Vasaloppet China is getting closer and there are a lot of expectant amateur skiers from Scandinavia waiting to come to Changchun for the longest running cross-country ski race in China. Among the Swedish amateur skiers coming to China during New Year there are some who has got a very special relationship to Vasaloppet – the oldest, longest and biggest long distance cross country ski race in the world. These are the members of Vasaloppet Veterans Club which is a club for those who have finished the 90km Swedish Vasaloppet at least 30 times. Vasaloppet Veterans Club has 640 members and the average veteran age is 69 years with an average of 34 completed Vasaloppet/Open Track. Bengt Eriksson is the person who has skied the most times in Vasaloppet, in 2009 he went on his 56th Vasaloppet! The oldest veteran is and 87 years old Regiment chief from Linkoping.
Vasaloppet Veterans coming to Vasaloppet China to ski 50km are Sonny Eriksson (37 times), Borje Karlsson who is the oldest of them born in 1934 (51 times), Hakan Mossberg (40 times), Johnny Raf (39 times) and Per Ake Akesson (31 times). Together, these gentlemen have gone from Salen to Mora 198 times.
Going Blueberry Vasa 16.7km are Per Andersson who has skied 43 times and Alf Pettersson (33 times).
Some of the travel agencies Nordic Ways is cooperating with are PWT Travel (Sweden & Norway), Svensk-Kinesiska Resebyran (Swedish-Chinese Travel Agency) and Sinex Rejser (Denmark). They will bring travelers to do both skiing in Vasaloppet China and sightseeing in Changchun and Beijing.