best place to enjoy the race. Riders do not have time to enjoy the scenery, but for sure will enjoy getting to the downhill. Because of their steepness and technical difficulty, the descents are fun to ride but also very aggressive which sets a challenge for recovery before the next climb.

Thanks to Noora Kanerva, Finnish XCO champion 2012 and 2015, XCE champion 2015 and part of Korson Kaiku/Team2020. Good luck in all upcoming races!

Still there is quite some time before snow comes, so come on over and pay us a visit! See our track guide for more information regarding the track.