Juhani Eistrat, March 2014
As the oldest, longest, and biggest cross-country ski race in the world, the Vasaloppet is definitely unique. Add to that the combination of historical and Swedish patriotic context and it’s different compared to all of the other ski marathons in the loppet calendar.
So, to get to the obvious question first: why would anyone want to put themselves through a 90 km ski race? As a fellow traveller on the Stockholm to Mora train (a young hockey player incidentally) observed somewhat wryly as he flipped the top on another beer, coming from Canada to do it is “special”—meaning “you must be more than a little crazy!” Let me come back to this one.
An easy discussion point even on the train hurtling through the snowy landscape of central Sweden towards Mora is the recent winter Olympics. For young Swedish hockey players: how did Sidney Crosby’s goal squeak past the reliable Ryan Miller? For a group of “Masters” Dutch speed skaters: what a stupid call by that coach on the lane change for Sven Kramer! The Dutch skaters were quick to point out that their team’s bronze medal winning time in the long track pursuit was faster than the gold medal winning time by the Canadian team.
Become a subscriber to continue reading!
Every week we bring you news from the community and exclusive columns. We're relying on your support to keep going and invite you to subscribe.
Starting from $2.30 per week.
