41 annual Patria Direct Jizerská 50
[14. 01. 2008] The racing weekend, which culminated in the main race on Sunday, has passed. At this time the organisers are cleaning the stadium in Bedřichov and the course and the official result list is being finalised. The sunny weather, high number of participants, the world’s best skiers among them, the President and the Chairman of the Senate of the Czech Republic who started the race and handed the winners the prizes – these are just some of the attributes of this year’s race, the most successful in its history.
Norway’s Aukland brothers turned Jizerská 50 into a sort of “family affair”. The elder Anders won convincingly in a time of 2:12:32, Jörgen finished third, losing 0:01:50.9 to his winning brother.
Also the first runner-up, Oskar Svärd from Sweden with a time of 2:12:57.4 underpinned the Nordic domination of the most popular Czech long distance cross-country skiing event. There were 13 Scandinavian racers out of the first fifteen.
The winner, Anders Aukland was at the top of the field, increasingly gaining an edge over competitors. “The very fast beginning uphill took me by surprise,” Aukland confessed. “Svärd and I worked together at the front, but I got ahead from the 30th kilometre.” Frode Estil, the Olympic prize winner and world champion was disappointed, finishing tenth. But skiing legend Björn Daehlie was not troubled at all having finished 53rd.
He took Jizerská 50 as a pleasant trip. “You have some beautiful views here,” the famous Norwegian racer said. “I soon realised that the pace was too fast for me. In addition, I had put a bit too much wax on my skis, so I decided to stay in the back and have fun.”
Stanislav Řezáč, the best Czech long distance cross-country skier and two-times Jizerská 50 winner could just watch the best racers sadly at the finish. He did start but then had to stop his attempt at the 18th kilometre. “I have not slept in two days, I have some intestinal viral disease and you know, you cannot battle the illness,” Řezáč said.
He still tried to race but his loss was considerable. “There was no point ruining my health,” the Jablonec-based skier said. Viktor Novotný from Jeseník was the fastest Czech racer, finishing fifteenth.
Jenny Hanssonová from Sweden won the women’s race, and the former junior world champion Zuzana Kocumová finished fourth. She was involved in some overtaking with Björn Daehlie on the track. “You could see that he doesn’t practise any more, but he dug in two kilometres before the finish, and a man’s arms can do more than a woman’s after all,” Kocumová smiled.
But Jizerská 50 is primarily a race for skiing enthusiasts. More than five thousand people participated in the three-day racing programme.
The race’s ‘founding father’, Ladislav Míka who has participated in all races held to date, finished 753rd with a time of 3:33:10.3.