Teemu Virtanen attempted to break Hans Mäenpää’s impressive Guinness World Record for 24-hour cross-country skiing, which was set at 472.1 kilometers, last spring in Vaajakoski, Jyväskylä, Finland. The record was not broken due to unfavorable weather conditions at the beginning of the journey and a lack of pace skiers. However, Virtanen managed to achieve the second-highest result in the world by skiing 443 kilometers and 5 meters without drafting. Now, his hometown, Lahti’s ski stadium, is the new location for the record attempt, scheduled for January next year.

Teemu Virtanen had previously broken the old-world record in November 2010 in Kuortane, skiing 433.5 kilometers in a day. Swedish skier Erik Wickström later broke this record in a triathlon-style event in Vålådalen, where Virtanen also participated, competing against Wickström and Russian skier Denis Kabanen. Kabanen had to abandon his attempt halfway, while Virtanen persevered for 21 hours. Due to a lack of evidence, Guinness did not recognize the record, so Virtanen remained the official holder of the Guinness 24-hour cross-country skiing world record.

Virtanen also took part in a record attempt in Levi in the spring of 2018, where he and Hans Mäenpää, along with Norwegian skier Daniel Strand, raced against each other. Both Virtanen and Strand had to abandon their journey, but Mäenpää managed to complete the challenge, setting the current incredible record. Two years ago, Virtanen tried to break Mäenpää’s record at the Stockholm Olympic Stadium, but warm weather and heavy rain the previous day dashed his hopes.

Now, Virtanen is returning to his roots and attempting to break the record once again at his hometown’s famous ski stadium.

“It’s great to have the chance to try once again right near my own home. I live just a few hundred meters from the stadium, so there’s no need to go anywhere. Support teams, assistant skiers, and necessary supervisors are all close by, and we can take action on short notice. I’ve always been somewhere far away, and this time I decided to reach out to the representatives of the city of Lahti, and they immediately embraced the idea,” Teemu Virtanen says to Maastohiihto.com, pleased, about a month before the potential big day.

The record attempt will take place in January if weather conditions allow. A specific date has not been confirmed, and if January’s weather is not favorable, the attempt will be postponed to March, immediately after the Salpausselkä games. The event will be broadcast as a hosted live-stream, available in Finland through ISTV. International distribution is also planned, so a large audience is expected to follow Virtanen’s attempt. The broadcast will include a 24-Hour Studio segment where host Ari Sulkanen interviews various guests both on-site and remotely. Among the guests, you can expect to see Finnish cross-country skiing stars and international long-distance skiing experts. Influential figures from the Lahti region will also be featured during the broadcast.

“It’s fantastic that the live broadcast will include elements similar to television shows because my performance is so lengthy. Now viewers have the opportunity to follow my attempt, learn something new about skiing and ultramarathons like this, and get to know interesting individuals from the Lahti region. Ari is an experienced professional in these matters, and the broadcast will undoubtedly be unique,” Virtanen enthusiastically shares.

Read more about Teemu Virtanen’s previous attempts here. Read the Helsingin Sanomat article about Virtanen’s performance in the spring.