LAHTI,
FINLAND______________________WORLD CUP CROSS-COUNTRY
MARCH 9 &10
The next stop in this year’s cross-country world tour for me
is Lahti, Finland. The country of Finland sits between Sweden to the west and
Russia to the east. Lahti itself sits just a little outside of Finland’s
biggest city, Helsinki. Finland itself, and particularly Lahti, is a place
known for its forest and lake landscapes that provide a natural living
environment. When I first visited Finland, I could understand better one of my
favorite architects, Alvar Aalto.
Mr. Aalvo’s architectural style ranged from nordic
classicism during the early years of his career, to later on a more organic
modernist style. To me, Mr. Aalvo had a genius way of using a site’s available
resources. His buildings and housings could arrest your eyes, but also blend
into the environment and terrain where it resided. My favorite thing, though,
is how he used sunlight. In Finland, especially in the winter, sunlight is a precious
commodity. Mr. Aalvo knew how to capture its essence brilliantly.
It doesn’t a visitor to Lahti long to figure out the place
is a winter sports city. Right on the edge of town a full compliment of ski
jumps sit atop the area’s biggest hill. As an athlete, the venue is almost a
metaphor telling a story. There are all sizes of jumps. Off to the ski jumper’s
far right, the jump set starts with perhaps a ten meter in-run, then a
half-meter jump where five or six year-olds fly through the air for maybe a
half-second. The granddaddy of
them all, though, is the K-124. The athletes fly through the air for around
five seconds, covering up to a football field-and-a-half on their winning
jumps.
Since 1923 the town and venue has played host to the Lahti
Ski Games, an annual World Cup event. Tens of thousands of spectators from near
and far come here every March to watch the competitions and revel in the
streets and nightclubs afterwards. It’s an energetic crowd – and energy that
you can feel as a racer, especially when you are having a special day. And it’s
one of these days I look to have on both Saturday in the skate sprint, and on
Sunday in the 15 kilometer (9.3 mile) classic World Cup. I have raced here in Lahti many times,
though this will be my first time pulling on a racebib here for something other
than an individual sprint or a sprint relay. To new experiences, and new challenges!
SATURDAY, March 9: Skate Sprint Qualification at 11 AM
SUNDAY, March 10: Men’s 15km Classic at 11 AM
FOR MORE INFORMATION, AND UPDATES: www.lahtiskigames.com
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