21/9/25 Club trip to Klarälvsloppet roller ski race

About the event

Here's Anders Soderback's view of the 2024 event - read on and find out about a Club trip to the 2025 race.

Fancy roller skiing for 90km in Karlstad, Sweden to beat the summer couch potato? It worked for me anyway.

• Klarälvsloppet is a classic roller ski race finishing in Karlstad that takes place at the end of September.
• There are three distances, 60km, 90km and 21km.
• It runs along a railway track that has been converted to a cycle track.

The track is very gentle, following Klarälven, a river going downstream, and ends in Karlstad. You go through forests and fields, occasionally crossing the river. There is one place where there is an optical illusion - or maybe I was just tired. It looked to me as though I was rolling uphill, but I was actually going downhill and the road next to the track was the opposite.

It was very exciting to see the ski classic elite at the start, with names like Stina Nilsson standing out - she used to be a sprint specialist, then moved to biathlon, and has now changed over to classic skiing. Brynte was there too, who has skied the Vasaloppet, once starting last and another time skiing backwards with back- to-front purpose-built skis.

Travel

The best way to get there is via Stockholm Arlanda Airport. If you go on a Friday and stay in Stockholm you have time to stock up on kit at Alewalds. They have great staff and can help you with your needs, whether it is roller ski or Nordic ski support you're after.

Equipment

The rule is to use number two wheels or slower, but Gerard found out about these blue wheels that we purchased. They were a bit faster but also very smooth I thought. I felt very well balanced and confident with them, which really helped in this long race.

Accommodation

There are several hotels in Karlstad, but it's good to book well in advance as there seem to be other events going on the same weekend. There are coaches to take you to the start from Karlstad, in the crazy early hours. We got the hotel to put together some breakfast for us too, which was nice.

Interested?

Get in contact with Anders Soderback or Gerard Evans if you're interested in joining us for this year's race on Sunday 21 September 2025