Vasaloppet in summary and looking ahead – registration for 2022 opens on Sunday

”We’re so glad to have found a way, even this winter, to give a really great skiing experience to everyone who has longed to get active out in nature,” says Johan Eriksson, CEO of Vasaloppet.

Thanks to a fine winter with plenty of snow practically throughout the country, the accessibility of the sport and the increased interest in spending time outside, interest in skiing is at a peak. The sale of cross-country ski equipment increased considerably compared to last year and several sport supply stores have reported sold-out equipment.
”In the end we can sum up Vasaåket as a successful solution and a way to keep skiing interest high even though we’ve not been able to arrange our usual exercise races this winter. Being able to crown victors in Tjejvasan and Vasaloppet, where we got two new record times, and having that in the history books as we look ahead to our anniversary year of 2022 feels incredibly inspiring,” says Johan Eriksson.

Those who completed Vasaåket on location in the Vasaloppet Arena shared both praise for the events and a longing for the ski fest of an ordinary Winter Week. This Sunday, March 21, registration will open for Vasaloppet’s Winter Week 2022.
”Our big goal for the 100th anniversary, besides a ten-day ski festival in February/March next year, is to get all of Sweden moving. Vasaloppet is a national affair and we know that many want to join our celebrations,” says Johan Eriksson.

Registration for Vasaloppet’s Winter Week 2022 and Vasaloppet’s 100th anniversary opens on Sunday, March 21 at vasaloppet.se
– Registration for Vasaloppet and Vasaloppstrippeln 90 2022 opens at 09:00.
– Registration for all other races (excluding Ungdomsvasan and Blåbärsloppet) as well as Vasaloppstrippeln 45 and Vasaloppstrippeln 30 2022 opens at 10:00.

Summary of the Vasaloppet winter 2021:

How many skied in 2021:

Elite races
Vasaloppet March 7, women: registered 74, starting 73, finishing 71.
Vasaloppet March 7, men: registered 252, starting 245, finishing 235.

Tjejvasan February 27: registered 87, starting 83, finishing 83.

Vasaåket February 12–March 7 2021
Registered: 20,343 (including 1,641 in Vasaåket Hemma)
Starting: 16,610
Finishing: 16,331

On average 709 people skied per day in the 90-kilometre Vasaloppet Arena, or elsewhere, during the whole Vasaåket period of February 12–March 7.

34 percent of those registered for Vasaåket were women and 66 percent were men. The average age was 43.2 years old.

Vasaloppet:
– For the 18th time among the men and 7th among the ladies there was a new Vasaloppet record time. Tord Asle Gjerdalen’s time was 3.28.18 and Lina Korsgren’s time was 3.52.08.

– Jörgen Brink’s record time from 2012 was beaten, but Jörgen is still the oldest person to have won Vasaloppet.

– Ermil Vokuev’s third place was Russia’s best placement ever in Vasaloppet’s men’s class (Michail Botvinov who won in 1997 represented Austria and Ivan Garanin who won in 1977 represented the Soviet Union.)

– Last year’s winner Petter Eliassen came 37th. 47-year-old Anders Aukland came 27th in his 15th Vasaloppet and 47-year-old Stanislav Rezac 34th in his 23rd Vasaloppet.

– Best Mora skier: Ida Dahl, 3rd place and Erik Rosjö, 18th place.

– One skier in the men’s class was disqualified for using disallowed technique and five other skiers received written warnings.

– Lina Korsgren’s hourly wage was high. In Vasaloppet she took home 151,000 SEK over 3 hours and 52 minutes. (The winner got 75,000 this year, plus a record bonus of 50,000, the Hill prize in Evertsberg 10,000 and four additional spurt prizes worth a combined 16,000.) Tjejvasan also got her 44,000 SEK, making for a total of 195,000 SEK. Maybe this will act as some consolation now that Norwegian Birkebeinerrennet has been cancelled and she thereby cannot win a Grand Slam and get the equivalent of a million SEK, the promised prize sum for that achievement.

How many watched:
– Sveriges Television’s four-and-a-half-hour live broadcast of Vasaloppet 2021 on SVT1 was watched by 2,573,000 people (with an average of 1,339,000 viewers). Tjejvasan was broadcast live for the tenth year in a row, a week earlier, and watched this year by an average of 463,000 people.

Such veterans!

– In the winter of 2021, 24 people skied our 90 km for their 30th year and they can thereby call themselves Vasaloppet veterans. This means that a total of 1,118 people have become veterans over the years. 13 of these skied their 40th year in 2021.

– Five veterans skied their 50th year, namely Kent Hiller, Vidar Löfving, Yngve Gustavsson, Max Claesson and Stig Ericsson.

– Gösta Lönnelid skied his 59th year and is coming up on Bengt Eriksson and Börje Karlsson who have 60 each.

– The only veteran to start in Vasaloppet Elit 2021 was Magnus Hedlund who skied his fastest race in this 31st start.

– Anders Sörensson also skied Vasaloppet Elit 2021 and completed his 30th race, becoming the youngest veteran ever at age 47.

Vasaåket many times:

703 people skied Vasaåket more than once between February 12 and March 7.

– Måns Möller and Christer Skog, Stockholm, skied Vasaåket 90 10 days in a row, February 13–22.

– Anders Johansson, Målsryd, skied Vasaåket 90 12 times over the 24 days, February 12–March 7.

– Mikael Kulanko, Eldsberga, skied Vasaåket 17 times, 4 of which were Vasaåket 90 and 13 shorter distances.

– Josef Kral, Umeå, skied Vasaåket 12 times, 7 of which were Vasaåket 30 and 5 Vasaåket 90.

– Ivana Kralova, Umeå, skied Vasaåket 12 times, 7 of which were Vasaåket 30 and 5 Vasaåket 90.

– Carina Hammarstrand, Munka-Ljungby, skied Vasaåket 7 times at various distances.

– Tony Duberg, Örebro, skied Vasaåket 90 7 times.

Winter continues!

Buy the Arena card and ski in the Vasaloppet Arena!
https://www.vasaloppet.se/vinter/arenakortet/

We quote:

”Next year I hope we have the exercisers with us again, that’s what long distance ski races are all about, getting the masses with you. I hope this was a good advertisement for next year and that we can have a covid-free event then.”
(Tord Asle Gjerdalen, Vasaloppet victor 2021 – and trained doctor)

”It’s the contrasts in life that enhance existence and the first Sunday of March 2021 made it clear that it’s the sharp contrasts that make Vasaloppet a unique ski race.  – – –  Next year I promise not to sigh as much as before when newbies drinking blueberry soup talk about how the tracks are lacking. Next year the world must be normal enough for Vasaloppet to open for everyone.”
(Johan Esk, sports journalist at Dagens Nyheter)

Remaining races in Visma Ski Classic 2020/21:
Saturday, March 20: Vålådalsrennet, 54 km, Vålådalen, Sweden (replacing Birkebeinerrennet)
Sunday, March 21: Tåssåsen Criterium 64 powered by Visma, 64 km, Vålådalen, Sweden (replacing Ylläs-Levi)
Saturday, March 27: Årefjällsloppet, 100 km, Vålådalen, Sweden