Registration for the 2017 Winter Week opens on March 20 at 09:00. Here is some extra information for those interested in Stafettvasan, since things will work differently next year.
For the seventh year in a row, more than fifty thousand participants managed to complete their Winter Week races, and this year the total was 55,435 (including all Stafettvasan sections). Only 2,128 participants broke off their races, which is about half as many as last year. There were a total of 68,024 registered participants.
Vasaloppet now introduces the major initiative Nattvasan 2017, a 90 kilometre ski adventure between Sälen and Mora in the middle of the night. This freestyle race runs as a couples competition with teams of two. The first Nattvasan will take place on Friday March 3, 2017, at 20:00 in the evening. Registration opens on Sunday March 20, 2016.
Vasaloppet 2016 was decided with exciting final spurts in both the men's and ladies' class. Norwegian John Kristian Dahl won one of the largest group spurts in Vasaloppet history and took his second victory ahead of his compatriot Stian Hoelgaard. Czech/Austrian Katerina Smutná won the ladies' class two seconds ahead of Britta Johansson Norgren.
It has been 495 years since Gustav Vasa's adventures in Dalarna, and the 92nd Vasaloppet since the beginning in 1922 will start in Sälen on Sunday March 6, 2016, at 08:00. As usual Vasaloppet has collected and compiled interesting historic facts and trivia as well as current news for the race on Sunday.
Britta Johansson Norgren, Sollefteå Skidor IF, won Tjejvasan 2016 ahead of Katerina Smutná, Austria, and Julia Svan, Vansbro AIK SK. Over the past three years Britta has come in fourth, second and fourth place in Tjejvasan, but today was her first victory in the world's biggest ski race only for women. "I value this victory very highly," said Britta.
90 km of ski trails stand ready to be used by 66,000 participants over the next two weeks and, judging by the weather forecasts, the conditions will be the best we've seen in several years. The races starting in Sälen will have a new minor improvement on the first slope.
It's not long before you'll be standing on the starting line, depending on which race you're participating in. Only the fine-tuning remains. Hope everything is progressing smoothly according to your plan. It is with great joy that we warmly welcome you and another 65,000 skiers to Vasaloppet's Winter Week 2016!
Vasaloppet continues its hard and purposeful work in the environmental area. A zero tolerance policy is in effect against littering. "The aim is that there should be no littering at all along the whole Vasaloppet Arena," says Vasaloppet's Environment Manager Mats Rylander.
The last preparations are right now being made to welcome over 65,000 skiers to Vasaloppet's Winter Week. The cold has returned again and the chilly winter has been very favourable for snow production. Vasaloppet is now testing a new approach with mobile snow cannons along the course to further improve the track quality of the event.
