Vasaloppet presents the Vasaloppet Year 2020 – more challenges than ever to choose from

In 2020 it will be 500 years since Gustav Vasa's adventure in Dalarna, 1520–21, and 98 years since the first Vasaloppet in 1922. This last decade Vasaloppet has seen the number of registered participants double! These past five years we've been able to celebrate getting close to 100,000 participants, though that magic number hasn't been reached yet. Vasaloppet can now proudly introduce the Vasaloppet year 2020 with more challenges and races than ever to choose from. Registration for Vasaloppet's Summer Week 2020 opens on Sunday, September 15 at 09.00 CET.

Do you remember when Vasaloppet was just a ski race? Since 1979, when Öppet Spår first ran, many new ski races have been added and this last decade summer races have also run in the Vasaloppet Arena. (See our list below for when races were created.)

This past Vasaloppet year had 95,122 registered participants. Vasaloppet and Cykelvasan 90 were fully booked. The maximum number of participants has been raised these past few years, requiring more participants to fill a race. A new race was also held last winter: Nattvasan 45.

3,325 people participated in both a winter and summer race in 2019. Ultravasan 45 and Ultravasan 90 especially had a large increase in registrants, 13 and 16 percent, reaching new participation records. More participants than ever before have also completed Vasaloppstrippeln 45 or Vasaloppstrippeln 90.

This winter Öppet Spår was held for the 40th time and next summer will see the 30th Vasastafetten. In 2020 Vasaloppet will also introduce a completely new running race, Trailvasan 30, and those hankering for a Vasaloppstrippeln T-shirt thereby have a new option – Vasaloppstrippeln 30: Complete Tjejvasan or Kortvasan in the winter and Cykelvasan 30 and Trailvasan 30 in the summer. Hopefully this news will spur even more participants, both men and women, to try races at new times of year.

Eva-Lena Frick, Vasaloppet's CEO:
"During the Vasaloppet year 2019 we had 95,122 registered participants, all kinds of weather, 26 marriages at the finish line, a number of dreams fulfilled, extraordinary functionary work as always, happy participants, Swedish and Norwegian winners as well as American and Russian winners in Ultravasan. We had 3.8 million people viewing the SVT broadcast from Vasaloppet, also broadcast live in other countries. Put together an incredible amount of people have experienced Vasaloppet, whether it be as participants, spectators, TV viewers, functionaries, leaders, sponsors or in some other capacity.

Registration for Vasaloppet's Winter Week 2020 opened as early as March 17 and registrations roll in regularly, currently numbering almost 40,000 for the ski races. As soon as the weather changes at least 50,000 cubic metres of snow will be produced as part of the snow insurance plan that Vasaloppet now follows every winter.

<<< THE VASALOPPET YEAR 2020 >>>

Vasaloppet Winter Week 2020
Fri 21 Feb: Kortvasan. 30 km. Start Oxberg.
Sat 22 Feb: Tjejvasan. 30 km. Start Oxberg.
Sun 23 Feb: Ungdomsvasan. 9/19 km Start Eldris/Hökberg.
Sun 23 Feb: Öppet Spår Sunday. 90 km. Start Sälen.
Mon 24 Feb: Öppet Spår Monday. 90 km. Start Sälen.
Tue 25 Feb: Halvvasan. 45 km. Start Oxberg.
Fri 28 Feb: Stafettvasan. 9–24 km. Five-person teams. Start Sälen.
Fri 28 Feb: Nattvasan 90. 90 km. Two-person teams. Start Sälen.
Fri 28 Feb: Nattvasan 45. 90 km. Two-person teams. Start Oxberg.
Sat 29 Feb: Blåbärsloppet. 9 km. Start Eldris.
Sun 1 Mar: Vasaloppet. 90 km. Start Sälen.

