Tour de Ski China

In January I was on my longest trip so far in my life, both in time and distance. It started with one week in China, continued with two weeks in Australia, and ended with one and a half week in New Zealand. I will now write a few words and present pictures from China, and will hopefully have time to continue with Australia and New Zealand later.

Just after Christmas I travelled to Beijing to compete in Tour de Ski China in cross country skiing. You can read more about why I travelled to such a competition in the first news I made for my new blog.

The program for Tour de Ski China 2010 – 2011:
Stage 1, 28th December – Mass start, 5.4 km free technique, Xiwuqi in Inner Mongolia
Stage 2, 29th December – Sprint, 1.3 km free technique Xiwuqi in Inner Mongolia
Stage 3, 30th December – Sprint, 1.2 km free technique, The Bird Nest in Beijing
Stage 4, 2nd January – Vasaloppet China, 50 km classic, Changchun

I looked at the trip as a new challenges and great experiences, since I hadn’t done any special preparation for the cross country skiing season. The races went as I could expect, and I came around number 30 in all of the four competitions. Results

Xiwuqi in Inner Mongolia was a totally new place for me, really cold and not the most exciting place I have been, but the races was good. The sprint in Beijing was held in the Olympic Stadium the Bird Nest, which was a great venue for such a race. Tour de Ski China was ended with the 50 km long Vasaloppet China in Changchung.

The week in China was great, with several tough competitions and a lot of fun. I meet many new people from different countries and came to some new places in different parts of the huge country.