Nordic Roundup: Good news for Yanks in Sweden; Snowmakers in Kuusamo; Vasa field already 40,000-plus

Nordic Roundup: Good news for Yanks in Sweden; Snowmakers in Kuusamo; Vasa field already 40,000-plus{mosimage}X-C World Cup resumes (elsewhere) in Sweden

The Viessmann Cross-country World Cup schedule, taking a four-week break after opening October 23-24 before more raucous crowds in Dusseldorf, Germany, resumes over the weekend. Originally ticketed for Oestersund, the races were scrubbed because unseasonally warm temperatures torpedoed efforts to make snow; they were moved 500 kilometers north to Gallivare, the site of the nordic World Junior Championships in March 1995 and World Cup races in November 1995 (won by Stefania Belmondo of Italy and Norwegian great Bjorn Daehlie).

U.S. skiers Kris Freeman – who was third Saturday in a tune up 10km skate race in Muonio (behind Czech Martin Koukal), Carl Swenson, Justin Freeman, Andrew Johnson and Wendy Wagner will be racing in Gallivare along with Canadians Sara Renner and George Grey. Renner and Grey were training in Oestersund, the longtime bridesmaid in bidding during the Eighties and Nineties to be an Olympic Winter Games site, while the Yanks were on the border in Muonio, Finland.

“It’s good that they kept the races and moved them rather than just cancel them,” said U.S. Head Coach Trond Nystad. “We’ve had a really good camp and everyone’s improving, so coming over early means when the races are held we’ll have been here about three weeks and that improves our likelihood of doing well. It’s so tough, as we’ve seen in other years, to come in only five or six days ahead.”

“Nordic Opening” Looks Good for Kuusamo

All three nordic World Cup schedules convene November 26-28 in Kuusamo, Finland, with cross-country, nordic combined and ski jumping providing the self-styled “Nordic Opening” activities. While much of Europe has been hard-hit by balmy temperatures which prevented snowstorms and snowmaking, organizers in Kuusamo – midway up Finland’s eastern boundary with Russia – have been able to make snow.

“They’ve been blowing snow for a couple of days,” Corby Fisher, U.S. jumping head coach, said Tuesday as he prepared to leave later this week for Europe with Alan Alborn and Clint Jones for the start of the jumping schedule. “We haven’t been able to jump here (in Park City, Utah) but, supposedly, nobody in Europe’s been jumping, either. Our combined guys are in Lillehammer, getting in some cross-country but nothing happening in jumping.”

For a look at the weekend’s lineup in Kuusamo, best known for its big jumping hill and (normally) to-the-bone c-c-c-cold, check out www.nordicopening.com.

Sweden’s Vasaloppet already past 40,000 entries

While the cross-country World Cup organizers in Sweden have been struggling with warm weather, that hasn’t slowed interest in the fabled Vasalopp Week in Mora, which is highlighted by the 90-kilometer, classic technique hairshirt that’s one of the original Worldloppet races. Organizers claim entries already have surged past the 40,000 mark – some 4,000 more than at the same time a year ago.

“I think you can explain this development with the general fitness boom,” Secretary General Rolf Hammar said in a statement. The 90km race, set for March 6, was fully booked in May, Hammar said, but the other seven races during the week continue to attract registrants. There are, among others, the Halv Vasan (Half Vasa, a 45km race) and three 30km races – the Tjej Vasan (the Women’s Vasa, which was won in 1994 by Vermonter Kerrin Petty and where Wendy Wagner was fifth in 2001), and the Kort Vasan (Short Vasa) and the Skejt Vasan (Skate Vasa, which has shown the slowest growth).

Hammar said 3,600 foreign racers from 38 countries – but most of them from neighboring Norway – have registered for at least one of the seven races. The goal of 50,000 skiers was well within reach, especially once the snows arrive, he said.

Ylianttila surfaces as new Swedish jumping coach

Kari Ylianttila, the 1978 Four Hills Tournee champion while a Finnish athlete, didn’t stay retired for long. He resigned as U.S. jumping head coach in the spring after 10 years on the U.S. Ski Team staff, including head coach since the 1998 season. But, Ylianttila – who coached the Finns for 1987-94 and who turned down an offer several years ago to coach the Swiss jumpers – has taken over as head coach of Sweden’s jumping program.

“It was kinda funny to see Kari when we were in Europe for the (Summer) Grand Prix,” said Corby Fisher, who succeeded Ylianttila as U.S. head coach. “But it was good, too. He’s head coach for the Swedes, and we had some chances to get together, have a beer and talk about a lot of things. He seemed happy, which is always good to see.”