487 riders were registered for the Nordenskiöld race where the start was already at 05.00 on Saturday morning. One of the reported was Valter Nutti but he has become ill and therefore misses the race.
For the riders who were on the starting line, 22 miles are waiting for skis that are arranged by Jokkmokk municipality and the maximum time to complete the race is 30 hours.
The race follows a historical track from 1884 and leads through untouched wilderness north of the Arctic Circle. This year’s race is the eighth in modern times and in 1884 Pavva-Lasse Nilsson Tuorda got a winning time of 21 hours and 22 minutes. Everyone who passes the race during that time is now rewarded with a performance medal.
Part of the ski classic challenger
Since last fall, the Nordenskiöld race has been part of the Ski Classic Challenger and from this spring the fastest riders get points. Ski Classic Challenger is a global tour with about 20 competitions scattered all over the world and the Nordenskiöld race is the northernmost of them.
“Being part of Ski Classics is a status increase in the competition, to the extent that we become part of an international ski circus and that means we reach all skiers worldwide,” Göran Hedemalm, chairman of the Nordenskiöldsloppet, told SVT Sápmi earlier this year.
The winner of the race receives SEK 50,000, while second place gives SEK 30,000 and third place gives SEK 20,000.