Tahko MTB

The course

The Classic 60 starts from the Piazza outside Break Sokos Hotel Tahko with the race group at 09:30 (together with the 120 km riders) and four more groups at 09:45, 10:15, 10:30 and 10:45, each for a slower target time, with the e-MTB hobby start at 10:00. The first 17 km are the fast part: ski-trail bases, short stretches of asphalt and the pine-heath paths around Nilsiä, with the first feed station at Nilsiä after 14.7 km. The pace changes at the foot of Kinahmi: narrow forest singletrack through cattle enclosures (the cows are sometimes on the path), where overtaking is hard and the organiser asks for a cow's patience, and the two Kinahmi climbs, the second of which riders call the stairway to heaven. Almost everyone pushes some of it.

After Kinahmi the route follows ski-trail bases, forest roads and trails through Kalkkiruukki (33.5 km, the station with blueberry soup), Lehtomäki and Tuulivaara (43.6 km) to Rahasmäki (50 km), whose uphill is the next test and whose feed station serves waffles and jam. From Rahasmäki a long, mostly downhill section on narrow forest paths and then gravel roads leads to the northern foot of Tahko. Then comes El Grande, a continuous climb of just over 3 km to the top of the Tahko ski hill, with views over Lake Syväri; the organiser's advice is to drink before it.

From the summit a 1.4 km twisting descent drops to the Tahkolahti shore path and the finish lane on the Piazza, where there is finish-line food and drink and an intermediate station for riders going out on another lap. The route is taped and signed, with warning signs before the harder descents and clear signs at the junctions where the distances split; GPX files are on the route pages. Timing is by a chip on the handlebar number and results are live on raceresult. The five feed stations have water, a 4 per cent sports drink, bananas, pickles, rye bread, raisins, salt and crackers, toilets, first-aid kits and a limited stock of inner tubes that you pay for afterwards; there is a Red Cross post at Kinahmi, medics on bikes along the course and an ambulance at the event centre.

How to enter

Entries for 2027 open on 1 November 2026 on the organiser's site and stay open until the moment of the start; there is no cap announced, no lottery, no seeding and no licence. The Classic 60 costs €89 on the opening day, €99 from 2 November 2026 to 28 February 2027, €109 from 1 March to 31 May and €129 from 1 June to 3 July 2027; under-18s pay €35 whatever the date. The 45 km follows the same steps from €59 and the 15 km is €35; the Night 60, 120 km and 240 km cost the same as the Classic. Finnish sports-benefit payments (ePassi, Smartum, Edenred) can cover all or part of the fee via a voucher code from the organiser.

The fee includes the feed stations and finish-line service, timing, a buffet meal (breakfast 05:30–11:00 or the pasta buffet 11:30–21:00 on Saturday in 2026) and the event T-shirt, plus the hotel saunas and bike-wash stations. There are no refunds; you can defer your entry once to the following year for €20 through your registration link, or transfer it free to another person. Moving to a longer distance costs the difference and moving to a shorter one gets no refund; changes were free until 7 June in 2026 and €15 after that. If the event is cancelled for force majeure the fee is not refunded. Pick your start group honestly: the organiser notes that faster riders can pass easily except on the short singletrack sections.

How to train for it

Train the long climb at the end

El Grande is a continuous climb of just over 3 km to the summit of Tahko after 55 km of riding, and the Kinahmi and Rahasmäki climbs come before it. Finish your long rides with a steady 15–20 minute climb and practise getting off and pushing efficiently; the organiser says almost everyone walks some part of the hills.

Ride singletrack in traffic

The Kinahmi section is narrow forest path where overtaking is difficult and riders bunch up behind each other. Practise riding at someone else's pace on singletrack and choosing a sensible start group; if you set off in a faster group than your target time you will spend Kinahmi holding people up.

Prepare for a four-hour effort

The median rider takes four hours and the slower groups five or more, mostly on ski-trail bases and forest roads where you can keep pedalling. Build rides of three to four hours on mixed surfaces, and use the organiser's start-group targets (under 3:30, 4, 4.5, 5 hours) to decide which group you belong in.

