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| Kona Out of Bounds weekend–
Levi, Finland |
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It was the hottest day for many years in the UK as I boarded the
plane in London to head to Finland! The weather gave some amazing
views from the plane and across Scandinavia and into Helsinki. A
trip around the whole of Scandinavia has always been on my list
of trips to do once I have my summers free! The views only confirmed
that this is a trip I really must do, it is just beautiful with
so much open space and water. I flew out of London with Grant Fielder
(Chopper), Kona’s newest clump team member, after losing each
other at Helsinki airport we finally arrived at our destination,
Rovaniemi. The home of Santa Claus, it is also situated on the line
of the artic circle. Artic was about the best word to describe the
weather, having just left 37’C we arrived into light rain
and 9 degrees Celsius. A quick change out of my shorts and flipflops
and I was ready for my first visit….straight to Santa Claus
village and a visit to Santa himself !! We were met at the airport
by Russell Carty and Jimbo from Kona Europe who took us straight
to meet Santa! It turns out they had already been. We then met up
with Fabien and Paul and drove the 2hr drive north to the Kona Bikepark
at Levi.
The roads were so quiet, the only thing we saw were a couple of
Reindeer on the side of the road ! We also had Reindeer just cruising
around the town of Levi, it was great to see them so in control
of life over here. All the cars and people stop when they want to
cross the road !! Although I guess they are not quite so in control
as the first meal we had was Reindeer !!!
Levi is a small mountain with over 50 ski runs and the sleepy little
town transforms itself into a big ski destination in the winter.
Levi have just begun investing in mountain biking in the summer
and are rapidly building trails and growing as a Kona Bikepark.
They were playing host to the Finish National Champs and the Scandinavian
Champs over the weekend. Everyone was really pleased with the track,
saying that it was one of the longest and most challenging they
have seen in Finland. It was still pretty short to World Cup standard
at 2 minutes, but it was a very fun track to ride with a big variety
of terrain.
Obviously myself and Fabien, not being of any Scandinavian origin,
we were not entitled to win either of the events, but we had the
opportunity to just have 3 days of great training, with 4 timed
race runs. There were only 2 other girls so they were really happy
I was there to swell the numbers ! One the girls had bought my race
bike from last year, so it was good to see that it was still being
put to good use. I won all of my races with consistent times of
2.05, 2.06, 2.06, and 2.07 over the weekend !!
Matti Leihikonen the Finish star won the men’s event with
his quickest time being a 1.51. Sadly Fabien’s bike never
arrived having been shipped from France, so he ended up racing on
one of the demo bikes which he seemed to be riding really well.
However he came off in one the races badly damaging his foot, breaking
a bone which has put him out for the rest of the season. A really
sad way to finish the year and more importantly meaning that is
does not have the chance to retain his world title for the 3rd year
in succession. I will certainly be one person who will miss his
friendship and guidance at the last few races this year.
Other than that very disappointing moment it was a great weekend
in Finland. We were looked after superbly by everyone at the Levi
Bikepark. Check out the Kona Bikepark website for information on
Levi http://www.konabikeparks.com
and get across to visit Santa and check out the Kona Bikepark at
Levi, Finland.
Till next time,
Tracy
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