Čez Jizerská 50
As part of doing the Swedish Classic I have been working hard on getting some cross country skiing experience prior to Vasaloppet. This led me and my friends Karel, Andrei and Patrik to sign up for the Czech race Čez Jizerská 50. It turned out that 50 was not only an indication of the number of kilometers to ski, but also a celebration of the event's 50th anniversary. I call it timing!
Godlike accommodation
The race took place in and around the area of Bedrichov. Fortunately Karel had a good friend in the nearby city of Liberec. In fact, Karel's friend is a priest at the local monestary and he invited us to crash there. We could not have wished for more generous accommodation.
Unexpected help
We did a small 20 km run on the day prior to the race to test the area. As I was heading up a hill, I slowly passed a guy. Trying to impress I attempted to increase my speed, but as I hadn't had time to wax my skis, this only led me to losing grip. They guy turned in the track and asked me about my skis - first encounter with Thomas. We caught up with the other guys a few kilometers later and grabbed a cup of sweet tea. As Thomas saw Andrei's classic touring skis he was shocked - "you can't complete Jizerská on those!".
After talking back and forth Thomas offered Andrei to let him borrow his skis - talk about being lucky! Andrei gladly accepted and invited Thomas to join us for dinner the same day. Thomas and his wife later invited us to dinner at their home at the day of the race - we are so thankful for their hospitality and kindness.
Race results
50 km classic cross country skiing with 937 m elevation gain
- 03:04:16 - Patrik Andersson 🏆
- 04:34:45 - Karel Navrátil
- 04:56:39 - Theodor Lindekaer
- 06:06:12 - Andrei Ursachi
Patrik did a fantastic job and finished only a few minutes from the 3 hour bracket - great performance considering no track preparation prior to the race. Karel is a fighter and pushed hard throughout the whole race. Despite cramps and considering the fact that he normally only practices ski skating he finished better than expected. However, the greatest fighter of them all was Andrei, who completed the race with close to zero skiing experience. I am still mindblown by his achievement! 👊
Having fun
Being with the guys is always a blast and we really managed to squeeze out a lot of great experiences in short time. I will definitely be looking to the Czech Republic again for skiing and to sneak in another visit at Karel's.
