Canadians Doug McNair and James MacDonald were able to take in their first Elitloppet while in Sweden for the 2019 World Driving Championship, and found a NHL Hall of Famer in their travels.
After a late scratch of opening-heat winner Readly Express, the Romain Derieux-driven Dijon raced with confidence and went on to capture the final of the 2019 Elitloppet on Sunday (May 26) at Solvalla Racecourse in Stockholm, Sweden. MacDonald and McNair enjoyed a day at the track without competition and met of Sweden's most accomplished and beloved hockey players -- former Toronto Maple Leafs captain and NHL Hall of Famer Mats Sundin -- as part of the WDC tour. Enjoy this behind-the-scenes look at Sweden's Elitloppet.
Finland's Mika Forss sits atop the WDC leaderboard with 42 points after two legs heading into Monday's return to action. Sweden's Ulf Ohlsson and Canada's MacDonald round out the top three. Competitors enter the first of three consecutive days of on-track activity on Monday (May 27), Tuesday (May 28), Wednesday (May 29) before the final WDC leg on Friday (May 31). Here's the leaderboard after the second leg:
1. Mika Forss (Finland) - 42
2. Ulf Ohlsson (Sweden) - 39.5
3. James MacDonald (Canada/ITA) - 37
4. Rick Ebbinge (The Netherlands) - 36
5. Michael Nimczyk (Germany) - 32
T6. Yannick Gingras (USA) - 30
T6. Matthew Williamson (New Zealand) - 30
8. Todd McCarthy (Australia) - 27
9. Eirik Hoitomt (Norway) - 24
10. Franck Nivard (France) - 21
11. Rodney Gatt (Malta) - 16
12. Doug McNair (Canada) - 14.5