It’s not just the professionals who will compete during Tour of Scandinavia. This year, the younger girls will also have the opportunity to compete under professional conditions. Tour of Scandinavia is committed to increasing the recruitment of female cycling and aims to raise awareness about this and the collaboration between the Nordic countries.
Together with our valued partners Thon Hotels, Like Muligheter, Viken County Municipality, Sparebank1 Østfold Akershus, and Berg Sparebank, we are organizing the “Nordic Youth Challenge 23” on Wednesday, August 23rd – a street race for young girls aged 15 – 18 from all the Nordic countries.
The girls will ride the same local routes in Halden that the world’s best professional cyclists will ride later in the afternoon, and they will also have the same finish area. There will be a full package of speaker services and live updates along the way. And, of course, there will be a ceremony with prizes and winner jerseys on the same scene and setup as the professionals.
In addition to the race itself, those who have signed up will also participate in various activities outside of the race. They will, for example, attend a Kick-off at Seilhagen on Tuesday evening, have a guided tour of Fredriksten fortress during the day on Wednesday, and have full access to the VIP trailer in the finish area with a front-row seat to the finish of stage 1. They will also take part in the AfterBike event at Seilhagen on Wednesday evening.
The criterium race itself starts at Kongens Brygge in Halden at 4:00 PM, and participants will ride for 40 minutes plus 2 final laps. The expected finish time is around 4:50 PM.
On Wednesday, August 23rd, you can thus experience 2 exciting cycling races on the same day, and we encourage the audience to come to Halden city center early in the afternoon to enjoy lots of exciting entertainment and cheer for the girls – in addition to the fact that the shops and restaurants downtown also promise great deals and a lively atmosphere!
Annemiek van Vleuten (40) is a legend in international cycling. Her list of accomplishments is extensive; she has won Olympic and World Championship titles, as well as numerous World Tour races over a period of nearly 20 years.
A cycling race doesn’t only consist of riders on bikes. There is also a need for a multitude of cars to transport all the officials simultaneously through the course. This includes, for example, commissioners (judges) with various responsibilities to ensure that the race rules are followed, neutral service cars that assist in case of any cycling accidents, cars that ensure that the technical aspects of the race are functioning, press and media cars that follow the race, a promotional car in front to create good atmosphere along the course, and various VIP cars where sponsors and partners join in to experience the race from the “inside.”
Tour of Scandinavia takes place over 5 days from August 23rd to 27th, featuring diverse and exciting stages, with three stages in Norway and two final stages in Denmark.
Jone originally comes from Haugesund on the west coast of Norway, and was working as a roadwork constructor in his local home town.
– A significant increase in the cost of purchasing various goods and services, a weakened Norwegian krone, and the fact that we have not been successful in establishing sufficient sponsors in Sweden necessitate the unfortunate decision to eliminate the stage in Sweden this year, says Managing Director Roy Moberg.
Tour of Scandinavia (formerly Ladies Tour of Norway) was scaled up to a six-day stage race before last year and expanded with stages in both Denmark and Sweden in addition to Norway. The “grand depart” of the 2022 edition was at Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen with fantastic surroundings and ended with a folk festival in the “home town” Halden. The cross-border cooperation will continue in 2023, and we are very happy to be able to present this year’s race starting in Norway and ending in Denmark.
Stage 1, Tuesday 22 August, Mysen – Halden: This year’s first stage of the Tour of Scandinavia is organized in familiar areas for those who have followed the Ladies Tour of Norway since the beginning. Mysen (Indre Østfold municipality) most recently hosted a finish in 2022, and is this year hosting the race’s “Grand depart”. Halden is the town where it all started 9 years ago, and has hosted the last stage in all editions of the race up until this year. This time we are turning around, and setting up an exciting final on the 1st stage where the riders will also climb up to Fredriksten fortress on the local circuit. The finish area is, as before, at Kongens brygge in the centre.
Stage 3, Thursday 24 August, Vikersund – Norefjell: On this stage, Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig won solo, and made the base for her overall victory at last year’s Tour of Scandinavia. However, this year’s stage has been somewhat adjusted compared to last year. The start is still in Vikersund, and the stage takes us along the way through Modum, Sigdal and Krødsherad municipalities. The last part of this year’s mountain stage goes via Eggedal in Sigdal municipality. The top of the decisive climb up to Norefjell thus comes with a little more distance from the finish compared to last year. The last 5 km of the stage will be easier. The finish line is the same as before at Norefjell ski & spa.
Stage 5, Saturday 26 August, Herning – Herning (individual time trial): For the first time, an individual time trial will be held in the Tour of Scandinavia. The stage is organized on a 16.4 km long route with start and finish in the center of Herning. The course favors the strongest time trial riders, but the technical part in the center of Herning will give the riders some extra challenges.
