Vasaloppet Arena ready – welcome to Vasaloppet's Summer Week 2024

”We are more than ready to welcome all cyclists and runners. A warm welcome to our beautiful Vasaloppet Arena and Vasaloppet’s Summer Week 2024,” says Anders “Hobbe” Holmberg from the arena team.

Throughout the spring and early summer, new wooden decking has been installed at selected locations, undergrowth cleared, and the stretch north of the Oxbergssjön lake has been significantly refreshed, with the surface levelled.

”Though it has rained quite a bit this summer, it hasn’t affected the surface. The Vasaloppet Arena is in excellent condition, and we are very much looking forward to welcoming all participants and letting them enjoy – and sweat – in our beautiful arena,” says Anders Holmberg.

For participants in Cykelvasan Öppet Spår and Cykelvasan 90, this year marks the debut of the new route at the start in Sälen. The plan was to use it last year, but storm Hans caused flooding, so the start had to be rerouted.

”This year looks much better; cyclists will now be able to ride the stretch along the Västerdalälven riverbank for about a kilometre to the road crossing where they face the famous first hill – the first and largest climb in the Vasaloppet Arena,” explains Anders Holmberg.

Otherwise, the route for participants in Cykelvasan remains largely the same as before, with some minor changes, such as at the Evertsberg lakes, where the route has been slightly altered due to the reconstruction of the Vasaloppsvägen road.

The week after Cykelvasan, it’s the runners’ turn to enter the Vasaloppet Arena. Here, too, the route is largely the same as last year, with some alterations. After the first hill, at the highest point, participants in Ultravasan 90 and Vasastafetten continue for about a kilometre on the Cykelvasan route before moving onto forest paths instead of going immediately onto a narrow forest path as last year, which caused queues. Also, between Evertsberg and Oxberg, about 9 km before the Oxberg checkpoint, the track has been rerouted due to the reconstruction of Vasaloppsvägen. This year, participants in Ultravasan 90, Vasastafetten, and Ultravasan 45 will not pass the Axi mill but instead follow the Cykelvasan route towards Björnarvet and onwards to the Oxberg checkpoint.

”We noticed there were queues right after the first hill in Sälen last year, and we want to avoid that by widening the track right after the highest point. The rerouting at the Axi mill is a temporary solution this year due to roadworks, and otherwise, only minor changes have been made to the running route. As mentioned, we are ready at Vasaloppet and we hope all participants feel the same. Let’s go,” says Anders Holmberg.