Peddling salmon as cyclists pedal for glory
Salmon will take pride of place at this year's Cycling Road World Championships in Bergen... on the bodies of competitors who have stood out for their aggressive efforts in races.
For the first time, the "salmon jersey" will be awarded to the most active / competitive rider in five of the races at the championships, the grand finale to the professional cycle racing season.
"The aquaculture industry is going to be very visible in Bergen, nationally and internationally," said Bjørn-Erik Stabell, of the Norwegian Seafood Council. "Racers will compete for a total of five salmon jerseys, given to the most active rider in the field. This is a jersey that never before has been awarded in a World Championships.
"It's great that the cycling championships are being held in Norway. We focus on this as a national event. This is the biggest sporting event in Norway since the Lillehammer Olympics, and it's incredibly pleasing that this sporting event is possible thanks to the support from the Norwegian aquaculture industry," said Stabell.
He added that the aquaculture industry, together with the Seafood Council, would first and foremost promote salmon as important for Norway during the championships.
Salmon Hill
Stabell said there will also be plenty of opportunities to promote salmon during TV coverage of the championships. Among them will be racers pedalling up "Salmon Hill", as part of the Bergen city course has been named for the event, well over 40 times during the week. A promotional "salmon truck" will be clearly visible in the urban environment in Bergen and the Seafood Council will have a series of events around the city, as well as a separate seminar that focuses on the sea and the opportunities found in the ocean.
The aquaculture industry is sponsoring the Cycling Road World Championships through the Seafood Council budget. Stabell said that a collaboration with the Cycling Road World Championships had been a desire of aquaculture enterprises promoted by the Seafood Council.
British cyclist Chris Froome will compete in the individual time trial at the championships, which start on Sunday, but won't take part in the men's elite race. Slovakia's Peter Sagan, the current holder of the coveted world champion's rainbow jersey, is aiming to become the first man to win that race for the third year in succession.
The 1276.5km elite race starts with a 40km out-of-town section, followed by 12 laps of a 19.1km circuit around Bergen that includes Salmon Hill, a 1.5km rise with an average gradient of 6.4 per cent.
In 2018, the World Championships will move to Innsbruck in Austria and the 2019 edition will take place in Yorkshire.
