On Jan.4, 2024, the 22nd Vasaloppet China officially opened in the Jingyuetan Park.
Third time lucky for Fabian Stocek in the 22nd Vasaloppet China in Changchun. The 30-year old Czech skier beat Germany’s Thomas Bing in a hotly contested sprint after two loops of 25km in a sunny, mild but windy Jingyuetan Park. The duo distanced themselves from a group of six in the second lap and finished in a fast time of 2h16’18” , beating the course record of Zhu Mingliang (2h’16’29”) set in the 2021 edition.
The women’s 50km race was also quite tight, but Changchun’s own Zhao Xinle managed to stay ahead of Sigrid Bye from Norway and Mariya Lyuft from Kazakhstan by just under three minutes after a fast start.
The 50km, 25km and 2.5km races took off at 10am with over 700 serious skiers from 26 countries. While windy, the conditions for the race were good with temperatures even rising above zero degrees centigrade, which does not happen often around this time of year. It also enticed many people to come to Jingyuetan Park to attend and watch the race on-site.
Thomas Bing and Fabian Stocek, China’s En Te Ma Ke, Germany’s Christian Winker, Italy’s Stefano Mich and Kazakhstan’s Bashmakov Faritovich set the pace early on and developed a nice gap to the rest in the first lap of 25 km. China’s main XC skiing hero and a double winner of Vasaloppet China in the past, Wang Qiang, did not take part this year so En Te Ma Ke had the pressure on his shoulders to try and get a podium for the home country. As Stocek and Bing had a very close sprint in the final 250 metres with changing positions until the final 40 metres, Christian Winker took third place ahead of En Te Ma Ke. Stefano Fich grabbed fifth.
Han Yu from Dingshuang Club, Dong Aokai from Changchun Winter Sports Management Center, Qian Yushuai from Dingshuang Club, Li Xinyu, Meng Xianglin from Changchun Winter Sports Management Center and Li Xiangling from Bayan Nur Sports School won the first, second and third place respectively in the men’s and women’s 25km race of the Vasaloppet China 2024.
“Vasa Night” is splendid. It is a cultural exchange event linked by Vasa sports events. Friends from all over the world cross mountains and seas, go to the ice and snow, and gather together to share “Vasa Night”.
“Vasaloppet China” is a winter sports tourism brand that Changchun has been focusing on for many years. After 22 years of inheritance and innovative development, it has become a beautiful business card for Changchun to go to the whole country and embrace the world. The 2024 Vasaloppet China has come to a successful conclusion. Let’s meet next year, meet in the future, and continue the glory of Vasaloppet China!
