Nordic Ways recently held their fourth annual cross country skiing event in China this June. The fact that it is summer in China at the moment did not stop these ski enthusiasts – nor did the lack of snow.
Yakeshi
The sun was high and the sky clear and bright blue when part one of the China Summer Ski Sprint was kicked off at the outskirts of the city of Yakeshi in Inner Mongolia on 21 June. At the moment, there is currently no snow in the open fields of Mongolia but with the 15,000 cubic metres of stored snow that had been laid out, contestants did not face any problems, and they were able to ski just fine despite the unusual weather conditions.
The winner of the ladies’ race, professional cross country skier Jenny Hansson from Sweden, who visited China for the first time, was actually quite pleased with the snow:
“It was really good conditions with very fine snow,” she said in an interview after the race.
“It has been unbelievably cool to compete here in China. Today was really fun. There have been many funny experiences here in China and we have received a good response from the Chinese people we have met here in Inner Mongolia. I would love to come back to China and the Vasaloppet China sometime and I think I would have a good chance of winning the total cup of Tour de Ski China,” she adds confidently.
Teodor Peterson, also a professional skier who was a participant at this year’s Winter Olympics, won the men’s race, and his first Chinese experience has also been a memorable one.
“It was fun to go here today and the track and snow conditions were surprisingly good. It is a little different to compete in China. It feels very exotic, but I am very happy that I got the chance to go here, so far it is really a memory for life!”
Beijing
The second part of the competition on 23 June was, quite unusually and perhaps for the first time ever, an indoor event. It was a sprinting competition held at Qiaobo Ice and Snow World, in northeast Beijing – a year-round facility for alpine skiing. The stadium covers about 40,000 m2 and it is unique in its kind in the northeast part of China. It is built in two parts and both include an alpine slope.
To the European competitors, the event was a unique experience, and the winners were English David Frisk and Norwegian Inger-Liv Bjerkreim Nilsen.
“It was fun to participate in indoor skiing and competing with so many excellent players,” Inger-Liv said after the competition.
“I felt so excited when I finished the last lap, which was so tough.”
David Frisk agreed:
“It was tough when you compete man-to-man and it felt incredibly good to be able to challenge the Olympic skier and sprint specialist, such as Teodor Peterson,” he said
Nordic Ways is a Swedish company based in China organizing amateur sporting events all over China. The firm is dedicated to developing, producing and promoting brand sports events in China, focusing mainly on sports with strong traditions in the Nordic countries.
