Facts, statistics, news and trivia ahead of Vasaloppet 2023

VASALOPPET QUICK FACTS
DATE: Sunday, March 5, 2023
START: Vasaloppet start, Berga By, Sälen
START TIME: 08:00 CET
FINISH: The finish line portal at the belfry in Mora
DISTANCE: 90 km, classic technique
FOLLOW PARTICIPANTS: The official Vasaloppet app >
LIVE BROADCAST: On radio, TV and streaming (see below)
FIRST RACE: 1922
CANCELLED: 1932, 1934 and 1990
THIS IS RACE NUMBER: 99
RULING CHAMPIONS: Andreas Nygaard, Norway, and Astrid Øyre Slind, Norway
REGISTERED PARTICIPANTS 2023: 15,800 (More than 50,000 in all the 12 races of Vasaloppet Winter Week 2023)
RECORD NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS: 15,709 started in 2010
HILL PRIZE: Evertsberg 47 km
OTHER SPRINT PRICES: Smågan 11 km, Mångsbodarna 24 km, Risberg 36 km, Oxberg 62 km, Hökberg 71 km, Eldris 81 km
SKI CLASSIC CLIMB: The highest point of Vasaloppet (528 meters above sea level) 3 km
SKI CLASSICS SPRINT: Smågan 11 km, Evertsberg 47 km
NEXT YEAR: Registration for the 100th Vasaloppet on March 3, 2024 opens on Sunday, March 5, 2023 when the first skier passes the Mångsbodarna checkpoint, around 09:00. Register for Vasaloppet 2024 here >
WEBSITE: vasaloppet.se

History
Gustav Eriksson’s adventure in Dalarna took place during the winter of 1520–21. On June 6, 1523 he was elected King of Sweden – as Gustav Vasa. The first Vasaloppet took place in 1922. This year will see the 99th Vasaloppet, which is also the 27th with a special competition class for women (started in 1997). Three races have been cancelled: 1932, 1934 and 1990. Since 1948 the race has always run on the first Sunday of March, except in 2015 when the race ran on the second Sunday because of the World Ski Championships in Falun.

The first live TV broadcast of Vasaloppet took place in 1966. This will be the 46th time that Vasaloppet (in part or in its entirety) is transmitted live, and it’s the 41st time that the Vasaloppet start is broadcast live on television. 1973 was the first year with a live broadcast in colour. Since 1992 Vasaloppet has been shown live every year.

Since 1922 a total of 612,472 Vasaloppet skiers have completed the 90-kilometre Vasaloppet; if we put together all 98 races, participants have skied a distance equal to 1,375 round the world trips or 71 journeys to the moon and back. (Combining winter and summer races, there had been 1,735,888 finishes before this year’s Winter Week.)

The average finishing time for the 612,472 participants can be counted as 7.58.17 (average) or 7.54.00 (median).

The average skier 2022
In Vasaloppet 2023, the average age is 42.2 and the average participant has skied Vasaloppet 3.5 times before.

Of the registered Vasaloppet skiers in 2023, 57 percent have skied Vasaloppet before. So 43 percent are skiing Vasaloppet for the first time. 18.6 percent of the registered participants in the track on Sunday are women.

Names of interest 2023
Men
– Andreas Nygaard, last year’s winner.
– Emil Persson, in the lead of Ski Classics this year, having won eight out of nine individual races. Second place in Vasaloppet 2022.
– Max Novak, has been in the top 3 three times and this season he’s currently third in Ski Classics.
– Tord Asle Gjerdalen, won 2021. If he were to win this year too he’d be the oldest Vasaloppet winner.
– Petter Northug, came tenth in Marcialonga 2012 and was supposed to ski Vasaloppet that year but was unable to start. This year he came fifth in Grönklitt Criterium, his best placement in Ski Classics.
– Alvar Myhlback, born March 22, 2006, has received a special dispensation from the Swedish Ski Association and will be Vasaloppet’s youngest participant ever. (In order to participate in Vasaloppet 2023, you must ordinarily be born in 2004 or earlier, in other words you have to turn 19 this calendar year.)

Women
– Astrid Øyre Slind, last year’s winner who will be skiing 30 km at the World Championships in Planica the day before Vasaloppet.
– Magni Smedås, leading Ski Classics this year. Won both Marcialonga and Jizerská and has the chance to take home a Grand Slam. Has never skied Vasaloppet.
– Ida Dahl, has won most races among the women this year, putting her second in Ski Classics. Her best Vasaloppet placement: third in 2021.
– Emilie Fleten, second place in Vasaloppet 2022. Has been in the top 3 in 16 Ski Classics races, but no win yet.

