EMTBOC'15: Moments!

© Joaquim Margarido

EJMTBOC'15 & EYMTBOC'15: Moments!

© Joaquim Margarido

EMTBOC 2015: Moments!

© Joaquim Margarido

WMMTBOC 2015: Moments!

© Joaquim Margarido

EMTBOC 2015: Czech Republic wins gold twice

Great atmosphere in the final day of the European MTB Orienteering Championships 2015. In the last race - one Relay quite fast and exciting - the Czech athletes made a well celebrated "double", ending the Europeans in the same way they had started: at the highest place on the podium!

In a week where bicycle was the queen, Idanha-a-Nova received the European MTB Orienteering Championships 2015, in Elite class and also in the Youth and Junior classes. At the same time, it took place the World Masters MTB Orienteering Championships 2015, which allowed to know the world champions in 15 classes of competition. Saved for the end, the always tasty “bit” of Relay offered great moments of celebration at Alcafozes. In total, were in number of 73 the participant teams, involving more than two hundred athletes in this true celebration.

In the Men class, the fight was intense. The performances of France, Russia and Finland in the earlier days, put these three countries on the front line in terms of favoritism, but turned out to be the Czech Republic to impose itself, thanks to a faultless performance of its three elements. The France started better, through Yoann Garde, but it was the Czech Republic, with a fantastic performance of Jiri Hradil, who launched the team to the leadership in the end of the second leg. Unable to sustain the strength of the Finnish Pekka Niemi in the decisive leg, however, it seemed that Vojtech Stransky had nothing to do but try to hold the silver medal for the Czech Republic, but a problem with Niemi, already in the last part of the race, eventually stole to Finland the possibility to defend its European title achieved in Zamosc (Poland, 2013). The Czech Vojtech Sransky knew how to deal with the pressure of the young Frenchman Cédric Beill and the experienced Ruslan Gritsan (Russia) to take the victory in the time of 1:28:24, against 1:29:07 for France and 1:29:24 for Russia. The Finland finished fourth, leaving the fifth place, sensationally, to Spain. Portugal - with João Ferreira, Daniel Marques and Davide Machado - was ranked 7th, 37 seconds below the places of honor.

Portuguese juniors got the bronze

In the Women Elite, France and Finland shared the favoritism for the gold. With top-class athletes like Hana Garde and Gäelle Barlet, for France and Marika Hara and Ingrid Stengard, concerning to Finland, it would be probable that Nicole Hueber (France) and Antonia Haga (Finland) were the key for the victory. Both teams adopted similar strategy by launching its “rookies” on the first leg and while Hueber did it quite well, losing just over two minutes to the head of the race, Antonia Haga was really unhappy, loosing nearly eighteen minutes and smashing definitely the Finnish aspirations to retain the European title. However, in the lead, the positions would be setting. Nina Hoffman gave advantage to Denmark in the first leg, but it was the Czech Marie Brezinova, first, and then Martina Tichovska, to show the value of the whole team and to offer to the Czech Republic a victory unexpected but well deserved. Just one word to say that this result mimics the European Championships 2011 (Leningrad, Russia), where the Czech Republic also celebrated the two victories in the Relay on the last day of competition.

As for the European Junior Championships and European Youth Championships in MTB Orienteering, this Relay is marked by the disqualification of several teams because of a violation of a basic rule on departure. In M20, the victory smiled to Finland soon followed by Czech Republic and Portugal. In M17, France was the winner, with Finland being in the second place. In the female competition, was unsurprisingly that Russia was the winner, both in Junior as in Young, however fitting a prominent note to the second place for France in W17, only 1:45 after the “all mighty” Russian.

