Dan Nielsen starting out with a supporting vehicle and spare Kickbikes. (photo Harald Fricker).
KEPOSTI |
number 4 November 2001 |
Kickmail for Ketkupolkka members
Keposti editorial staff wishes to deliver congratulations and applauses to Dan Nielsen, who recently successfully completed his Kickbike record attempt on crossing the U.S. continent. Read more at the dedicated U.S. record attempt web page. There you, too, can congratulate the genuine American hero.
Dan Nielsen starting out with a supporting vehicle and spare Kickbikes. (photo Harald Fricker). |
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In the summer sunshine of 9th August the Kepo 10 km championships were held on the rural pictoresque route in Vantaa, not far from the airport. The undulating route was familiar to all the big favourites.
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Anne could take it easy while crossing the line as the ladies' champion. |
Only five of seven participants gathered on the start line in due time. The grand jury did not, however, raise the red card or levy extra time for Hannu and Ville who were clever enough to enter the race only after all the others had started. Thus Hannu could surprise Jan with a lightning start. All three got superb times, it was indeed a pity that there were not enough race officials to validate the records.
After the race the participants speculated not only upon the day's event, but also the new events coming up. |
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The half marathon champs were held only three days after the 10 km race on the Eurocup marathon route in Brobacka. Even though there were not too many participants the going got tough. The steep slopes did not give mercy to anyone with a weak back. Jan could hit the hills strongest of all while Hannu suffered a flat and got only third place after Ville.
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The grimaces of the leading pack revealed the roughness of the route. (photo Anne-Maria). |
Friday 17th August presented a blue sky for the group of kickers who met at Tapanila sports field for the final sprint races of the Kickbike Eurocup. With loud cheers and applauses the kids started their pre-event race of one lap, in which the leader changed several times. In the end the strongest was Einari Vierikko who undoubtedly has an uniquely sound kick background.
Emmi (right) boldly challenged Einari in the children's extra exciting race. |
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The ladies' race, unfortunately, had to be stroken out of the programme. On the other hand, the men's 2000 m race presented a strong field of well prepared athletes. The top quartet in order Hannu, Ville, Jan and Alpo finished all with the same time 4.02.
Ville hit the cinder hardest but Hannu could once again pass him before the finish line. |
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The road was hot and competitors had to be well refreshed in the Eurocup marathon that took place in Brobacka on Saturday 18th August. Race officials became shocked for a while during the race when emergency vehicles swarmed towards the far end ot the marathon route. Fortunately, the fuss was all about a minor motor accident and did not concern the competitors at all.
All top guys had chosen the same tactic: follow Alpo (photo Väiski). |
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Tha big favourite was obviously Alpo who had kicked the world's fastest marathon time 1.20.03 on virtually the same route two years ago. However, already during early stages of the race Hannu pulled away from the peloton close behind the leading car, which method he has used successfully also in the Victor Balck 100 km kicksled race. Alpo stopped for a while to instruct the leading car driver not to let anybody too close, it might tempt the weaker ones to take advantage of the situation. Soon after the conversation Alpo caught the pack again.
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The leading pack was together still after the halfway mark. |
During the second half Alpo put more pressure on the others and soon kicked on his own. In order to win with 1.21.29 he didn't thus even have to give it all. Jan, Ville and Hannu remained in the peloton. Even though on the top of the last hill Hannu seemed the most tired of the three, he could roll past the others in the downhill finish and take home the second place in both the race and Eurocup before Ville. Alpo was the indisputable king of both.
Alpo left the others easily behind without pushing his limits. |
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A former top orienteer, nowadays a internationally renowned multisport athlete Petri Forsman could beat the sprint specialists in the second pack by keeping a steady pace. The top guys were, however, surprisingly far ahead.
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The ultra-fit adventure racer Petri Forsman finished more than a quarter behind the winner (photo Väiski). |
The Eurocup final didn't receive too many international entries, because the top point standings had in practice been determined already in earlier cup races of the season. The ladies' class wasn't too crowded either. The top duo in the race, Anne Muiniekka and Heli Vikström, could anyway climb up to the top ten in the final Eurocup ranking.
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Vincent Gooiker from Holland brought some international colour to the second pack. |
For the first time the race incorporated fitness and masters' classes, which seemed to appeal to the participants. In class M50 there was quite an interesting race where Jaakko Kalo beat Herman Gooiker from Holland by only two minutes.
In fitness class the spirit was high despite the tough hills (photo Väiski). |
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The traditional Ladies' Round that took place in downtown Helsinki a day after the Eurocup marathon was once again a great success. As opposed to earlier years, a variety of scooters were present at the Eltsu sports field. However, the miniscoot class that got lots of publicity beforehand proved to be quite a flop, mainly because safety precautions. The ESLA company bus, on the contrary, got a plenty of attention with a cheerful team exhibiting kicksleds and taking part on the shorter 20 km tour with ESLA scooters.
