Today’s third stage of the Tour des Fjords in Norway goes from Leirvik to Sauda via Haugesund. Shortly after the start in Leirvik, the peloton will ride through the Bømlo Fjord tunnel 264 metres below sea level, which organisers are saying is the “deepest” point for any UCI race ever.
The tunnel is 7.82 kilometers (4.86 mi) long and is the longest subsea tunnel in Norway and was the second-deepest in the world until 2008.
Plans for the tunnel arose in the 1980s; construction started in 1997 and the tunnel opened on 27 December 2000.
Remarkably enough, it seems that the stage will go further below sea level, than it goes above sea level. The highest point of the stage appears to be about 238m above sea level at the 150km mark.