Results

EMTBOC 2015

Men Elite

1. Czech Republic 1:28:24

2. France 1:29:07

3. Russia 1:29:24

4. Finland 1:34:02

5. Spain 1:35:16

6. Italy 1:35:40

Women Elite

1. Czech Republic 1:40:05

2. France 1:44:00

3. Denmark 1:44:57

4. Russia 1:53:32

5. Lithuania 1:55:21

6. Finland 1:58:35

EJMTBOC 2015

M20

1. Finland 1:34:25

2. Czech Republic 1:34:37

3. Portugal 1:43:27

W20

1. Russia 1:40:41

2. Sweden 1:47:16

3. Austria 1:49:45

EYMTBOC 2015

M17

1. France 1:12:49

2. Finland 1:15:21

3. Poland 1:19:13

W17

1. Russia 1:14:56

2. France 1:16:41

3. Poland 1:36:31

To see the complete results, please consult the event’s webpage at http://mtbo15.fpo.pt/.

Joaquim Margarido

EMTBOC 2015: Gold in the Long Distance for Anton Foliforov and Emily Benham

Proving the reason why they are in the lead of the IOF MTB Orienteering World Rankings, Anton Foliforov and Emily Benham were the winners of the “queen race” of the European MTB Orienteering Championships 2015, held at Termas de Monfortinho, Portugal. In a demanding Long Distance, they signed the best performances, against particularly strong and fierce concurrence.

Termas de Monfortinho, in the far northeast of the municipality of Idanha-a-Nova, staged the most desired race of the European MTB Orienteering Championships 2015. In a terrain with huge slope, where the route choices demanded maximum attention, this was a Long Distance with everything to please everyone. Well, not everyone, since the number of athletes who didn't have reached the finish, mainly due to unexpected “mechanical problems”, was really high.

In the Men class, Anton Foliforov was faultless, showing all his superior technical quality and physical capacity, completing the course in 1:44:18. With more 1:29 and 2:30, ended, respectively, Jussi Laurila (Finland) and Baptiste Fuchs (France). Running with a bike borrowed by the Portuguese João Ferreira - after the podium ceremony, still on stage, Foliforov made sure to leave a public thanks to Ferreira, in a well acclaimed “fair play” gesture - the Russian couldn't be more happy with this medal, which represents “one of my best performances ever”, he said. A note, also, to the excellent 13th place of the Portuguese Davide Machado, demonstrating once again his extraordinary grab, in a course that fitted him.

Emily’s day

France has been again in a high plan in the Women class, placing two athletes on the podium. After the European title of Middle Distance, Gäelle Barlet was now the second ranked, with a time of 1:42:31, which made of her the “queen” of these European Championships. With 39 seconds more than her compatriot, Hana Garde ranked third, while the winner was the British Emily Benham, by the narrow margin of 20 seconds over Barlet. Benham was in the end a particularly happy athlete, mainly because she embraced this race “without a plan” and, after loose precious seconds in the first half of the course, with a huge mistake on her to the 5th control, she got a tasty victory.

In the other classes, highlighting the triumphs of the Finnish Sauli Pietikäinen and the French Lou Denaix, repeating the gold in the European Junior MTB Orienteering Championships. It also took place the Long Distance race of the European Youth MTB Orienteering Championhips, in which the Russians Fedor Schepelev and Daria Mykriukova were the strongest. Russia did the “full” in the Women's podium, as has already happened in the Sprint and Middle Distance courses.

