Already the first edition attracted some high-level skiers, despite the short preparation. Nichole Bathe from Great Britain took home the win for women, and Zak Ketterson from Minnesota (now in the U.S. national B team) won the men’s race. 

Bjorn Hanson from Out There Nordic shop explains how they originally came up with the idea of a high profile rollerski race: 

“So my wife Kris and I had been discussing the idea of a sprint race along the lakeshore for many years. Last summer, the Downtown Association representative asked us how we could do a ski race in the summer (not knowing about rollerskiing). We told them the idea, and in 2.5 weeks, we went through together the first event, $5500 prize money, and a 900m sprint course.” 

This year’s edition can also be expected to be exciting for both athletes and spectators, as some 2022 Olympians and World Cup skiers have already signed up for the races. FIS or NRL (National Ranking List or U.S. Ski and Snowboard point list) will be used for seating in both women’s and men’s categories. 

There will be prize money for the best six athletes per gender on both days. The organization seeks to have $2750 of prize money for both genders each day. 

“The goal is to help create ways for elite athletes to chase their dreams, and hopefully win some money to help in that quest,” Hanson sums up. 

Both races will take place in the beautiful lake scenery. The sprint course will be built around the lakeshore with a 1.4km loop or 900 meters course from 2021 will be used if the 1.4km road cannot be closed. The 15 kilometers distance race will have approximately 300 climb meters. 

Shore Line Sprints

• Location: Veterans City Park, Rice Lake, Wisconsin, USA 
• Event: 15km classic race (July 8th, 2022)
• Event: Sprint freestyle race (July 9th, 2022)
• Info: https://outthereshop.com/shoreline-sprints/
• Registration: https://www.skisignup.com/Race/WI/RiceLake/ShorelineSprintsDistance
• Registration ends July 6th at 11:59 pm CDT.