Winners will be crowned in Tjejvasan and Vasaloppet 2021 – Vasaåket 2021, in the Vasaloppet Arena, launched

More days to choose from and fewer skiers at the start and in the track. Extra precautions at the start, finish and checkpoints, and no spectators on location. The Vasaloppet winter 2021 will be different but victors will be crowned, Tjejvasan and Vasaloppet will be broadcast live on SVT and all skiers will have a chance to ski their distance in the Vasaloppet Arena.

Elite skiers will compete for victory in Tjejvasan on Saturday, February 27 and Vasaloppet on Sunday, March 7 as planned. All others are given the chance to complete "Vasaåket" on location in the Vasaloppet Arena.
"Vasaloppet has always been an engine for exercise and public health. Now we want to make it possible for our Vasaloppet friends to reach a finish line for their training in a way that is adapted to the ongoing pandemic. We're therefore opening our 90-kilometre Vasaloppet Arena between Sälen and Mora as a facility with a number of new safety measures and we're inviting everyone to come here and ski Vasaåket," says Johan Eriksson, acting CEO at Vasaloppet.

Collaborating with authorities
Except for Tjejvasan and Vasaloppet, both of which will have a limited number of elite skiers, Vasaloppet won't hold any ski races in the winter of 2021. In other words, the guidelines and recommendations that apply across Sweden will also apply in the Vasaloppet Arena.

Everyone who wants can book Vasaåket and participate on a day of their choosing between Friday, February 12 and Sunday, March 7. There are four distances to choose from: 10, 30, 45 and 90 kilometre. Also on offer is Vasaåket Natt 90, Vasaåket Natt 45 and Vasaåket Lag. Number bibs, timekeeping, diplomas and medals will be included while mass starts are out. The 25,000 participants already registered for a Vasaloppet Winter Week 2021 race will automatically be transferred to the corresponding day and distance in Vasaåket. (With the possibility of changing day and distance.)

"This autumn we've held an ongoing dialogue with the Swedish Sports Confederation, the Swedish Police Authority, the Dalarna Infection Control Unit as well as with the Public Health Agency of Sweden and politicians, both on a government and local level in our Vasaloppet municipalities. All agree that this is a good alternative to Vasaloppet's normal Winter Week. All planning has been, and will continue to be, in consultation with these authorities so that our organisation can adapt to the current situation in the best way possible and create opportunities for all skiers to safely follow corona-adapted guidelines and recommendations," says Johan Eriksson.

Keeping pole-length distance
An important part of the safety work is giving continuous information so that everyone in the Vasaloppet Arena feels safe and secure despite the ongoing pandemic. A detailed and clear corona-guide will be produced for skiers, hosts, employees, local actors and traders.

One basic rule is that all contact that skiers might have on location with people outside of their normal circle should be held with at least one pole length's distance. Additionally toilets will be cleaned even more often than usual and no facilities for showers or changing will be offered after finishing.

Since mass starts are removed to reduce crowding, skiers in Vasaåket will instead start in smaller groups at specific times; these times will be communicated immediately when booking a start place. The individual finishing time, read via a timekeeping chip, will start counting when the skier passes the starting line.
"We're introducing additional precautions at the start, finish, and checkpoints, where we'll be marking zones and one-way paths where only skiers wearing number bibs are allowed. We will also have additional hosts on location, monitoring that guidelines are followed," says Johan Eriksson.

Elite skiers will compete for victory in Tjejvasan and Vasaloppet
In the winter of 2021 it will be exactly 500 years since Gustav Eriksson Vasa skied the very first Vasaloppet and victors will now be crowned in the 33rd Tjejvasan and the 97th Vasaloppet. Tjejvasan on Saturday, February 27, 2021 will run with about 100 participants and Vasaloppet on Sunday, March 7, with about 300 men and 100 women. Those who placed 1–50 in Tjejvasan last year and 1–150 for men, 1–50 for women, in Vasaloppet are guaranteed a start place. Other than that, results from Swedish races and Visma Ski Classics will be taken into account. Both Tjejvasan and Vasaloppet will be broadcast live on SVT.

Read more about the criteria for elite skiers here:
Vasaloppet Elite
https://www.vasaloppet.se/en/winter/vasaloppet-elit
Tjejvasan Elite
https://www.vasaloppet.se/en/winter/tjejvasan-elit

Registrants for Vasaloppet split into two days
Over 12,000 participants are registered for Vasaloppet on Sunday, March 7, 2021. Half of these will be offered start places in Vasaåket 90 on Saturday, March 6, and the other half on Sunday, March 7.
"To make it easier to keep a distance we're allowing fewer skiers per day in the Vasaloppet Arena and we're therefore splitting these 12,000 skiers into two days. For those who aren't registered but want to ski Vasaåket 90 on March 6 or 7 there is a limited number of places available and it's first come, first served," says Johan Eriksson.