Results

EMTBOC 2015

Men Elite

1. Anton Foliforov (Russia) 1:44:18

2. Jussi Laurila (Finland) 1:45:47

3. Baptiste Fuchs (France) 1:46:48

4. Laca Dallavalle (Italy) 1:48:31

5. Jiri Hradil (Czech Republic) 1:48:49

6. Marek Pospisek (Czech Republic) 1:49:32

Women Elite

1. Emily Benham (Great Britain) 1:42:11

2. Gäelle Barlet (France) 1:42:31

3. Hana Garde (France) 1:43:10

4. Camilla Søgaard (Denmark) 1:43:33

5. Ingrid Stengard (Finland) 1:47:04

6. Marie Brezinova (Czech Republic) 1:49:32

EJMTBOC 2015

M20

1. Sauli Pietikainen (Finland) 1:28:56

2. Vaclav Snuparek (Czech Republic) 1:30:47

3. Florian Pinsard (France) 1:31:54

W20

1. Lou Denaix (France) 1:13:28

2. Veronika Kubinova (Czech Republic) 1:14:12

3. Olga Mikhailova (Russia) 1:18:46

EYMTBOC 2015

M17

1. Fedor Schepelev (Russia) 47:44

2. Anathsel Dott (France) 47:59

3. Jeremi Pourre (France) 49:32

W17

1. Daria Mikryukova (Russia) 59:34

2. Alena Fedoseeva (Russia) 1:03:51

3. Uliana Sukholovskaya (Russia) 1:09:07

Full results and further information at http://mtbo15.fpo.pt/.

Joaquim Margarido

EJMTBOC 2015 / EYMTBOC 2015: Moments!

Joaquim Margarido

EMTBOC 2015: Meet Anton Foliforov (Russia)

Name: Anton Foliforov Age: 28 Home location: Kovrov, Russia Profession and educational background: Sportsman, Kovrov State Technological Academy Years in sport of any kind: Since 1997. Years in MTBO: Since 2003. What got you started: The road cycling. IOF World Ranking: 1st position MTBO World Cup 2015: 2nd position

What is your best moment in MTB Orienteering so far?

- My first gold medal in relay in the WMTBOC 2009, in Israel. I was riding on the third leg. After two legs our team was 6 minutes behind the leading team, but I was able to win the race. That was very unexpected for me!

Where do you draw your inspiration from?

- I always want to do my best in every race.

What one or two things do you currently do in your training that are keys to your success?

- The wish to train and a competent coach.

What are your goals for the European Championships, in Portugal?

- Get a gold! I have never won in the European Championships.

What is your biggest challenge in the competition, and how do you intend to manage it?

- Keep cool-headed. I must think only about the race and nothing else.

What would be your ultimate achievement for the season?

- Get the podium in the World Championships and the World Cup overall.

Do you have a saying or motto that you live your life by?

- No matter how fast you go to the purpose, you must not stop!

[Photo courtesy: Anton Foliforov]

Joaquim Margarido

EMTBOC 2015: Meet Cédric Beill (France)

Name: Cédric Beill Age: 22 Home location: Schirmeck, France Profession and educational background: Sales representative. Years in sport of any kind: 15 years. Years in MTBO: 8 years. IOF World Ranking: 17th position MTBO World Cup 2015: 17th position

What is your best moment in MTB Orienteering so far?

- My best moment is still the 3rd place in Relay, in my first World Championships in elite. It was an incredible race and a really unexpected medal.

Where do you draw your inspiration from?

- What motivates me to go out and train on a daily basis is mainly the great moments I have lived during my sport career, especially the gold medals achieved in my last Junior World Championships.

What one or two things do you currently do in your training that are keys to your success?

- I work the mental part a lot, as concentration is really important during the race. To not get distracted by our concurrent and stay focused on the race whatever the conditions are some of the keys which lead to victory.

What are your goals for the European Championships, in Portugal?

- My aim is to reach the podium in one of the distances, I don’t have a favourite one. If I get selected for the Relay, I would also like to perform for the team.

What is your biggest challenge in the competition, and how do you intend to manage it?

- I don’t have a weak point per se, but the most difficult thing for me is to deal with the heat… I’m not used to this kind of weather conditions.

What would be your ultimate achievement for the season?

- As many others, the ultimate goal would be to win a gold medal in the World Championships, as I did in the Junior class. At least, I’m working hard in that direction.

Do you have a saying or motto that you live your life by?

- Victory doesn’t belong to those who believe in it the most, but to those that believe in it the longest!

