John Kristian Dahl waited to the last minute to make his move, chasing down fellow Norwegian Laugaland to win his first Vasaloppet. The secret he said is training, "five or six hours a day." Laila Kveli again won the women's race in an impressive of display of double poling strength to become the first women to win the race without kick wax.
The 90-kilometer Vasaloppet is one of the most prestigious non-World Cup ski races in the world—such a big deal in fact that Petter Northug made the race his primary focus in 2012 following the Tour de Ski. Unfortunately for Northug, a stomach bug kept him from even reaching the starting line, and we can only guess at how he would have fared. Of course safe money would have been on Northug if he had been...
This year’s Swedish Vasaloppet saw a record number of racers. There were 15,702 finishers in the 90 kilometer classic race, which saw it’s first running in 1922 with 100 participants. The race’s history comes from the beginning of Sweden’s independence from Denmark, led by nobleman Gustav Vasa. After his first failed attempt at recruiting his countrymen to join in his revolt, Vasa fled toward Norway. Two Swedish skiers were sent to bring Vasa back and...