A Canadian in Sweden

Postiness factor on the decline for next few days

I leave tomorrow morning for Oslo, ostentatiously to present my work to the Norwegian armed forces research institute (FFI), but in reality to go see the biathlon World Cup in Holmenkollen and hang out with my old biathlon friends.

Holmenkollen, along with Lahti Finland and Falun Sweden is one of the Holy Grails of skiing. The Holmenkollen 50 km ski race course is legendary, and the ski jump is one of the landmarks of Oslo. I am really looking forward to this pilgrimmage. The Holmenkollen Ski Festival started in 1892 and the 50 km (called the 5-mile in Scandinavia) is still the premiere event, which is nice in this day and age of short attention spans. It has been won by my heros Vegard Ulvang (3 times!), Juha Mieto, and Thomas Wassberg.

Of course, this is also the first time I will set foot in Norway, the home of Bjorn Daehlie, Vegard Ulvang, Thomas Alsgaard, Ole Einar Bjornedalen, and so many other great skiers. That alone makes me very excited.

I get back Sunday night, then leave next Wednesday to race in the Norwegian Birkebeiner, the biggest ski loppet in Norway, which ends in Lillehammer.

Lillehammer will obviously be another pilgimmage of sorts for me. The Birkebeiner finishes in the Olympic stadium, on the very same finish line where Silvio Fauner robbed Bjorn Daehlie and Norway of the 4x10 km relay in the 1994 Olympics. Silvio drafted Bjorn around the entire last lap and then out sprinted him for the win in a finish that broke my heart. I had been in the hospital for a few weeks at the time for a lump in my neck and I forced the nurse to let me get out of bed to watch that race. That Norwegian team was perhaps the greatest team ever assembled, Sture Siverten, Vegard Ulvang, Thomas Alsgaard and Bjorn. I watched that race in my ridiculous assless hospital smock as those accursed Italian steroid monkeys drafted my Norwegians lap after lap after lap. When Fauner outsprinted Bjorn, I actually cried. Then the stupid nurse came in and told me that if she had known I was going to get so upset she wouldn't have let me watch. Bitch.

I may have to bring a small Italian flag and burn it on that finish line.

Well I certainly didn't know this post was going to go in this direction when I started. How interesting.

posted by Jeff @ 5:36 AM