Vasaloppet's Summer Week 2020
Fri 14 Aug: Cykelvasan Öppet Spår. 94 km. Start Sälen
Fri 14 Aug: Cykelvasasprinten. 1 km. Lindvallen. Start Sälen
Sat 15 Aug: Cykelvasan 90. 94 km. Start Sälen
Sun 16 Aug: Cykelvasan 30. 32 km. Start Oxberg
Sun 16 Aug: Ungdomscykelvasan. 32 km. Start Oxberg
Sun 16 Aug: Cykelvasan 45. 45 km. Start Oxberg
Sat 22 Aug: Trailvasan 30. 30 km. Start Oxberg
Sat 22 Aug: Ultravasan 45. 45 km. Start Oxberg
Sat 22 Aug: Ultravasan 90. 90 km. Start Sälen
Sat 22 Aug: Vasastafetten. 90 km. Running relay for ten-person teams. Start Sälen
Sat 22 Aug: Vasakvartetten. 90 km. Running relay for four-person teams. Start Sälen

Vasaloppstrippeln 2020
Vasaloppstrippeln 30. Kortvasan or Tjejvasan + Cykelvasan 30 + Trailvasan 30
Vasaloppstrippeln 45. Halvvasan + Cykelvasan 45 + Ultravasan 45
Vasaloppstrippeln 90. Vasaloppet or Öppet Spår Sunday or Öppet Spår Monday + Cykelvasan 90 or Cykelvasan Öppet Spår + Ultravasan 90

Barnens Vasalopp 2020
Barnens Vasalopp skis. Sälen, Saturday, February 22 and Mora, Saturday, February 29, 2020
Barnens Vasalopp bike. Sälen, Friday, August 14 and Mora, Friday August 21, 2020
Barnens Vasalopp running. Sälen and Mora Friday, August 21, 2020

<<< >>>

FACTS/ Do you remember when Vasaloppet was just a ski race?
Since 1979, when Öppet Spår first ran, many new ski races have been added and this last decade summer races have also run in the Vasaloppet Arena. Which year had the first race?

Winter Races
1922 Vasaloppet (2020 it will be held for the 96th time)*
1979 Öppet Spår (2020 it will be held for the 40th year)**
1988 Tjejvasan (2020 it will be held for the 32nd time)***
1997 Kortvasan (2020 it will be held for the 24th time)
1997 Halvvasan (2020 it will be held for the 24th time)
2003 Stafettvasan (2020 it will be held for the 18th time)
2008 Ungdomsvasan (2020 it will be held for the 13th time)
2016 Blåbärsloppet (2020 it will be held for the 5th time)
2017 Nattvasan 90 (2020 2020 it will be held for the 4th time)
2019 Nattvasan 45 (2020 2020 it will be held for the 2nd time)

Summer Races
1991 Vasastafetten (2020 it will be held for the 30th time. Arranged by Vasaloppet since 2008.)
2009 Cykelvasan 30, 45, 90 (2020 it will be held for the 12th time)
2010 Cykelvasasprinten (2020 it will be held for the 11th time)
2012 Ungdomscykelvasan (2020 it will be held for the 9th time)
2014 Ultravasan 45, 90 (2020 it will be held for the 7th time)
2015 Cykelvasan Öppet Spår (2020 it will be held for the 6th time)
2017 Vasakvartetten (2020 it will be held for the 4th time)
2020 Trailvasan 30 (First ever in 2020!)

Footnote: Cancelled races
* Vasaloppet has been cancelled three times: 1932 and 1990 due to lack of snow, 1934 due lack of registrants
** Öppet Spår was cancelled 1989 and 1990 due to lack of snow.
*** Tjejvasan was cancelled 1990 due to lack of snow.

High-resolution photos from Vasaloppet:
http://www.mynewsdesk.com/se/pressroom/vasaloppet/image/list

Text and photos may be freely published.

For more information

Camilla Sandy, Press Manager
+46 (0)70-384 95 00
camilla.sandy@vasaloppet.se

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