FIELD REPORT | Mettle Cycling at FNLD GRVL '23
STEEP, PUNCHY CLIMBS, SAUNAS, & 3 FRIENDS DISCOVERING SCANDINAVIA
This summer some TEAMIES took their gravel craving to the next level and traveled from the west coast to Finland to take on the sister race to SBT GRVL, FNLD GRVL. Dee and Brooke give us a write-up of the trip below.
It’s September 2022. After a sever skiing injury sustaining a torn ACL, Brooke has spent the entire summer rehabbing from a full reconstruction. Trading in her ultra running shoes for the bike, Brooke spends most of the year pedaling instead of shuffling and starts setting sights on an event both her knee and her Ortho can approve. Dee, having previously raced SBT GRVL sets in motion a serious adventure abroad by proposing an entrance into the FNLD GRVL event only a short 9 months away.
GETTING THERE
First, our bikes. This was Brooke & Anna’s first gravel race so we had zero experience traveling with our bikes. Dee had traveled with her bike to SBT, but international travel was a whole new ballgame for us.
But after some research, we quickly realized traveling with our bikes wouldn’t be worth it for us. Mainly due to the fact that we were planning to continue traveling to Norway & Sweden post race & the cost of shipping was high ($$$). Many racers traveled with their bikes though!
FNLD GRVL wasn’t initially offering bike rentals so we did our own search and found Breakaway which was offering rentals with pickup in either Lahti or Helsinki. Perfect. Bikes, check!
RACE WEEKEND
For an inaugural race, the weekend felt incredibly well planned! There were activities all week for those who arrived early—shake out rides, yoga, and multiple elite panel interviews.
We joined a Castelli Shakeout ride the day prior which encompassed quite a bit of our course, then headed to the race expo—quick & easy packet pickup plus plenty of booths to help with last minute race supplies / mechanical issues.
FNLD GRVL offers three distances: The Midnight Sun (177k), The Lakes (77k) which we personally raced, and The Forest (40k) route. Coming from the extremely wet PNW, we figured training for an early June race would be tough & opted for the mid-distance. The Midnight Sun route was definitely the main event & consisted of an assortment of elite riders.
We lined up at the start line Saturday excited to see what Lahti had in store for us, the three of us stayed together till the first hill, then Dee’s bike suddenly wouldn’t shift. Luckily there was a mechanic at the first aid station, nothing like hearing “yeah these gears are a mess, will see what we can do”—oh the joys of renting! Some improvement was made, and the best was yet to come as the second aid station had an espresso maker! Which I think we all agree should be at every race. The energy was fun & we couldn’t have asked for better weather. The course with speedy with some varied terrain—mainly wide trail weaving through the forest + small bits of single track.The gravel was incredibly smooth which was a pleasant surprise. Perhaps because it’s under snow for many months? Regardless we were pleased, the 38s on our rental bikes were perfect.
While the course lacked long, sustained climbs, it made up for it with steep punchy climbs! And almost all of them during the last third of the race. Back to back to back. Stay on your bike if you dare!
Needless to say the quads were feeling it. But after 77k of fun we made it to the finish line, and enjoyed post race lunch & a cold beer (even gluten free options!).
In true Finnish fashion, the post race party was in the evening at the Harbor with food trucks, a sauna & cold plunge, and went well into the night. If you didn’t know, June is midsummer in Finland so the sun only sets for a few hours a day, meaning it’s light out till midnight! Which definitely took adjusting to.
RECAP
To summarize, FNLD GRVL was easy to navigate as our first international gravel race! It brought us to a location we never would have thought to explore & Finland was the ideal kick off to our Scandinavian adventure—we continued on to Helsinki then headed off to Norway and Sweden for more trail adventures by foot! Can confirm the saunas & cold plunges definitely didn’t end in Finland.
We highly recommend checking out FNLD GRVL if you’re looking to take your gravel racing international!