Winners
The last ten Vasaloppet winners, men
2013 Jørgen Aukland, Norway
2014 John Kristian Dahl, Norway
2015 Petter Eliassen, Norway
2016 John Kristian Dahl, Norway
2017 John Kristian Dahl, Norway
2018 Andreas Nygaard, Norway
2019 Tore Bjørset Berdal, Norway
2020 Petter Eliassen, Norway
2021 Tord Asle Gjerdalen, Norway
2022 Andreas Nygaard, Norway

The last ten Vasaloppet winners, women
2013 Laila Kveli, Norway
2014 Laila Kveli, Norway
2015 Justyna Kowalczyk, Poland
2016 Katerina Smutná, Austria
2017 Britta Johansson Norgren, Sweden
2018 Lina Korsgren, Sweden
2019 Britta Johansson Norgren, Sweden
2020 Lina Korsgren, Sweden
2021 Lina Korsgren, Sweden
2022 Astrid Øyre Slind, Norway

Start list
(The elite start group is VL0, after which there are ten additional start groups.)
Start list >

Last year’s results
All top ten men from 2022 are still active, while six of the top ten women in Vasaloppet 2022 have now retired. Only eight different men’s victors and four different women’s victors have managed to defend their Vasaloppet win the next year. Most recently, John Kristian Dahl 2017 and Lina Korsgren 2021. Only nine times in the men’s class (since 1922) and four times in the women’s class (introduced in 1997) has the person who finished second in Vasaloppet won the race the following year.

Results Vasaloppet 2022, men
1 Andreas Nygaard, (NOR) Team Ragde Charge, 3.32.18
2 Emil Persson, (SWE) Lager 157 Ski Team, 3.32.19
3 Axel Jutterström, (SWE) Team Eksjöhus, 3.32.20
4 Kasper Stadaas, (NOR) Team Ragde Charge, 3.32.21
5 Joar Andreas Thele, (NOR) Team Ragde Charge, 3.32.21
6 Herman Paus, (NOR) Team Ramudden, 3.32.21
7 Johan Hoel, (NOR) Team Ragde Charge, 3.32.22
8 Erik Rosjö, (SWE) Team Eksjöhus, 3.32.22
9 Anders Aukland, (NOR) Team Ragde Charge, 3.32.23
10 Karstein Johaug, (NOR) Team Ragde Charge, 3.32.23

Results Vasaloppet 2022, women
1 Astrid Øyre Slind, (NOR) Team Koteng Eidissen, 3.50.06
2 Britta Johansson Norgren, (SWE) Lager 157 Ski Team, 3.52.53
3 Emilie Fleten, (NOR) Team XPND FUEL, 3.54.28
4 Thea Krokan Murud, (NOR) Lager 157 Ski Team, 3.55.16
5 Lina Korsgren, (SWE) Team Ramudden, 3.57.53
6 Marit Bjørgen, (NOR) Team Ragde Charge, 3.59.34
7 Ida Dahl, (SWE) Team Ramudden, 4.04.30
8 Laila Kveli, (NOR) Team Engcon, 4.04.45
9 Evelina Settlin, (SWE) Team Engcon, 4.04.56
10 Heli Heiskanen, (FIN) Slavia Pojistovna Sport Team, 4.07.11

Cross-country cup
The international long distance cross-country cup Ski Classics, broadcast live on Swedish Television, has run ever since 2012. The overall standings currently show a Swedish lead on the men’s side and a Norwegian lead on the women’s side.

Standings in Ski Classics Champion 2022/23, men
1 Emil Persson, Lager 157 Ski Team, 1920 points
2 Amund Riege, Team Ramudden, 1158
3 Max Novak, Team Aker Dæhlie, 1140
4 Stian Hoelgaard, Team Aker Dæhlie, 1039
5 Kasper Stadaas, Team Ragde Charge, 1036
6 Morten Eide Pedersen, Team Eksjöhus, 1028
7 Tord Asle Gjerdalen, Team XPND Fue,l 1021
8 Herman Paus, Team Ramudden, 915
9 Andreas Nygaard, Team Ragde Charge, 888
10 Petter Stakston, Team Aker Dæhlie, 879