ESLA scooters were present for the first time in Ladies' Round. |
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Most of the Kickbike team kicked the full 40 km tour without any difficulties. Anne-Maria and Karoliina timed themselves at 1.35 although that was the least important detail of the day. Not long after after them other Kickbikers began rolling into the sportsfield while live music star Kirka welcomed them with pop melodies from the stage. Despite the slight sweat everybody had a reason to smile.
Many kicked into the stadium joyfylly sprinting towards the finish line. |
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Slickkedder Ville Vickholm gave a lesson to many tough athletes when he won a high level multisport race in Solvalla on 12th September. The disciplines were scootering, cross-country running and mountain biking. Jan Elmgren finished third and the grand young man of kicksledding and multisport Hannu Vierikko seventh. In this race the Kickbike leg was luckily somehow in proportion with the other sports, so the advantage gained in kicking was significant also in the total results.
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In Helsinki City Challenge even the fastest teams had spent a full working day racing before changing their in-line skates to Kickbikes. |
Kickbiking was the last leg of Helsinki City Challenge, an urban adventure race that took place in the end of August. More than 60 participants rode a Kickbike through the Central Park from Paloheinä to the Töölönlahti recreation centre downtown.
Most competitors started out amazingly swiftly. |
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Still on November 17th when sleet and slush already covered the wet ground Hannu started out to the initial MTB leg of the summer season's last multisport race on his new Kickbike with suspension fork and extra-wide tyres. Our hero described the race "I could keep up 20 km on my Kickbike with the leading pack, led by Forsman (not on KB). On two occasions I even visited the leading position."
Petri Forsman welcomes all kickers to try out their limits also in multisport. |
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During this autumn two renowned sport clubs have founded a new kicksled and scooter subsidiary. In Jyväskylä Keljon nuorisoseuran urheilijat (Kensu) and in Vaasa area IF Femman have officially accepted kicking in their activities. This is a remarkable milestone for our sport, as the traditional sports clubs tend to be quite conservative in this kind of matters. Founding a kick subsidiary in an existing club might prove to be a less bureaucratic alternative to founding a totally new club exclusively for kicking.
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The man behind IF Femmans kick subsidiary, triathlete Markus Holmlund (second from left) participated as a race official in the Lapinjärvi Landespark event in July. |
The founding members of Kensu's kick subsidiary, Kimmo Kaario and Antti Lehtinen pondered upon the future of our sport during the kick tour after the fair races in September. |
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Kensu took an early start in its kick activities by presenting Kickbiking during a sports exhibition in Jyväskylä. In the fairgrounds everybody could kick a time trial. Among the tough guys Sami Johansson was not far behind Antti Lehtinen, who has great merits from ice kicksled sprints in wintertime.
The Kickbikers fit well in the modern architecture on the lakeside. |
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The 10 km race course was set on the brand new bike path on the shores of lake Jyväsjärvi. The course was almost flat, which is not typical to the landscape of Jyväskylä area.
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Auli Suomalainen left the other girls easily behind. |
There were in total half a dozen participants, half of which in the ladies' class. The alumni of Multia kicksled academy Antti Lehtinen and Auli Suomalainen took home the victories with overwhelming margins.
In ladies' class no sprint finishes were needed. |
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Last-minute cancellations by the tough guys of Kepo did slightly tune down the race athmosphere. On the other hand, the local team could verify that a nice race can be arranged with mostly local field of participants. Furthermore, already on February 9, 2002 you can return to the same scenes and kick an ice marathon organised by Kensu.
The slickkedder Ville Vickholm on his 30th Anniversary Race day. |
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Up to Eurocup finals my 600 training hours earlier this year consisted of
week 34 10.35h KB 243km 1.20h running
Key workouts: wed 10 km time trial 20.05, sunday 88km 3.55h
week 35 12.50h KB 278km 1.25h running 1.50h circuit + strength + stairs
Key workouts: mon 25 run + 50 min strength + hops&sprints on grass
fri 10km time trial 20.09 + tour to Loviisa to my teacher colleagues' crab festival, back in moonlight.
sat 45min run + 45min circuit + stairs
sun 10min run + 92km KB to Söderby and back 4.10h, didn't feel too fresh
Week 36 11.55h 8.50h 192 km KB 1.15h running 1.50h circuit + strength + stairs
wed 2.25 h terrain KB in rain
thu 10km 20.21
sat 45km 1.51 23,8km/h
V. 37 12.45h KB 7.25h 160km 1.00h run 0.50h strength 45min biking 2.45h hiking
wed Multisport race in tough Solvalla terrain. 6km KB + 17km MTB +6km XC running+6km KB. I could enjoy the victory. Because of rain the last inline-skate leg was changed to KB which of course suited us very well. My thighs and calves became totally stiff.
