Kalas Rye Bikefestival celebrate 5 years this year! We hope to achieve an even more successful festival than last year, which was our all-time high with 1200 mountain bikers from nine different nations. Not to mention, several bikers with a high ranking in the UCI points competition. Petter Fagerhaug from Norway has participated four times earlier and looks forward to participating again this year.
Name: Petter Fagerhaug
Age: 21
Class: Senior
Cycle club: Corendon-Circus/Lillehammer CK
Number of times participated in Kalas Rye Bikefestival: 4
Earlier wins: U23 World Cup overall victory 2018, Participating in Nissan Cup Langsetløkka 2008
What do you especially like about Kalas Rye Bikefestival?
-Epic paths, a lot of participants and happy faces in every age. Good competence and expertise in the competition and delicious cakes in the kiosk.
What part of the track do you enjoy the most?
-The rough downhill towards the stadium, just before the finish. It’s fun when you find the flow and at the same time I can try to impress the audience. I always am a bit above limit down there to show off a bit. But it’s just a question of time before I will taste the gravel.
When did you start your active mountain biking career and what was it that made you try it out?
-My first competition was in 2007 or 2008 at Langsetløkka. Around the same time I started biketraining, and found it very exciting. That same autumn I participated in my first Nissan Cup. I had a great time building jumps in the trenches at home. I also realized that a woman raced over roots and stones in the forest. –It seemed cool, I thought. In later years, it has been a pleasure to get to know Gunn-Rita Dahle , which was one of the reasons I started biking.
What is your most important goal for the season 2019?
-Enjoy the paths and test out interesting training methods for developing as a biker is my main reason for continuing to bike. To keep having fun on the paths and being a bit crazy when pulling through with practice are important goals.
Which person would you like to challenge to race at the Kalas Rye Bikefestival this year? Why?
-My coach, Lars Stensløkken. He really needs some motivation for cycling. Lars has bikers to follow up during Kalas Rye Bikefestival, but in the tempo race on Friday, he has no excuse for not participating. If Lars joins the temporace and is less than two minutes behind me, I will personally wash his bike for him.