Joaquim Margarido

EMTBOC 2015: Foliforov and Barlet got the victory in the Middle Distance

More than a goal, Anton Foliforov saw today fulfilled his greatest wish, to add to the invaluable curriculum a first gold medal won in the European Championships. In the women's race, Gäelle Barlet was the big winner, after a long period of absence from the highest place on the podium in events of this level.

At the entrance for the second half of the European MTB Orienteering Championships 2015, Vale das Eiras, in the municipality of Idanha-a-Nova, held in the early afternoon the Middle Distance course. Lined up to start 60 athletes in the Men class and 40 in Women class, for a race discussed shoulder to shoulder from the first to the last meter.

In the Men class, the Russian Valeriy Gluhov and Ruslan Gritsan showed at the start weight credentials - the first, European Champion title; the second, World Champion - but it was another Russian, Anton Foliforov, to make history. Very cautious throughout the race, concentration at the highest level, only after the 13th of the 20 controls the current leader of the World Rankings took the command of operations, to finish in style with the time of 48:09. Andreas Waldmann (Austria) first and then Cédric Beill (France) were briefly in the upper hand, but it was the French Yoann Garde the one that most headaches has given to the Russian, finishing second with 17 seconds more. Valeriy Gluhov occupied the lowest place in the podium, finishing with the time of 48:55. Baptiste Fuchs (France) repeated the fourth position achieved yesterday while Jussi Laurila (Finland) and Cédric Beill changed positions with each other in relation to the Sprint race, with the Finn being fifth and Beill to finish sixth. A word on the Portuguese Davide Machado, closing the top 20 with a time of 52:33 and showing that “the bad weather is gone”.

A hard victory

The women's race saw the French Gaelle Bärlet achieving the victory, something that didn't happen in stages scoring for the World Cup since the 27th August 2011, when she was crowned Champion of the World in Sprint(Vicenza, Italy). Barlet came rolling in the early part of the race with a higher handicap of more than one minute to the Russian Svetlana Poverina, but it was with the Swedish Cecilia Thomasson and the Finnish Marika Hara that the French fought the great battle when, already close to the end, with three controls to the finish, the difference between the three boiled down to 32 seconds and Thomasson, World Champion of Middle Distance, followed in the lead. In the end, victory for Gäelle Barlet with a time of 45:52 against 45:59 of Cecilia Thomasson and 46:19 of Marika Hara, respectively second and third classified. The Danish Camilla Søgaard was fourth, a few ten seconds of the podium, while the Russian Svetlana Poverina was fifth and the British Emily Benham, current leader of the IOF World Rankings and here defending her Middle Distance European title won in Zamosc (Poland, 2013), concluded in the sixth position.

In the Junior European Championships, the Finnish Sauli Pietikäinen and the Czech Veronika Kubinova were the great figures of today's journey, leading to overcome the respective board of results. Pietikäinen beat the French Florian Pinsard (bronze medal in yesterday's race) by the narrow margin of 19 seconds. In turn, Kubinova improved the silver medal won in the Sprint, imposing to the Russian Olga Mikhailova by the comfortable margin of 2:16. Winner in yesterday´s race, the French Lou Denaix closed the podium to faraway 5:41 of the winner. As for the Young European Champioships, knowing in Portugal the first edition, the Russian Kiril Lepeshenko was the big winner in the men's class, after a fierce fighting with the Finnish Eerik Nurminem, the big name of the Sprint final held yesterday, who won for scarce six seconds. With five athletes in the top seven, Russia returned to overwhelm the female ranking, checking for an exchange on the positions of the top two in relation to yesterday. Alena Fedoseeva won this Middle Distance, imposing to her compatriot Daria Mykriukova. In the third position, stayed Natalia Shatalova.

