Our recipe for success in year II

June 25 ^th 2014 - 17:20

Year two offers several sportive highlights. We open the professionalcycling race on August 14th, in the wild and beautiful county of Finnmark,starting in Hammerfest and with a historic finish on the North Cape, Topof Europe. The great final will take place on August 17th in and aroundTromsø, our Paris of the North.
Even with such an epic route, there is one ingredient that we cannotmeasure in advance as organisers of the event. It is the human factoror what I would call the chilli in our recipe. Nobody could anticipate orpredict with certainty that 150,000 enthusiastic spectators would followthe race in 2013 and I recall one memorable moment from last year'sArctic Race of Norway. It was during the final ceremony in Harstad thatI found myself standing in the midst of the amazing crowd, with feelingsof pride, relief and deep gratitude to all those who had contributed inmaking this a true celebration by and for the people.
Our ambition for the Arctic Race of Norway 2014 is precisely to createa new total event that transcends the boundaries of a normal cyclingrace and that creates values in more than one sense. This year weare happy to launch an extended Arctic Heroes of Tomorrow racefor Norwegian and foreign cycling talents, four Mini Arctic Races forchildren and three versions of the Arctic Race of Norway Challenge.With the enthusiasm and energy that all collaborative partners haveshown already in the preparation of this year's event, everything pointsto new wonderful days in the northern part of Northern Norway. I hopemany choose to add some personal chilli to this recipe, by travelingnorth in order to follow the race en direct,from the side of the road, at arm's length. Ifthis happens, no one should ever doubt thepotency of the end result.

Knut-Eirik DYBDAL - Director of the Arctic Race of Norway