Mountain bike race with winners all around

It was a really successful day when 13 employees from JYSK Sweden followed in the footsteps of the Swedish king Gustav Vasa by participating in Cykelvasan, 94 kilometres by mountain bike from Sälen to Mora. A race where they also raised 70,000 SEK (around 6,700 euro) for future Swedish paralympic talents.

"Everybody should be proud of their amazing achievements in the tracks," said Country Manager Johan Sjödin, who reached the finishing line in Mora after 5 hours and 25 minutes.

On Saturday, 11 August, 13 JYSK employees lined up at the starting line in Sälen, ready to ride their mountain bikes 94 kilometres to Mora. The conditions were perfect with sun, 16 degrees Celcius and practically no wind.

"There were some jitters before. At JYSK we like to compete. Nevertheless, we realised that this was not a race where we could win. The goal was to get the whole team across the finish line. And we all did. Which meant many personal accomplishments along the way," says Charlotta Lindborg, HR Manager for JYSK Sweden.

Every minute counted

In addition to the 13 JYSK employees, the Marketing Manager from Parasport Sweden also participated in the race as a part of the JYSK team.

For every minute each participating JYSK employee was out in the tracks, JYSK Sweden had vouched to donate 10 SEK to Parasport Sweden’s “Elitidrottsskolan”, a school where para-athletes are given the appropriate conditions for pursuing a career as an elite athlete.

"The initiative was mentioned by the speaker at the starting line, and it was awesome to hear people cheer for us throughout the track. In addition, it was a great feeling to know that our efforts in the tracks meant something positive for an organisation that is really close to the JYSK heart," says Johan Sjödin.

When all 14 JYSK cyclists (Maria Suneson from Parasport Sweden included) reached the finish line, they had spent a total of 4,839 minutes in the tracks which meant 48,390 SEK for Parasport Sweden.

In the commotion and joy over the fact that all the participating JYSK cyclists had crossed the finishing line, Country Manager Johan Sjödin decided to round up the amount to an even 70,000 SEK which will now be used to support the future para-athletes of Sweden.

"We all challenged ourselves during the race. It was wonderful to see. The fact that JYSK also donated money to Elitidrottsskolan is amazing and will make our young elite athletes very happy. This feels like the start of great and more active collaboration between JYSK and Parasport Sweden," says Maria Suneson from Parasport Sweden, who reached the finish line side by side with Johan Sjödin.