Nattvasan 2017 – 90 K in moonlight
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.
The Winter Week 2016 is completed and it was the largest ever with over 68,000 registered participants. The plan to add another ski race to the Vasaloppet family has been in the works for a long time, and now Nattvasan can finally be introduced next year in cooperation with Silva.
”These past few years we have focused on developing Cykelvasan and Ultravasan; now it’s time to take the next step with the winter races. This is a huge initiative from Vasaloppet and a very important step on our journey to stay relevant, strengthen our unique position, and reach exciting new target groups,” says Vasaloppet’s CEO Eva-Lena Frick.
A freestyle couples race – with only one checkpoint
Nattvasan will be one of a kind and the first established night race in the world. The race follows the classic stretch between Sälen and Mora and runs two days before Vasaloppet 2017. It will be the Winter Week’s first freestyle race and a true couples competition where you may only participate in two-person teams. The race only has one checkpoint, Evertsberg, in contrast to Vasaloppet’s seven checkpoints and, as an extra security measure, participants must carry a backpack containing certain equipment as well as a GPS transmitter.
”Night skiing is an amazing experience but also a greater challenge, especially when there is only one checkpoint for 90 kilometres; a challenge you take on together with a friend, working towards a common goal. I look forward to skiing in the premiere race myself and meeting the warming fires in Evertsberg to refill on energy before moving on, back into the night and the silence,” says Vasaloppet’s CEO Eva-Lena Frick.
The first Nattvasan will take place on March 3, 2017, starting in Berga by at 20:00 on Friday evening. The maximum for the first year will be 750 teams, 1,500 participants, and the race is freestyle. Registration opens on March 20 at 09:00 on vasaloppet.se.
Launch film to tones of Marit Bergman
To introduce the race a video has been produced where Vasaloppet veteran and former CEO of the World Cup in Falun 2015, Sven von Holst, together with his daughter Maria, skis parts of the course at night. Sven and Maria were overwhelmed by the experience and are convinced that the race will attract many enthusiasts, but also new audiences who might not have a cross-country skiing background.
”The idea of a night race has been around for many years. It’s really fantastic that it’s finally happening and for me it feels amazing to be part of what is, in many ways, a historic moment. It adds a new dimension, even for someone like me who has completed 37 Vasaloppet. This is the complete nature experience. It’s only the two of you, the historic surroundings and the sounds of the night,” says Sven von Holst, chairman of Vasaloppet Marknads AB and Vasaloppet veteran.
In celebration of the new race Marit Bergman, recording artist from Rättvik in Dalarna, has made her own interpretation of the well-known Vasaloppet anthem that is played at the start and finish of Vasaloppet. Marit Bergman releases her first album in six years this April. The Nattvasan song ”Blåa blåa bergen” will be released as a standalone single in the next few weeks.