FACTS VASAÅKET 2021

• In the winter 2021 only Tjejvasan and Vasaloppet will run as elite competitions. There will be no spectators on location but both Tjejvasan and Vasaloppet will broadcast live on SVT. All other skiers are welcomed to Vasaåket. (Ungdomsvasan will also be held as a competition, more information on this to come.)
• Vasaåket 2021 has four distances – 10, 30, 45 and 90 km – which can be skied on a day of your choosing from Friday, February 12 up until Sunday, March 7. Number bibs, timekeeping, diplomas and medals will be included but there will be no mass starts.
• The 25,000 participants already registered for a Vasaloppet Winter Week 2021 race will automatically be moved to Vasaåket's corresponding day and distance. Vasaåket can then be skied on the same day as the race the participant was registered for – or a day of the participant's choosing during the whole period, if preferred.
• All Vasaåket skiers get their results with timekeeping and the achievement is counted as part of Vasaloppstrippeln 2021, and En Svensk Klassiker. Vasaåket 90 and Vasaåket Natt 90 also count for those aiming to become a Vasaloppet Veteran or get a 10 or 20-year medal. There will, however, be no placements in Vasaåket 2021.
• The start in Tjejvasan, Vasaloppet and Vasaåket 2021 will be moved since no roads with traffic are closing to allow for passages. In Sälen, skiers will start opposite the Vasaloppet start on the east side of national road 66, by Tjärnheden's sports grounds. The Evertsberg checkpoint will be the start for Vasaåket 45 and the Oxberg checkpoint will be the start for Vasaåket 30 and Tjejvasan. Those participating in Vasaåket 10 start by the Eldris checkpoint.
• The finish in Vasaåket and Tjejvasan will be placed on level with the Zorn Museum in Mora where a temporary finish line portal will be built. In Vasaloppet on Sunday, March 7, elite skiers will finish via the new finish line portal for Vasaloppet by the belfry in Mora.
• Sales of start places for Vasaåket 2021 will start on Thursday, November 19 at 09:00.
• Up until Wednesday, November 18 at 13:00, anyone who wants can still register as usual for a Vasaloppet Winter Week race which will then be transferred to a Vasaåket with the corresponding day and distance between February 12 and March 7 (the exception being Vasaloppet where registrants are split into two days, Saturday the 6th and Sunday the 7th of March).

Links:

Programme Vasaåket 2021
https://www.vasaloppet.se/en/winter/vasaaket

Have you got questions? READ FIRST: Questions and answers Vasaåket 2021
https://www.vasaloppet.se/en/covid-19

Upcoming events in the Vasaloppet Arena
Instead of Vasaloppet's Winter Week 2021, these will run from Friday, February 12 to Sunday, March 7:
Vasaåket 10, Vasaåket 30, Vasaåket 45, Vasaåket 90. (For detailed daily programmes, see vasaloppet.se)

Sat 27 Feb: Tjejvasan. 30 km. Start Oxberg (Only elite competition)
Fri 5 Mar: Vasaåket Lag. 9–24 km. 90 km relay race for five-person teams. Start Sälen
Fri 5 Mar: Vasaåket Natt 90. 90 km. Two-person teams, freestyle. Start Sälen
Fri 5 Mar: Vasaåket Natt 45. 45 km. Two-person teams, freestyle. Start Oxberg
Sun 7 Mar: Vasaloppet. 90 km. Start Sälen (Only elite competition)
Ungdomsvasan. 9/19 km Start Eldris/Hökberg (Only competition, date to be set)

Vasaloppet's Summer Week 2021
Fri 13 Aug: Cykelvasan Öppet Spår. 94 km. Start Sälen
Fri 13 Aug: Cykelvasasprinten. 1 km. Lindvallen. Start Sälen
Sat 14 Aug: Cykelvasan 90. 94 km. Start Sälen
Sun 15 Aug: Cykelvasan 30. 32 km. Start Oxberg
Sun 15 Aug: Ungdomscykelvasan. 32 km. Start Oxberg
Sun 15 Aug: Cykelvasan 45. 45 km. Start Oxberg
Sat 21 Aug: Trailvasan 30. 30 km. Start Oxberg
Sat 21 Aug: Ultravasan 45. 45 km. Start Oxberg
Sat 21 Aug: Ultravasan 90. 90 km. Start Sälen
Sat 21 Aug: Vasastafetten. 4.5–15 km. 90 km running relay for ten-person teams. Start Sälen
Sat 21 Aug: Vasakvartetten. 19.1–24.2 km. 90 km running relay for four-person teams. Start Sälen

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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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