Vätternrundan, live.

A night start and a whole lake before midnight

A 315-kilometre ride around Lake Vättern, starting and finishing in Motala, first ridden in 1966.

Vätternrundan was first ridden in 1966, with six women in the starting field, and it has been part of En Svensk Klassiker since the series began in 1971. The 2027 race, the 62nd, is on 18–19 June. Riders do not leave together: start groups roll out of Motala from 19:30 on the Friday until about 06:30 on the Saturday, with the SUB 9 groups going between 11:30 and 12:30 on Saturday. The same week holds shorter rides from Motala, among them Halvvättern over 150 km and Tjejvättern and Vätternrundan 100 km, on 12 June 2027.

The route goes round the whole lake. The organiser’s spectator guide follows it past Vadstena, Ödeshög and the viewpoint at Gyllene Uttern above Gränna, down to Jönköping, up the western shore to the promenade in Hjo, then round the northern end at Askersund and back to Motala. Most start groups set off during the night. The depots are also cutoffs: in 2027 Jönköping closes at 11:30, Hjo at 16:00 and the finish at midnight, and riders must reach a depot at least twenty minutes before it closes.

Because starts are spread over eleven hours, nobody at home can work out where a rider is from the clock alone. A rider who shares their Livebib link gives family a page that opens in a browser, with no app and no account, showing the position on the route round the lake, the distance covered and a finish estimate that updates with the pace and the stops. On the stretches where the phone loses signal, the position is carried forward along the route and marked as estimated, never shown as measured.