Donated 400 kilos of salmon to people in need

January 21 ^st 2025 - 16:06 [GMT + 1]

Donated 400 kilos of salmon to people in need

Hushovd's wild bet during the Arctic Race of Norway ended in a gala dinner with Norwegian salmon in Spain. There they agreed to give 400 kilos of salmon to people who struggle in their everyday lives.

Saved by local producer

During the Arctic Race of Norway in August last year, Arctic Race ambassador Thor Hushovd lost a bet with the cycling team TDT Unibet, which has now been renamed Unibet Tietema Rockets. The team won both the climbing classification jersey and managed to hook a large cod on a fishing trip. This meant that Hushovd had to provide 500 kilos of salmon for the winner of the climbing clasification, Jelle Johannink. Fortunately for Hushovd, local salmon producers Edelfarm and Wenberg fiskeoppdrett through the company Nordic Blu provided the agreed quantity of salmon, and on Wednesday the prize was handed over at a grand gala dinner at the cycling team's training camp in Spain. The team from Skjerstadfjorden had brought both salmon and a chef and prepared a delicious meal for the entire cycling team at the hotel where they are staying during the training camp.

50 kilos straight into the freezer

In addition to the salmon that was served at the party dinner, Jelle Johannink will be getting 50 kilos of fillet delivered home. The winner, his team and Arctic Race of Norway have decided to donate the rest of the salmon to organizations that distribute food to people who are struggling to get food on their table. 50 kilos will go to Bodø Matstasjon (Bodø Food Station) and the rest will be distributed through Matsentralen i Nord-Norge (The Food Centre in Northern Norway). The cyclist thinks that is a good thing. - I am of course overjoyed to have 50 kilos of salmon fillet delivered home. It is great food for us cyclists, and I am looking forward to many good salmon meals. In addition, it is great that someone who really needs it can get a part of the prize, says Johannink. Do you have a big enough freezer? - I'll probably have to distribute the goods a bit among family and friends, so I just have to hope that they won't be tempted to eat it all, says the cyclist with a smile. What do you think of the food that was served here today? - It was perfect. I can see that the whole team appreciated this meal, so today I've received an extra star from my teammates and the support staff.

Pleased with the solution

Hushovd is happy that the prize has been awarded, and especially happy with the solution of giving most of it away to those who need it most. - Unfortunately, there are far too many people who struggle to get food in their everyday lives, even in rich Norway. Then it's nice to know that we have contributed to someone who really needs it getting a healthy and good meal in the form of Norwegian salmon, says Hushovd. Nordic Blu is also pleased with the solution. - Although this is a fantastic product, there are limits to how much salmon one person can eat. There is also an environmental cost associated with transporting such a large volume from Skjerstadfjorden to the Netherlands. Therefore, we are happy that the winner, together with the team and Arctic Race of Norway, found a great local solution, says Isak Bø Rørnes in Nordic Blu.

Glad it ended so well

CEO Knut-Eirik Dybdal of Arctic Race of Norway is happy that Nordic Blu helped Hushovd out of his difficulty, and that there was a happy conclusion to the wild bet. - I don't know what Thor would have done if Nordic Blu hadn't stepped up, and I'm extra happy that the whole story ended as well as this. It shows that you can achieve a lot if you're a little bold, says Dybdal.