sat 3h KB 64km
sunAM 2.45h walk with 12 kg extra load in the woods PM 1h KB 23km
week 38 10.05 h KB 8.20h 201km 1.30h running circuit 15min
wed 45km 1.49h 24,2km/h
thu 30km KB-test 1.03.30 in nasty sidewind, lap times 20.48, 21.16, 21.26
sat 3h KB 68km
week 39 7.05h KB 5.50h 139km 1.05h running
tue 10km 20.27
A running start celebrated the anniversary race. |
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sun Slickkedder's Anniversary Race 850m and 30km. Nice athmosphere, Hannu won the tough struggles in both races with his old-timer instinct. 30 km times 1.03.07 VV .08, JE .09. Lap times 20.50, 21.34 and 20.43
The rolling terrain helped to coast swiftly downhill. |
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V.40 11.40h KB 7.10 run 1.30h circuit 30min cycling 2h swimming 30min
The beginning of the week was recovery kickwise.
sun 4.55h fantastic cross country tour to Ruotsinpyhtää. I started by visiting the old stone bridge of Tesjoki on initiative by Väiski. Väiski had the day before asked me whether I had visited that old stone bridge, which actually proved to be quite a sightseeing object at a scenic location. I followed the river towards Marinkylä and the seaside. On my way back I tried to take a shorcut and ended up in carrying my KB across a muddy field. After the hike I started feeling tired and the familiar way home felt like routine.
week 41 14.30h KB 11.45h run 1.10h circuit+strength+stairs 1.35h
la 2.15h xc KB + short run time trial 9.22
su 2.40h KB to Monninkylä where I sat on a coffee pause. Alpo had promised to meet me there and I had to shout to stop his brisk rolling. We kicked a while in my return direction whereafter Alpo took his way home.
week 42 16.00h KB 12.30h ca 254km running 1.50t circuit+strength+stairs 1.40t
Autumn holiday
thu AM 1.10h KB incl. 10km 20.48, partly muddy road PM 55min KB + 45min circuit+stairs
fri 5.40t KB tour along new route: Porlammi- Mätkistö- Vaivala- Artjärvi- Heivatoja- Niinikoski- Ruokola- Pakaa- Pukkilan villisikatarha- Myrskylä- Muttila- Käkikoski- home = 110km. I sought for inspiration at Pukkilan Wild Swine Farm for my swine-horse-intervals Horses I saw mostly in Artjärvi.
la 30min brisk sauna run
su 2.45h flegmatic KB
week 43 13.40h KB 10.40h run 1.15h circuit+strength+stairs 1.45h
mon 10km 20.46 nice effort despite the mediocre time in chilly headwind +2 C
pe 2.35h KB to Myrskylä and back 60km
su 3.30t xc KB again new roads in Loviisan, Pernaja and Liljendal. Last 30min felt tired.
week 44 10.10h KB 6.00h running 1.30h circuit+strength+stairs 1h kicksled simulation
week 45
mon 1.50h KB Huoltola triangle with Sport Classic 2,2km x 10 / 8 minute start interval (4.55, 5.00, 5.06, 4.55, 5.06, 5.05, 5.06, 5.05, 5.02, 4.53) total 50.13min. Recovery ca 2.30min kicking + 30 sec still. Last autumn my fastest similar set was over 2 min slower, feels great !
fri At night there was a snowstorm ! Kicksled season start ! 1.30h on nearby roads. Nice glide.
sat I woke up to the murmur of the sand tractor and looked out of the window. Real ugly sanded main street. Fortunately the smaller roads hadn't been sanded. I kicked a 1.5 km road segment back and forth 2.30h in better glide than yesterday, –5 degrees, good feeling. The weather forecast promises + 5 degrees and warm moist winds for tomorrow, so it's difficult to comprehend the idea behind spreading all the sand and salt today.
tue 19.11. (SMS to Keposti editor) Ice season started with swine-horse kicks in tailwind on the lake 10 * a3.20 min = 2.35 h in beautiful conditions.
(Late telegram) Was kicked on 24-November on Lapinjärvi lake ice. Ville who spent the previous day and the race morning preparing the track was a polite host and let Hannu win the sprint finish before Jan and Alpo. Hannu's time was 1.35.53.
Dry land training for instance, swinging legs like a pendulum on the sled or without it is excellent muscle fitness, flexibility and coordination exercise. Use a mirror or a coach to analyse your movements when optimising the kicking form. Especially when practising the rotating kick an expert assistant is very helpful. In the beginning already a 15 minutes workout is enough to make your pelvic muscles and hamstrings sore.
"Over-flexibility" workouts are best performed without the sled. Swing your legs supporting your balance with hands on gym bars or chairs. In the front and back there must be enough space to swing the leg as far as it goes. Suitable number of sets/repetitions can be, for instance, 3 x (20 right + 20 left) swings. The swings improve the flexibility of the pelvis. You can do similar sets also sideways. In dry land exercises it is very important to warm up in order to avoid injury.
You can find the most current kick race schedule at Kickbike calendar .
The last Finnish postal stamp with nominal value expressed in the deprecated Mark currency (Euro comes in 2002) depicts a kicksledding assistant of Santa Claus. |
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