Birkebeinerrittet is a long-distance mountainbike cycling

Cycling

Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...

 race held annually in Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

. It is the world's largest mountainbike race in number of contestants. In 2009 17,164 riders signed up, and 15,140 cyclists completed the race. Compare this to the population of Norway of under 5 million inhabitants.

The race

The race starts at Rena ends at Håkons Hall in Lillehammer. Birkebeinerrittet is 94 km long along fire roads, with some paved and some single/dualtrack segments.

The race has been held since 1993 and commemorates a trip made by the Birkebeiner loyalists

Birkebeiner

The Birkebein Party or Birkebeinar was the name for a rebellious party in Norway, formed in 1174 around the pretender to the Norwegian throne, Eystein Meyla...

 to save the heir to the Norwegian throne, Håkon Håkonsson, in 1206. All participants carry a backpack weighing at least 3.5 kg, symbolizing the weight of the then one-year old heir.

Men

Year	Name	Club/Nation	Time
2010	Hannes Genze	Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...	02.57.04
2009	Andreas Kugler	Switzerland Switzerland Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....	03.02.05
2008	Anders Hovdenes	Norway Norway Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...	02.40.50
2007	Massimo De Bertolis	Italy Italy Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...	02.52.29
2006	Lars Petter Nordhaug Lars Petter Nordhaug Lars Petter Nordhaug is a Norwegian professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTour team .He started his career as a mountain biker, but after finishing 5th in the 2004 Norwegian National Road Racing Championship, his focus changed towards road bicycle racing...	Norway Norway Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...	02.43.08
2005	Thomas Frischknecht Thomas Frischknecht Thomas Frischknecht is a Swiss mountain bike and cyclo-cross racer, often called Europe's Elder Statesman of mountain biking, because of his extraordinarily long career at the top level of the sport...	Switzerland Switzerland Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....	03.52.01

Women

Year	Name	Club/Nation	Time
2011	Pia Sundstedt Pia Sundstedt Pia Ann-Katrine Sundstedt is a professional cyclist who competes in road bicycle racing and mountain bike racing as well as cross country skiing events. Sundstedt competed in the Summer Olympics for Finland...	Finland Finland Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...	03.08.26
2010	Pia Sundstedt Pia Sundstedt Pia Ann-Katrine Sundstedt is a professional cyclist who competes in road bicycle racing and mountain bike racing as well as cross country skiing events. Sundstedt competed in the Summer Olympics for Finland...	Finland Finland Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...	03.19.45
2009	Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjå Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjå Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjå is a Norwegian cross-country and marathon mountain biker. She won the women's cross-country gold medal at the 2004 Olympic Games and is a multiple World Champion. She has won six World Championships and six European championships. Dahle has also won four UCI World Cup XC in...	Norway Norway Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...	03.27.02
2008	Pia Sundstedt Pia Sundstedt Pia Ann-Katrine Sundstedt is a professional cyclist who competes in road bicycle racing and mountain bike racing as well as cross country skiing events. Sundstedt competed in the Summer Olympics for Finland...	Finland Finland Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...	03.09.06
2007	Pia Sundstedt Pia Sundstedt Pia Ann-Katrine Sundstedt is a professional cyclist who competes in road bicycle racing and mountain bike racing as well as cross country skiing events. Sundstedt competed in the Summer Olympics for Finland...	Finland Finland Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...	03.24.43
2006	Pia Sundstedt Pia Sundstedt Pia Ann-Katrine Sundstedt is a professional cyclist who competes in road bicycle racing and mountain bike racing as well as cross country skiing events. Sundstedt competed in the Summer Olympics for Finland...	Finland Finland Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...	03.08.32
2005	Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjå Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjå Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjå is a Norwegian cross-country and marathon mountain biker. She won the women's cross-country gold medal at the 2004 Olympic Games and is a multiple World Champion. She has won six World Championships and six European championships. Dahle has also won four UCI World Cup XC in...	Norway Norway Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...	04.05.18