PHOTO: Bildbyrån
The Vasaloppet receives harsh criticism from several riders.
Due to the unexpected behavior of the ski tracks.
– I understand that you are disappointed, says event manager Magnus Locken to SVT.
The classic Vasaloppet is in full swing right now and thousands of Swedes have signed up for the tough skiing challenge of 90 kilometers in Dalarna. But now a strong criticism has been brought to life against the organizer’s attention-grabbing behavior.
“They stood and cried”
It was during the weekend’s “Open track” that several participants were greatly delayed to the start due to a broken down bus and a parking lot in snow chaos. Vasaloppet then announced that the rep times would be adjusted due to the delays.
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But still, there were many riders who were stopped by the tug of war in Evertsberg, which is about halfway through the race.
– There were several people who stood and cried in Evertsberg, including myself. You could see that they could ski. I think that those who pulled the rope in Evertsberg had no idea that we had started an hour later, there must have been a serious communication breakdown, says a participant to Aftonbladet and now hopes to get the money back.
Vasaloppet’s answer
Vasaloppet regrets what has happened and is now responding to the criticism from the weekend.
– We see that there are some factors that we need to look at. Partly, we had the traffic issue where we have road construction, which we went out and informed about, that it will take a little longer. There we may need to reinforce our information for the coming weekend. In the track, we have also had weather that is a little slower for those who ride, which we need to take into account, says the event manager Magnus Locken to SVT.
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The organizer now says that 14 disappointed racers have reached out via email to voice their criticism and demand a refund of their entry fee, due to their race being terminated early. Locken explains that they actually extended the rope time in Evertsberg by an extra 20 minutes because of the delays.
– We have given more time. And this rep times thing is complex. An assessment is made by an experienced track patrol and our health care, which looks at who comes to the respective control and assesses whether they can make it or not, says the event manager to the TV channel and announces that it is not up to the point to pay back any money.
What do you think of this action of the Vasaloppet? Share the article and have your say!
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