Vasaloppet week in 2008

March 19, 2008

Öppet Spår on Monday

After the Finlandia-Hiihto skating race, I moved to Mora. Two Swedish skiers told me the weather and waxing information about Sunday’s open race, the temperature was +7 and course was bad and the waxing was very difficult.

I went to bed with anxiety. But I could see many stars on Monday morning. !!

I arrived at the start point in Sälen, daybreak and no wind, temperature is -3. I was very happy I could start such a good condition. Start time is 7:00 AM, many skiers waiting for the start in a long line and started quietly and gentle for a 90 km long distance. The course was well groomed and very beautiful; the grip wax( Start universal klister) worked perfectly for me. Weather condition was very good all day, air temperature was from -3 to +3, sunshine and no wind. On the way to Mora, there were many resting stations and I enjoyed special drink ( blue berry soup) and cheerful announcement for oversea skiers. I enjoyed such a wonderful and stress free VASA ski race.

HalvVasan

The day before the race the tracks were hard and icy, definitely klister conditions. The forecast for the morning indicated the possibility of snow. The possible became reality about one hour before the start and the snow continued all day with a final accumulation of about 20cm. The temperature was -2C at the start, +3C at the finish. 3500 skiers spent the last minutes before the start covering klister with hard wax. The fresh snow slowed the front runners while those behind benefited from glazed tracks which were very fast. After the competitors thinned out about the 15k mark everyone was using just one track. This made passing very difficult. Mathias Fredriksson won in 2:20:26

SkejtVasan

There were several levels at which this event could be skied, a 45k competition, 30 & 45k non competitive. The track was firm as the overnight temperature was about -5C and still about the same for the 9AM start. It was mostly cloudy throughout so the snow remained firm even though the temperature rose to +3C by noon. There was only about 1 cm of fresh snow overnight. With just 400 skiers in the 45k event and the 30k not starting until 10:30 there were no traffic problems. The 45k winning time was 1:42

Vasaloppet

Vasaloppet seems to be a series of lineups. First there is the line for the bus to the start, then the unbelievably long line to get into the start gate no matter how early you arrive, then the lineup for the WC. After the start there is the line up the first hill which seems to take forever if you are not in the first few start groups. Finally, after the finish you get to wait in line for the post race meal. Such are the problems of the world’s largest ski marathon despite an excellent organisation, only the start arrangement could use some improvement.

It was snowing, with the temperature about 0C at the start of this year’s Vasaloppet. It continued to snow for another 4 hours. After the snow stopped the sky remained cloudy and the temperature rose only a few degrees to about +3C at the finish in Mora. With the fresh snow and warm temperature waxing was difficult, many skiers stopped to rewax, others gave up and double-poled their way to the finish. The trail soon became only 2 travelled lanes which were glazed and reasonably fast. Passing was difficult as the fresh snow made the unused lanes very slow. The skied lanes quickly lost their shape as a result of the mild temperature and heavy traffic. There was no dramatic sprint to the finish this year. The winner was Jorgen Aukland in 4:13:45, followed by his brother Anders 3:29 minutes behind.

This page was last revised on June 8, 2008