Eat at the stations, not just gels

The five stations serve bananas, rye bread, pickles, salt, sports drink and, at Kalkkiruukki and Rahasmäki, blueberry soup and waffles. Practise eating real food on the bike in training; the organiser's first-timer advice is blunt about the misery of running out of energy.

Learn to fix a flat

The route is stony in places and you are expected to carry tyre levers, a tube and a pump; stations have only a few spare tubes. Practise a tube change before race day and set your tyre pressure for roots and rocks rather than for the fast opening kilometres.

What you need

• A mountain bike (hardtail, full-suspension or fat bike); e-MTBs are allowed in their own classes if they are road-legal (assist to 25 km/h, pedal-assist only, 250 W); gravel bikes are not recommended by the organiser
• Helmet, mandatory for everyone
• Tyre levers, a spare inner tube and a pump as a minimum; limited spares at the feed stations are paid for afterwards
• Bottles or a hydration pack; the stations refill bottles and your own labelled bottles can be sent to a chosen station by handing them in at the race office by Friday 20:00
• The handlebar number with its timing chip, fixed with the cable ties provided
• A phone with the organiser's event number saved, to text your bib number if you drop out
• A good front light for the Night 60 and the Supreme, which start at midnight
• A change of clothes and swimwear for the hotel saunas after the finish

Getting there and staying

Tahko is a ski and holiday resort at Nilsiä, about 70 km north of Kuopio in North Savo, less than an hour's drive from the city centre according to the resort's own site. The event centre, race office and start and finish are at the Piazza outside Break Sokos Hotel Tahko (Tahkonrinteentie 7); the hotel car park is for hotel guests and the area is closed to cars, so visitors park at the Event Park (€2 per hour or a €5 day permit from the Tahko Spa reception in 2026) and the organiser suggests that people staying in the resort leave the car at their accommodation and ride in.

Bib pick-up is at the service point by the hotel on Friday 12:00–21:00 or on Saturday from 07:30; the pack has the number, cable ties, the meal voucher and the T-shirt if ordered. Friday is family day with the free MiniMTB at 16:30, the Easy Rider 15 km at 18:00 and a course preview talk in the evening; the Night 60 and the Supreme start at midnight. After the finish there are three bike-wash stations, free use of the hotel saunas, a reduced-price ticket to the Tahko Spa, the buffet meal, prize-giving at 17:00 on the finish area, a talk show at 21:00 and a party afterwards. Lost property is at the hotel reception for a week.

Accommodation is the Sokos hotel (with a bike store), the resort's central booking site for cabins and apartments, which offered three nights for the price of two for bookings by 30 April in 2026, and Golden Resort villas and rooms at a discount with the organiser's code. The resort is busy on race weekend; book early in the year.

History

Tahko MTB was first held in 1999 and has run every year since except 2020, when a Summer Trail event replaced it. Four riders have taken part in every edition and were made honorary 'vuorineuvos' with lifetime entry at the 25th anniversary. The programme has grown to eight distances from a 200 m children's dash to the Supreme, which alternates between 180 km (even years, three laps) and 240 km (odd years), both starting at midnight with the Night 60. The organiser likes to call it the mountain biker's Jukola: a race for the fastest in the country and a day out for everyone else, with everyone a winner at the finish.

Where to find out more

• Classic 60 route page (opens in a new tab): Route description, facts, map PDF and GPX file for the 60 km.
• Timetable (opens in a new tab): Start times and groups for every distance, service-point hours and the evening programme.
• Event instructions (opens in a new tab): Parking, bib pick-up, feed-station menus, first aid, dropping out, washing and meals.
• Entry and prices (opens in a new tab): 2027 price steps, sports-benefit payment, terms, deferrals and transfers.
• Results 2026 on raceresult (opens in a new tab): Full results for every distance with times; the participants list shows entrants.
• Accommodation partners (opens in a new tab): The hotel, the resort's booking site and the villa resort, with the organiser's discount codes.
• Tahko resort (opens in a new tab): The resort's site: how to get there, services and opening hours.