Vasaloppet’s tenth stage in the Visma Ski Classics and the third Grand Classics event, Season XII, took place today in Sweden. With superior performances, Andreas Nygaard, Team Ragde Charge, and Astrid Øyre Slind, Team Koteng Eidissen, won the 90km long-distance race.
In sunny weather and fast conditions, the men and women started together in Sälen at 8:00 CET. The action started early, and there was a thrilling race among both the men and women.
Vasaloppet Men’s Race
In the men’s race, Herman Paus, Team Ramudden, and Tord Asle Gjerdalen, Team XPND Fuel, took the reins, stretching the field on the first climb and forming an early group of 12 skiers in front.
Herman Paus crossed first at the first hill Climb checkpoint, followed by Tord Asle Gjerdalen and Andreas Nygaard, Team Ragde Charge. Some kilometers later, the group rejoined, and there was a big leading group among the men.
At the first Visma Ski Classics Sprint at Mångsbodarna, 50 skiers passed after 24km within 11 seconds, with Stian Berg, Team Kaffebryggeriet taking maximum points, followed by Jan Šrail and Isac Holmström, both from Vltava Fund Ski Team.
At the second Visma Ski Classics Sprint point at Evertsberg, within 47km into the race, 30 skiers crossed within 26 seconds, with Novak crossing first, followed by Persson and Paus.
In the fast sections after Evertsberg, the pace started to pick up, and at Oxberg, with 28km left, 23 skiers were in the leading group within 14 seconds, with Mikael Gunnulfsen, Team Koteng Eidissen, in front.
When the group reached Hökberg, the field was still strong, and with 10km to go, Team Ragde Charge, Team Ramudden, and Team Koteng Eidissen were trying their luck on the front.
At Eldris, with 9km to go, the field was reduced to 17 strong skiers, with Emil Persson leading the pack and all the remaining skiers alert to any possible breakaway.
With about 4km to go, Team Ragde Charge was on the offensive with Karstein Johaug and Anders Aukland, no one could get a gap, and the race was to be decided on the final sprint.
At the last kilometer before the finish, Team Ragde Charge had three skiers in the front, preparing the sprint finish for their team leader. In the end, the battle for the win was decided on the straight finish, with Andreas Nygaard, Team Ragde Charge, winning Vasaloppet in a superb sprint.
Second place, after a tight fight to the line, went to Emil Persson, Lager 157 Ski Team, 1 second back. A remarkable performance from Axel Jutterström, Team Eksjöhus, granted him the third position on the podium, 1.7 seconds behind the winner.
Vasaloppet Women’s Race
In the women’s race, which also started at 8:00 CET, together with the men, the speed was high right out from the start, with the women trying to hold on to the men’s peloton.
Soon four skiers formed the first group, with Astrid Øyre Slind, Team Koteng Eidissen, Britta Johansson Norgren, Lager 157 Ski Team, Emilie Fleten, Team XPND Fuel, and Thea Krokan Murud, Lager 157 Ski Team, in that order, crossing the Climb checkpoint, within 12 seconds. Ida Dahl, Team Ramudden, one of the favorites for the day, crossed 1 minute and 25 seconds behind after just 2.6km into the race.
The leading quartet worked well together, and Krokan Murud crossed the Mångsbodarna Visma Ski Classics Sprint at the 24km mark, first, followed by Fleten and Øyre Slind, with Dahl crossing in ninth position more than four minutes behind.
At the second Sprint point at Evertsberg, within 47km into the race, Britta Johansson Norgren and Astrid Øyre Slind crossed first and second and were 3 minutes ahead of the course time record.
With a gap of 39.2 seconds, Emilie Fleten crossed in third, with Thea Krokan Murud following 1 minute and 4 seconds behind the leader. Lina Korsgren was already almost 4 minutes behind, and Ida Dahl was more than 6 minutes back.
When the leading duo reached Oxberg, they had a lead of 1 minute and 20 seconds over Fleten, and 3 minutes and 49 seconds ahead of the time record.
The action between the leaders started after Oxberg when Øyre Slind got a gap over Johansson Norgren, reaching 23 seconds with 23km left to the race and growing.
From there, the women’s race was about Astrid Øyre Slind in the lead and the chasers behind.
At Hökberg, Øyre Slind looked strong and increased the lead to 1 minute and 8 seconds over Johansson Norgren and more than 3 minutes over Fleten.
In the end, Astrid Øyre Slind, Team Koteng Eidissen, paced herself perfectly to win this year’s Vasaloppet in superior performance, setting a new course time record of 3:50:06.4.
Second place went to Britta Johansson Norgren, Lager 157 Ski Team, 2:47.1 back. Emilie Fleten, Team XPND Fuel, completed the podium in the third position, 4:22.1 behind the winner.
Vasaloppet results can be found here.
Next up in the Visma Ski Classics is Birkebeinerrennet. The 54-kilometer classic long-distance race takes place in Rena-Lillehammer, Norway, on March 19, 2022.
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