Standings in Ski Classics Champion 2022/23, women
1 Magni Smedås, Team Eksjöhus, 1630 poäng
2 Ida Dahl, Team Engcon, 1625
3 Emilie Fleten, Team Ramudden, 1305
4 Jenny Larsson, Team Ragde Charge, 1287
5 Karolina Hedenström, Lager 157 Ski Team, 1181
6 Kati Roivas, Team Næringsbanken Stora Enso, 1044
7 Sandra Schützová, Vltava Fund Ski Team, 898
8 Silje Øyre Slind, Team Aker Dæhlie, 835
9 Ida Palmberg, Team Ramudden, 774
10 Anikken Gjerde Alnes, Team Ragde Charge, 772

Remaining races after Vasaloppet
Saturday, March 18: Birkebeinerrennet, 54 km, Rena–Lillehammer, Norway
Saturday, April 1: Reistadløpet, 40 km, Setermoen–Bardufoss, Norway
Sunday, April 2: Summit 2 Senja, 67 km, Bardufoss–Finnsnes, Norway
www.skiclassics.com >

Watch Ski Classics’ digital press conference of March 1, with interviews ahead of Vasaloppet 2023

Awards
The awards ceremony for Vasaloppet 2023 takes place at 15:00 on stage at the Vasaloppet finish line. Training scholarships are awarded to the top 15 men and top 15 women. The prize sum is the same in the men’s and women’s class.

The first prize (for both men and women) is a gold medal, a green salal leaf garland, a big red Dalecarlian horse and a cheque of 99,000 SEK, as this is the 99th race. In addition, the victors receive the sponsors’ honorary award, a brass cast ship’s bell, awarded this year by Volvo. The men’s class winner will also get the Kranskulla honorary award, an embroidered pillow. (The Kransmas honorary award was given at Tjejvasan.)

There are seven sprint prizes for both men and women: 10,000 SEK in Evertsberg (The Hill Prize) and 5,000 SEK at the six other checkpoints; Smågan, Mångsbodarna, Risberg, Oxberg, Hökberg and Eldris.
The total prize sum for Vasaloppet 2023 is 618,000 SEK. If a participant sets a new record time in the men’s or women’s class of Vasaloppet they will also be awarded a 50,000 SEK record bonus. Record time women: 3:56:06 (Astrid Øyre Slind, 2022). Record time men: 3:28:18 (Tord Asle Gjerdalen, 2021).

Placement medals – gold, silver and bronze – are awarded to those who come first, second and third. Participants who finish within the winning time plus 50 percent are awarded the Vasaloppet achievement medal. Everyone who completes Vasaloppet gets a diploma and a participation medal.

The first man and woman to reach Mångsbodarna in 2023 will get the first number bibs for the 100th Vasaloppet 2024, with the number 100.

Ski Classics has a ”climb prize” at the course’s highest point, 528 metres above sea level, three kilometres after the start. The first seven men and women to reach this height get points in the Climb Trophy cup. Ski Classics also has sprint prizes for Mångsbodarna and Evertsberg. The first seven men and women to reach those checkpoints get points in the Sprint Trophy cup.

Grand Slam
For the 2020/21 season, Ski Classics launched ”The Grand Classics” which includes the four big races Marcialonga in Italy, Jizerska50 in the Czech Republic, Vasaloppet in Sweden and Birkebeinerrennet in Norway. If a skier wins all four in one and the same season, they make a Grand Slam and win 100,000 Euros.

So far in history, no skier has managed to win all four races during the same season, not since Ski Classics started nor before. The four races are also valued higher in Ski Classics: Winners of these four races get 300 points in the overall cup, compared to 200 points for other races.

Kranskulla and Kransmas
This year’s Kranskulla is Alice Larsson from Sälens IF (Kranskulla number 99) and Kransmas is Albin Gezelius from IFK Mora (Kranskulla number 35).

Counties
The participant numbers from different Swedish counties in Vasaloppet 2022 were, as of February 21: Stockholm (2,571), Västra Götaland (1,988), Dalarna (659), Skåne (654), Uppsala (557), Västerbotten (484), Jönköping (463), Östergötland (432), Halland (390), Norrbotten (383), Jämtland (363), Gävleborg (359), Västernorrland (317), Värmland (314), Örebro (298), Västmanland (258), Kronoberg (232), Södermanland (222), Kalmar (180), Blekinge (110), Gotland (48). Alterations may be made up until the start and statistics are not final.

