VASA LOPPET

Or how some 40,000 cross country skiers in Sweden, USA, Japan and around the world every year com. memorate the marathon of one Swedish King-to-be.

TRADITION
The most famous ski race ...
Every year some 40 000 cross country skiers in Sweden, USA and Japan commemorate the marathon of one Swedish king-to-be. The majority take part in Sweden's Vasaloppet, which is the world's best-known ski race with a tradition of over seventy years and a challenging distance of ninety kilometers.

The start line in Sälen in northern Dalarna (on the cover) looks like total chaos but soon skiers find their own pace and all they hear is the rhythmic swoosh, swoosh, swoosh of their skies. Along the trail thousands of spectators hail the skiers on all the way to the famous Vasa Race Portal in Mora that marks the finish line of the race with a garland that proclaims the legendary motto "In our forefathers' steps for future victories".

Although the trail is studded with blueberry soup and drink stands, it is estimated that the average skier loses three kilos (almost 7 Ibs) in weight during the race. Some of it is recovered in short order because all participants are invited to a hearty dinner after they have reached the goal line and collected their coveted Vasaloppet pins.

The historic background
The very first "Vasalopp" that took place in January 1521 actually started in Mora rather than finished in this quaint town.

At this time Sweden was occupied by the Danes and the young nobleman Gustav Eriksson Vasa had spoken at the Mora church in an attempt to rally his compatriots to take up arms against Kristian "the Tyrant". He was however not successful and decided to flee on skis to, Norway. The Dalecarlians subsequently had a change of heart and sent two of their fastest skiers, Lars and Engelbrekt, after him.

Eventually Gustav Vasa was able to liberate the country from the Danes with the help of a Dala peasant army and the "nation builder" went on to become King of Sweden 1523-1560.
Historians are still unsure whether Gustav Vasa actually fled from Mora to Sälen, because the only source of information, is a propaganda chronicle that glorifies the great liberator's life. These doubts have never managed to put a dent on the enthusiasm for the Vasaloppet race, that is now a multi-million dollar industry with its own Vasa Race exhibition in the Vasaloppets Hus. Nearby is a statue of the Vasa Race Skier that today rivals the statue of Gustav Vasa speaking to the people of Dalarna in popularity.

The first modern race
In 1521 it took Lars and Engelbrekt one and a half day to catch up with Gustav Vasa in Sälen close to the Norwegian border. Today everybody is waiting for the first Vasaloppet racer to break the magical three hour barrier.

The modern version of the Vasalopp takes place on the first Sunday in March every year except when there is not enough snow. The idea for the race was hatched by Anders Pers and voted on at a board meeting at Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna on March 5, 1922. The big controversy at the meeting was on the issue of a compulsory break at mid-point. The invitations were sent out the next day and two weeks later 119 skiers from all over Sweden started in the first Vasalopp. All but two crossed the finishing line and Ernst Alms was the first winner, making the time of 7.32.19.
By the following year Oscar Lindberg had reduced the winning time by a full hour. Per Erik Hedlund from Säma was the first winner to make it under six hours in 1926 and David Johansson from Delsbo was the first to come in under five hours in 1961. It was up to the Swiss skier Konrad Hallenborten to break the four hour barrier in 1983. Until 1954 Vasa-loppet was a purely Swedish affair but then Pekka Kuvaja from Finland won and since then there have been other winners from Norway, Austria, Germany, Soviet Union, France and Switzerland.

About 2 000 of the 12 000 competitors in the "main" Vasalopp are from abroad. Many more can be found in the ladies "Tjejvasan" and in the "Oppet spår" that accommodates some 11 000 participants who cannot be accommodated in the big race. More than 2,000 volunteers take care of all the arrangements.

