O-Ringen Magazine, nr 1 - 2022

FOTO PETER HOLGERSSON
Åre is the perfect place
to try MTBO for the first time!
The three MTBO stages will be held
unusually far away from what is
usually the central meeting point of
O-Ringen - O-Ringen square. However,
competitors making the journey should
be well rewarded, as the middle and
long distance events will be held at
Östersund Ski Stadium, famous for
hosting the Biathlon World Cup in the
winter season, as well as the 2019
World Championships.
Now the stadium and it’s surrounding area
will play host to two stages of O-Ringen
MTBO, offering fantastic terrain for MTBO
at all levels of difficulty. The tarmac roller ski
track weaves through the forest, and other
recreational trails make it possible to maintain
high speed on fast surfaces and with
clear catching features for beginners. The
technical and dense path network between
the main trails then brings in the opportunity
for fine navigation and challenging
courses. On the long race, participants will
get to enjoy many natural single-track paths
that have evolved thanks to Östersund’s
large community of MTB enthusiasts
during the past few years.
– Those that have followed the biathlon
competitions from Östersund will know that
there some quite steep trails in and around
the stadium area. Combined with the dense
path network, competitors will need to maintain
concentration while speeding downhill
so as not to miss a junction and have to
pay for it with extra climbing says Ingrid
Stengård, cartographer for the MTBO stages.
The sprint day in Järpen will offer a wonderful
mix of urban MTBO and steep forests
close to the town centre. Here, too, there is
a roller ski track and some newly built MTB
trails to cycle on.
– This is the perfect place to try MTBO
for the first time. Anyone who has run an
orienteering sprint will feel at home because
setting will
be quite similar.
The Järpen event will
also offer “come and try it” courses that
can be ridden on almost any bike, Ingrid
explains.
At the same time, the area will provide
good conditions for tricky courses for the
elite riders. An overly careless glance at the
map could cost crucial seconds in the form
of poor route choices among complex school
buildings, playgrounds and dead ends.
There will be a camping in Åre as well
During O-Ringen Åre there will be a
range of accommodation available
to competitors. Now we are able to
confirm that there will in addition be
an O-Ringen campsite to complement
the accommodation offered in cabins,
apartments, hostels and hotels.
When the planning for O-Ringen in Åre first
began, we thought that we would be able to
provide sufficient accommodation for competitors
and visitors in cabins, apartments,
houses, hostels and hotels. However, to ensure
that O-Ringen Åre 2023 can accommodate
as many participants as we would like,
we have updated our offering.
– It will now be possible for competitors
to stay at an O-Ringen campsite when they
make their way to Åre in 2023, says Niclas
Lidström, project leader for O-Ringen Åre.
The campsite will be built just outside
Järpen, around 20 km east of Åre, on an
airfield called Molanda. Here we will have
space for around 900 campervan, caravan
and tent pitches.
– When we met prospective competitors
at the stalls in Örnsköldsvik and Norrköping,
we found that many were asking about camping
possibilities, and so after some deliberation
decided that a campsite would be a good
solution, explains Niclas.
The campsite at Molanda will be smaller
than a typical O-Ringen campsite, but offer
the same services as previous years: toilets,
washing facilities, showers, kiosks, a restaurant,
café and other activities.
The campsite is located beside the scenic
Indalsälven, and should provide opportunities
for fishing, bathing, ball games and training.
Buses will operate from Molanda to all
stages, as it will not be possible to drive to
the events due to a lack of parking space.
– We will do everything we can so that participants
have a great stay at the campsite. The
environment is beautiful and the areas used
for camping pitches are mostly grass, with
some hard standing, describes Niclas.
– The campsite pitches are bookable on the
O-Ringen website, and the plan is to offer some
pitches with electricity supply. Clubs will, as
usual, be able to stay together at the campsite.
However, it is important that participants
book their pitches early, as we only have
around 900 pitches available.
As well as the O-Ringen campsite at
Molanda airfield, there will be a wide
selection of private houses and apartments
to book via the O-Ringen homepage this
summer. There are also some hotel rooms
available. However, besides the campsite,
there will not be an opportunity for clubs
to book accommodation centrally for their
members; clubs themselves need to therefore
co-ordinate private accommodation
bookings with their members if they want to
stay together.
Skistar also have apartments and cabins that
can be booked through their own website.
– Åre does not have large holiday villages
that are owned or run by the same company,
in the same way that for example Sälen does;
instead the accommodation is diverse and often
privately owned. This means that it will be
a little more difficult for participants to find
accommodation if they want to stay in the
same area as their clubmates, explains Niclas
Lidström, project leader for O-Ringen.
We will announce when we open bookings
for O-Ringen Åre 2023 via the O-Ringen
homepage and newsletter.
62 O-RINGEN MAGAZINE NR 1 • 2022 O-RINGEN MAGAZINE NR 1 • 2022 63