Nations
About 3,600 of Vasaloppet’s registered participants for 2023 represent 50 nations other than Sweden: Most come from Norway (1,092), Finland (588), Denmark (413), Germany (280), the Czech Republic (266), Italy (148), Switzerland (129), the USA (103), Estonia (96), France (95), the Netherlands (66), Austria (64), Great Britain (51) and Iceland (44).

Vasaloppet 2023 on TV around the world
Ski Classics 2022/23 is broadcast by SVT (Sweden), NRK (Norway), WB Discovery (Finland), Nent Group (Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Iceland, the Netherlands, Great Britain), Czech TV (the Czech Republic), TVP (Poland), beIN Sports (Turkey, Canada, USA). Eurovision (EBU, news rights only),  www.xc-ski.de (Germany, Austria, Switzerland).

Here are all the times (CET) for radio, TV and streaming of Vasaloppet on March 5, 2023:

Sveriges Radio P4
07:18–14:00  Radiosporten is broadcasting Sportextra with Vasaloppet. The traditional start time is 07:18.
sverigesradio.se/radiosporten >

Sveriges Television SVT1 and SVT Play
07:30–12:30 SVT1/SVT Play
14:15–15:15 SVT1/SVT Play
16:00–17:00 SVT1/SVT Play
Hosted by Yvette Hermundstad. Reporters on the track: Maria Wallberg, Therese Bosta and Daniel Nannskog. Commentary provided by Jacob Hård and Anders Blomquist. Jörgen Brink is SVT’s elite skiing reporter. (Only viewable in Sweden.)

”Skiing reporters” on SVT Play 07:30–20:00
A special broadcast with skiing reporters on SVT Play. Four TV profiles will participate and ski different distances while reporting from the festivities, all while official Vasaloppet coach Mattias Svahn skis along as their coach! The four skiers are: Comedian Måns Möller (Sälen–Mångsbodarna), Vasaloppet victor 2017 and 2019 Britta Johansson Norgren (Mångsbodarna–Evertsberg), Sweden’s master chef 2022 Adam Thulin (Evertsberg–Oxberg), Måns Möller again (Oxberg–Hökberg) and SVT presenter Malin Olsson (Hökberg–Mora).
svtplay.se/vasaloppet >
svt.se/sport/vasaloppet >

Ski Classics Play
07:45–12:30 Vasaloppet will be broadcast live by Ski Classics in an international webcast with English commentary. Can be viewed worldwide at a slight cost.
scplay.skiclassics.com >

Vasaloppet.TV
07:00–20:00 Live broadcasts from the start, checkpoints and finish
Follow participants through the arena via fixed cameras at the start in Sälen, the checkpoints in Smågan, Mångsbodarna, Risberg, Evertsberg, Oxberg, Hökberg and Eldris and the finish in Mora.
07:45–15:00 Vasaloppet Live
See the elite’s exciting showdown in Vasaloppet 2023: Commentary: Martin Sellberg. Expert commentary: Daniel Tynell. (Only viewable in Sweden.)
15:00–15:30 Award ceremony Vasaloppet
15:30–20:00 Vasaloppet Live continued
Follow the live broadcast from the finish area in Mora with finishes, interviews and features from the arena until the last participant has crossed the finish line!
vasaloppet.tv >

Number bibs and leader vests in Vasaloppet 2023
Vasaloppet has different number series for different start groups. Women have yellow number bibs. Men have white number bibs. Veterans, who have skied at least 30 races, have orange personalised number bibs. Some participants also have special vests to show that they’re in the lead of one of the Ski Classics cups.

The women’s elite now has the prefix F (female) before the start number in the start lists. The men’s elite has the prefix M (male) before their start numbers in the start lists. Veterans now have the prefix V (veteran).

The first 20 women and 100 men in Vasaloppet 2022 have last year’s placement as their start number, meaning F1–F20 for the women and M1–M100 for the men. Other elite women are assigned start numbers from F21 and up. Other women are assigned start numbers starting at 17000. Other elite men are assigned start numbers M101–M300. Other men are assigned start numbers starting at 1000.

