FIRST LOOK AT NEW flow trail in HEMSEDAL

Hallingdal Rides
7 Aug. 2020
2 min reading

Since Trysil established Trysil Bike Arena, many have wondered when Norway's other alpine giant would join the race to attract mountain bikers. There's no need to wonder anymore - Hemsedal shows in this video that they mean business. Join us on the inside and see Norway's most awesome trail in the making!

The construction of the floating trail in Hemsedal started at the end of June, and we thought it was high time to check out what facility owner Hemsedal Aktivitetsanlegg and the trail builders have achieved over the past month. Joining us in the field is Richard Taraldsen, General Manager of Hemsedal Turisttrafikklag.

"Hemsedal aims to become a much more attractive year-round destination. We believe that mountain biking is something that appeals greatly to those who live here, those who have cabins here, and those who vacation here."

Up in the terrain, trail construction is already well underway, and the upper part of the trail is partially completed. Here, it's clear that Hemsedal has thought about making the trail fun for both children and more advanced cyclists. The surface is compact with weatherproof gravel, and the shapes openly invite playful riding. Of course, we had to put the goods to the test and had two local cycling heroes in the field with us. Judging by the smiles, there's little doubt: the trail bike initiative in Hemsedal is going to be a hit among speed-loving youngsters!

We meet construction manager Mark McClure at the top of the Hollvin lift, which carries thousands of happy skiers up into the alpine terrain in winter. Soon the lift will be filled with mountain bikes of all sizes.

- "The trail we're building here is a flow trail - meaning you don't have to pedal or brake as much. We hope that both families, beginners and experienced cyclists will have fun on this trail."

McClure has a construction crew of 16 trail builders from 9 different nationalities. Cutting-edge expertise is crucial when building a top-shelf product.

- "We have gathered expertise from all over the world to complete this project within budget and on time"

Around half of the trail builders live in Hemsedal all year round, and local anchoring is an important part of ensuring ongoing maintenance and further development of the future trail product. At the same time, the cycling initiative contributes to more year-round jobs. Taraldsen knows that the cycling initiative is long awaited, but asks eager cyclists to keep an open mind:

- "While we're waiting for something good to happen, we'd like people to stay away from the areas where trails are being built. There is heavy construction work going on in the terrain and the trails must be allowed to settle. There will be plenty of opportunity to test the trails when we open the trail in June 2021."

We will follow the trail development in Hemsedal closely - so stay tuned here at Rides.no and on @hallingdalrides, for the latest news about the project!

Facts about the project:

Owner: Hemsedal Aktivitetsanlegg AS (owned by Hemsedal municipality, Hemsedal Idrettslag and Hemsedal Turisttrafikklag)
Budget: approx. 12 MNOK incl. VAT.
Length of trail: 8.5 km from top to bottom. In addition, there are connections to/from the trail. A total of about 11-12 km of trail will be built.
Grading: Blue/medium level of difficulty. Suitable for both children/families and skilled trail cyclists
Opening: June 2021
Access: The trail is best reached by the Hollvin Ekspress chairlift.
Funding partners: Local businesses and Hemsedal Tourist Traffic Association, Hemsedal Municipality, Sparebankstiftelsen Hallingdal, Sparebankstiftelsen DNB, gambling funds under the Ministry of Culture