← All eventsBirkebeinerrittet
~84km point-to-point MTB marathon, Rena → Lillehammer, Norway, tracing the historic Birkebeiner route. Big early climb onto the Sjusjøen plateau, then exposed high country. Riders must carry a ~2kg pack. ~17,000 across Birken week. Next edition ~28 Aug 2027 (approximate).
Norway's most famous mountain bike race, and the only one where you carry the weight of history on your back. Every rider carries a pack of at least 2kg the whole way, echoing the Birkebeiner tradition of carrying a child to safety.
Point to point from Rena to Lillehammer, tracing the historic route across the mountains. One big climb onto the Sjusjoen plateau comes straight off the gun, then exposed high country before the drop to Hakons Hall.
It's net downhill overall, run on fast forest doubletrack rather than technical trail. Up to 17,000 riders across Birken week make it a bucket-list icon of Nordic cycling.
Is Birkebeinerrittet for you?
- Durable aerobic riders who pace with discipline. The decisive climb comes cold in the first hour, and the day is won by riding it steady, not chasing wheels.
- Roadies converting to mountain bike. The course is fast-rolling and non-technical, so fitness beats bike-handling, as long as you put in genuine off-road volume.
- Riders chasing an iconic bucket-list event. This is a mass-participation piece of Norwegian cycling history, not just another marathon on the calendar.
- Anyone comfortable when the weather turns. The high plateau is exposed, and a mild late-August forecast can flip cold, wet and windy.
Training plan for Birkebeinerrittet
A training plan for Birkebeinerrittet isn't a generic base build. Beina reads the event's exact demands, looks at your specific profile and the time you actually have, and maps a highly adapted plan to the start line.
- A big sustained climb straight off the start, before you are warm, up onto the Sjusjoen plateau
- Around 1,250m of climbing over 84km, front-loaded early then rolling across exposed high country
- A mandatory pack of at least 2kg carried the full distance
- An exposed plateau where late-August weather can turn cold, wet and windy in minutes
- Cold-start climbs: a short warmup straight into a 25-35min climb at 85-90% FTP to rehearse the early Sjusjoen effort
- Long climb intervals: 2-3x 15-20min at 88-95% FTP for sustained climbing capacity
- Pack-loaded long rides of 3-4.5hr carrying the mandatory 2kg so it feels invisible on race day
- Race-pace long rides up to 4-5hr on fast doubletrack, with a hard climb in the first hour
- Built from your current fitness and the time you actually have
- Adapts every week as Beina learns how you respond
- Syncs your sessions straight to Garmin and Wahoo
- One clear next session, never a wall of spreadsheet