Ski Classics vests in Vasaloppet 2023, women
Yellow vest CHAMPION: Magni Smedås, Team Eksjöhus
Green vest SPRINT: Ida Dahl, Team Engcon
Red/black chequered vest CLIMB: Emilie Fleten, Team Ramudden (second after Ida Dahl)
Pink vest YOUTH: Karolina Hedenström, Lager 157 Ski Team

Ski Classics vests in Vasaloppet 2023, men
Yellow vest CHAMPION: Emil Persson, Lager 157 Ski Team
Green vest SPRINT: Alfred Buskqvist, Team Ramudden
Red/black chequered vest CLIMB: Johan Hoel, Team Ragde Charge (second after Emil Persson)
Pink vest YOUTH: Amund Riege, Team Ramudden
Grey vest VETERAN: Anders Aukland, Team Ragde Charge

Veterans
To call yourself a veteran you must complete a Vasaloppet and/or Öppet Spår according to Vasaloppet’s rules for 30 years (only one race per year counts). From 2020 and on you may also count Nattvasan 90. In Vasaloppet, veterans start in their own row in start group 5 (closest to the wall).
Read more about Vasaloppet veterans >

Number 103 pays tribute to Margit Nordin
100 years ago, on March 4, 1923, Margit Nordin was the first woman to ski Vasaloppet. After that, women were not allowed to participate until Öppet Spår launched in 1979, and they weren’t allowed in Vasaloppet until 1981. The Facebook group ”VasanFörMargit” (Vasa for Margit) started as a private initiative to get more women to ski Vasaloppet and the group has, among other things, printed cloth badges with Margit Nordin’s start number 103, to be worn – regardless of your gender – as a tribute to the first woman in Vasaloppet. Around 300 badges have been distributed and many people have produced their own variants which will be seen on participants on the track this Sunday.

In the fall of 2022, Vasaloppet started ”More women on the track”, a project focused on actively attracting more women to participate in the various races during Vasaloppet’s Winter Week and Summer Week.

Celebrities in Vasaloppet 2023
Lars Berger, Norwegian former elite biathlete, world champion in both cross-country skiing and biathlon
Olaf Tufte, Norwegian former elite rower, Olympic and world champion
Per-Anders Gråberg, Swedish champion jockey
Jonas Stentäpp, hard rocker, ”Hjalle & Heavy”, Mimikry
Melker Andersson, chef, restaurateur
Johan Jureskog, chef, restaurateur
Robin Bryntesson, former elite skier (will be skiing backwards!)
Peter Göransson, Vasaloppet winner 1998
Hanna ”Hannalicious” Friberg, blogger
Ninni Schulman, crime author
Dag Bredberg, former elite hockey player; Swedish champion 1983 with Djurgården
Eric Ågren, former elite bandy player
Lasse Beischer, actor
Jan Friis-Mikkelsen, Danish TV chef
Birger Fält, Vasaloppet expert, former member of the national race walking team
Hans Gerremo, former CEO of SLAO
Stephan Wilson, TV host
Michael Storåkers, business leader, prolific advertiser
Öystein Löseth, Norwegian business leader, former CEO of Vattenfall

Time penalty
If a participant is found to have littered in or along the Vasaloppet course (which is a nature reserve) then he or she will receive a time penalty of 15 minutes. This rule was introduced in 2017. Disposing of litter is permitted in three different ways: In the bins at the Vasaloppet checkpoints; In the marked littering zones between each Vasaloppet checkpoint; Where you as a participant know that a team leader or associate will pick up what you throw. For elite skiers Vasaloppet holds special dialogue, requiring that each team takes responsibility for, and picks up, any of their waste that is thrown along the track.

Weather
The coldest temperature at a Vasaloppet start in Sälen was -30 degrees Celsius, measured in 1935 and 1987. The warmest starting temperature, +4.5 degrees Celsius, was in 2015. Over the 98 years that Vasaloppet has run, it’s been below zero at the start 85 times.

Vasaloppet’s Summer Week 2023
Vasaloppet doesn’t just have a Winter Week. Since 2009 there’s also a Vasaloppet Summer Week with twelve mountain bike and running races, such as Cykelvasan 90 and Ultravasan 90. See the complete list of races below.

Vasaloppstrippeln x3
Vasaloppstrippeln means completing three different types of Vasaloppet during one and the same calendar year. The participant skis in Vasaloppet’s Winter Week and runs and bikes the same distance in Vasaloppet’s Summer Week in August. The distances are 90, 45 or 30 kilometres.

Results
Start lists and results lists can be found here >

Programme/calendar
Everything happening around Vasaloppet 2023.
vasaloppet.se/en/programme/calendar >