The Vasaloppet
It is the oldest, the longest, and the biggest cross-country ski race in the world. Every first Sunday of March, thousands of skiers gather in the Swedish province of Dalarna to run the 90km distance between the Sälen and Mora, as King Gustav Vasa did some 500 years ago

The oldest and biggest cross-country ski race in the world

The Vasaloppet is a 90km-long cross-country ski race held every year on the first Sunday of March between the village of Sälen and the town of Mora, in the Dalarna province in central Sweden. The event was organised for the first time in 1922 and was inspired upon the historical uprising that King Gustav Vasa led in the region in 1520.

Today, the Vasaloppet is known as the oldest, the longest, and the biggest cross-country ski race in the world. More than 15,000 skiers compete in the main 90km race alone, and overall there are some 40,000 skiers participating in any of the seven different races held during the whole Vasaloppet Week.


The Vasaloppet history: King Gustav Vasa's uprising

In 1520 Sweden was part of the Kalmar Union and was governed by Danish King Christian II. Some Swedish aristocrats were opposed to the Danish king, among them a young nobleman called Gustav Ericsson Vasa. Gustav Vasa gathered an assembly in the town of Mora, trying to spark a rebellion against the Danish king in the Dalarna province. That was a very serious matter, and the villagers wanted first to check with other towns whether the rebellion could be a success. But Gustav Vasa was outlawed and was being chased by the king's soldiers, so he could not wait there any longer and had to escape to Norway. Shortly after he left the town of Mora, the villagers decided that they would join the rebellion and sent their two best skiers after Gustav Vasa, eventually catching up with him in the village of Sälen. The uprising started inmediately, and in 1523 Gustav Vasa was officialy crowned as King of Sweden at a national assembly in Strängnäs.

In 1922 local newspaper Vestmanlands Läns Tidning published an article remembering the events of 1520, when the two best skiers of Mora went rapidly after Gustav Vasa and caught up with him in Sälen. The newspaper editor, Anders Pers, suggested the idea of a ski race between the two Dalarna places, inspired on the Gustav Vasa story, and only some weeks later the first Vasaloppet was organised. The very first Vasaloppet race was attended by 119 skiers, which took almost eight hours to complete the 90km distance between the start and the finish. The oldest, longest, and biggest cross-country ski race in the world was born.


Vasaloppet Week: seven days, seven races

The Vasaloppet is the greatest sporting festival in the Dalarna region and one of the most important dates on the world's Nordic skiing calendar.

Seven days, seven races. The Vasaloppet Week proposes different races and courses so everyone can enjoy the sport: there is the 30 km KortVasan and TjejVasan (only for the girls), the 45 km HalvVasan, the free technique SkejtVasan, the popular StafettVasan, and the Öppet spår, where skiers can try the whole 90 kilometre course without the racing stress. The week ends with the long awaited Vasaloppet, when 15,000 participants compete to be the fastest skier on the 90 km-long distance between Sälen and Mora.

The town of Mora is all busy during the Vasaloppet Week and some 3,000 local men and women work voluntarily to make possible the good organisation of the event. Skiing is the main purpose of the Vasaloppet Week but there is also a parallel
entertainment programme packed with a wide variety of events and activities which include anything from music concerts and night disco to seminars and pony riding.

Do you want to know more about the Vasaloppet? Visit www.vasaloppet.se for information about how to participate in the event, as well as registration information and contact details of the organisation committee. Travelling to Sweden? - Nordic Directory > Tourist info - Tourist information, brochures and tourist literature. - Scandinavica.com > Book your flights and hotel - book your flights and accommodation here. - The Scandinavian Shop > Tourist Guides - Sweden - tourist guides, where to go, what to do, maps and language manuals.