Results

EMTBOC 2015

Men Elite

1. Anton Foliforov (Russia) 48:09

2. Yoann Garde (France) 48:26

3. Valeriy Gluhov (Russia) 48:55

4. Baptiste Fuchs (France) 48:59

5. Jussi Laurila (Finland) 49:25

6. Cedric Beill (France) 49:45

Women Elite

1. Gaelle Barlet (France) 45:52

2. Cecilia Thomasson (Sweden) 45:59

3. Marika Hara (Finland) 46:19

4. Camilla Søgaard (Denmark) 46:29

5. Svetlana Poverina (Russia) 46:30

6. Emily Benham (Great Britain) 47:16

EJMTBOC 2015

M20

1. Sauli Pietikäinen (Finland) 44:18

2. Florian Pinsard (France) 44:37

3. Edwin Oliver-Evans (Great Britain) 45:41

W20

1. Veronika Kubinova (Czech Republic) 44:24

2. Olga Mikhailova (Russia) 46:40

3. Lou Denaix (France) 50:05

EYMTBOC 2015

M17

1. Kiril Lepeshenko (Russia) 28:10

2. Eerik Nurminen (Finland) 28:16

3. Jakub Jaroszek (Poland) 28:20

H17

1. Alena Fedoseeva (Russia) 00:43

2. Daria Mykriukova (Russia) 25:32

3. Natalia Shatalova (Russia) 27:51

Full results and other information in http://mtbo15.fpo.pt/.

[Photos courtesy of Susana Reis]

Joaquim Margarido

EMTBOC 2015: Meet Tuomo Lahtinen (Finland)

Name: Tuomo Lahtinen Age: 24 Home location: Heinola, Finland Profession and educational background: Entrepreneur, Personal Trainer Years in sport of any kind: Since I was a child. I started Orienteering at the age of 5. Years in MTBO: From 2009/2010. What got you started: I tried MTBO in 2007 and 2008. I was third in my first competition, at the Finnish national championships. After a few years without great success in Foot orienteering I decided to move to MTBO. IOF World Ranking: 28th position MTBO World Cup 2015: 36th position

What is your best moment in MTB Orienteering so far?

- The best moment so far was last year when I stood on the podium. I managed to do my best in WMTBOC Relay, along with the other team members. We were second in the Relay. That was my first WMTBOC medal but not the last one.

Where do you draw your inspiration from?

- Orienteering is a part of my life. I enjoy Orienteering very much. That is my inspiration and motivation.

What one or two things do you currently do in your training that are keys to your success?

- Hard effort trainings with map, of course. I do my trainings mostly in urban areas with many sharp turns, braking and speeding up constantly.

What are your goals for the European Championships, in Portugal?

- The Sprint distance is my favourite but I’m trying to improve my skills in longer distances as well. From the Relay I expect a medal.

What is your biggest challenge in the competition, and how do you intend to manage it?

- Focus. That is the biggest issue. My focus in orienteering very often fades for a while and I make a major mistake.

What would be your ultimate achievement for the season?

- I’m trying to get better in MTBO. To get better results in every distance and win another medal in the World Championships’ Relay.

Do you have a saying or motto that you live your life by?

- Believe in yourself and you can achieve everything!

[Photo credits: Mika Häkkinen]

Joaquim Margarido

EMTBOC 2015: Malsroos and Tichovska get historical triumphs

Not without surprise, Lauri Malsroos and Martina Tichovska won the first of three individual finals of the European MTB Orienteering Championships 2015. Through the streets and alleys of Penha Garcia, in a soulful Sprint, both offered to their respective countries - Estonia and the Czech Republic - historical gold medals.

Entered in the second day of competition, the European MTB Orienteering Championships 2015 saw today's program be filled with the Sprint, attended by 59 athletes im Men Elite class and 40 in Women Elite class. The event took place at Penha Garcia, in the municipality of Idanha-a-Nova, showing intense duels, as the final results easily demonstrate. With just 47 seconds to separate the 13 first placed in Men's competition, the Estonian Lauri Malsroos took an amazing victory.

