Norwegian motivated by 2014 Worlds to be held at home
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Lene Byberg (Nor Bicycles)(Image credit: Ken Meland)
Lene Byberg (Nor Bicycles)(Image credit: Ken Meland)
The last few seasons have been challenging for Lene Byberg. Injuries and illnesses have kept her from achieving top results in the cross country World Cup. So for 2013, Byberg will be aiming to balance both bike racing and school.
"I have had some time where it has been hard to stay motivated when the results are not there, and my lifestyle situation has been changing some," said Byberg. "This year, I will combine my cycling with full time studies."
That doesn't mean Byberg is stepping away from elite racing. "I have a really strong motivation to get back to the highest level of World Cup cross country racing, especially thinking of the world champs to be held in Norway in 2014." The UCI recently awarded the 2014 Worlds to Byberg's home nation of Norway.
The petite blond racer has signed with Nor Bicycles for 2013.
"Byberg is a merited cyclist who has competed in two Olympics, has several previous national championships in road and MTB categories and has a World Cup victory to her name," said CEO Ken Meland at Sandnes Sykkelfabrikk AS. "Lene is one of our biggest profile racers in the mountain bike scene and has tons of experience which we can benefit from in our product development."
"Lene lives just 2km from our factory and almost daily, we can spot her on her bike going to her favourite riding spot, the forest next to our building," said Meland.
Nor Bicycles lets customers design their bikes online based on component and color preferences and seven body measurements.
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"I think it is exciting to work with Nor Bicycles and the people working there," said Byberg. "It is a small company, with passionate employees. I think that the concept Nor Bicycles have developed is the future for bicycle production. Having the assembly factory and painting facility just next to my house is also very special."
Byberg is currently training and racing on a Big D 29er and she is already in process of helping design another race bike. "Hopefully I will get to design more bikes during the season," she said.