The Minnesota Vasalopp
"There is a fine small city in Sweden," ventured Israel Israelson from Dalecarlia when a new Minnesota settlement needed a name. The suggestion was taken up and Mora, Sweden got a sister city and namesake in the USA. When the Minnesota residents wanted to strengthen the ties between the two cities, they decided to adopt the Swedish cross country ski race. Their terrain is more level since the 58 km (as well as the easier 32 km) course consists almost entirely of fields and frozen lakes. Just like at the Swedish counterpart, the trails are studded with blueberry soup and drink stands. The home-stretch and finish line are set right in the centre of the city, just as in Sweden. The competitors are welcomed by a kranskulla and a replica of the Mora Bell tower. Vasaloppet Mora, Minnesota has made big strides since its inception in 1973 when 96 skiers joined the competition. Now no fewer than 2 000 skiers take part in what has become Minnesota's largest ski race.

Vasaloppet USA offers a 58k, a 35k and a 13k race. The 35k and 58k races split shortly after a mass start north of the little town of Mora. The 13k race begins three hours later and merges with the 35k race course. The 58k race gives you the opportunity to ski one of the longest one-day marathon races in the USA. The first North American male and female finishers in the 58k race receive a free trip to Sweden to compete in the following year's Swedish Vasaloppet.

Plan to join
Many Swedes travel to Minnesota to take part in the American version of Vasaloppet and in 1987 Peter Hjelte from Mora, Sweden, won the race.

This is a community event staged by over 700 volunteers, many of them Swedish descendants. The big race itself is part of an outing for the recreational skier. Family participants and team competition are encouraged. It is a free-style race. This means that various skiing techniques including the "skating" style are allowed.

Plan to go one year! Mora, Minnesota is a lovely small and friendly village. There are a couple of motels, but most of the skiers are housed in local residences through an extensive bed-and- breakfast program. As a Swede you will feel especially welcome when you drive by the civic symbol - the world's largest Dala horse. The horse was inaugurated in time for the town's first Vasaloppet.

North America's largest crosscountry event, the American Birkebeiner race took place in Wisconsin's northern wood lands on February 22. The race was fashioned on the "Birkebeiner Rennet" in Lillehammar, Norway by Tony Wise who built the Telemark ski resort in Cable, but
the idea was hatched by "resident Swede" Carl Hanson. The first winner of the race in 1973 was Eric Ersson, a native Swede and Nordic director of the resort. Nowadays the Gus Hellien grows his beard and takes on the role of Gustav Vasa every year in Mora, MN. Dyno American Birkebeiner attracts some 8 000 skiers and some 35 000 spectators. There is also the children's Barnebirkie snow shoeing as well as a 10 kilometer non-competitive race for the whole family.

The thirteenth century legend behind the race is the story of an invading force threatening to kidnap Norway's infant prince. Two Viking warriors (called Birkebeiner for their birch bark leggings) skied the baby, who was later to become King Haakon Haakonson, to safety. It is this fifty-five kilometer trail that forms the race.

Around the world
Since 1980 there has also been a Vasalopp near Japan's second-largest city. The Ashikawa International Vasa Skiing Competition draws some 8 000 skiers each year. It is the largest skiing event in Japan and is celebrated with pageantry as well as with a family "walk skiing". This year it takes place on March 20. King Carl XVI Gustaf attended the race in 1990.

In early brochures, the Japanese presented their very own version of the origins of the race, claiming that King Gustav Vasa "was chased by Danish troops over a distance of 87 km, and safely escaped, laying the foundation of an independent Sweden".

Around the world there are many more ski marathons inspired by Vasaloppet, although they are generally only called "loppet". There are loppet races in Italy, France, Switzerland, Austria, the Tjeck Republic, Slovenia, Germany, Russia and New Zealand. Thirteen of these races form the Worldloppet circuit, that was won by Sweden's Håkan Westin last year.

The toughest of all the races takes place in Eastern Canada where you cross the finishing line in Hull/Ottawa after two days of skiing and an overnight right at the track. You are required to ski about 80 km a day and carry a pack of 10 kilos. This race is probably the one that comes closest to what Lars and Engelbrekt experienced on the first race after Gustav Eriksson Vasa in 1521.