The first half of the race was dominated by the European vice-champion in 2013, the Russian Ruslan Gritsan, to which succeeded the Frenchman Cédric Beill. It was already in the final part of the course that Lauri Malsroos took the command of the operations. The Estonian finished with a time of 19:01 - against 19:12 and 19:29 of the Russian Valeriy Glukhov and Ruslan Gritsan, respectively second and third placed - offering to Estonia its first gold medal ever in the European Championships. The Finnish Jussi Laurila, here defending his European title, had to settle for sixth place ex-aequo with the Austrian Kevin Haselsberger. The French Baptiste Fuchs and Cédric Beill fit the fourth and fifth places, in that order. The current World Champion in Sprint, the Russian Anton Foliforov, finished in 13th place, 47 seconds behind Malsroos.

Tight victory to Martina Tichovska

In the women's class, the two big favourites - Emily Benham (Great Britain) and Marika Hara (Finland) - just played supporting roles in a movie where the star was called Martina Tichovska (Czech Republic). The Czech athlete had a better start, but quickly Marika Hara took the lead, although the advantage for her most direct opponents never reached significant margins. But a big mistake at the entrance to the last third part of the race made that the Finnish athlete lost almost one minute, dying here her hopes to revalidate the European crown reached in Zamosc (Poland, 2013).

Tichovska returned again to the leadership, at that time with a comfortable margin of 22 seconds over the British Emily Benham, thus remaining until the penultimate control, when she almost lose the race. With two controls and three seconds to the British athlete, current leader of the World Ranking, Martina Tichovska could find the strength to keep the narrow advantage, reaching thus her first major victory in an event of this level with the time of 18:40, in what is also the first gold medal of the Czech Republic in an individual final of the European Championships. Emily Benham finished two seconds after the winner, while Marika Hara was third classified, with more 25 seconds than Tichovska. The French Hana Garde and Gäelle Barlet, respectively 4th and 6th classified, and the Swedish Cecilia Thomasson, 5th ranked, closed the podium.

French power

In the meanwhile, it also took place today the Sprint finals of the European Junior MTB Orienteering Championships 2015 and the European Youth MTB Orienteering Championships 2015, with France showing up again in its best way. In the Junior category, Antoine Vercauteren and Lou Denaix were the strongest, after yesterday's successful race of the French Team (with Florian Pinsard and Lou Denaix), getting the victory in the Mixed Sprint Relay (unofficial). As for the Young, Eerik Nurminen (Finland) won the gold in the men's class, while Russia got the three places in the women's podium, with Daria Mykriukova to be the strongest, after already yesterday have also taken to overcome the Mixed Sprint Relay (unofficial), pairing with Valeriy Rodin.

Results

EMTBOC 2015

Men Elite

1. Lauri Malsroos (Estonia) 19:01

2. Valeriy Glukhov (Russia) 19:12

3. Ruslan Gritsan (Russia) 19:29

4. Baptiste Fuchs (France) 19:33

5. Cedric Beill (France) 19:37

6. Jussi Laurila (Finland) 19:40

6. Kevin Haselsberger (Austria) 19:40

Women Elite

1. Martina Tichovska (Czech Republic) 18:40

2. Emily Benham (Great Britain) 18:42

3. Marika Hara (Finland) 19:05

4. Hana Garde (France) 19:25

5. Cecilia Thomasson (Sweden) 19:32

6. Gäelle Barlet (France) 19:44

EJMTBOC 2015

M20

1. Antoine Vercauteren (France) 16:55

2. Edwin Oliver-Evans (Great Britain) 17:27

3. Florian Pinsard (France) 17:34

W20

1. Lou Denaix (France) 15:09

2. Veronika Kubinova (Czech Republic) 15:48

3. Viktorija Michnovic (Lithuania) 16:11

EYMTBOC 2015

M17

1. Eerik Nurminen (Finland) 11:13

2. Hugo Dupouy (France) 11:31

3. Juha Lilja (Finland) 11:56

W17

1. Daria Mykriukova (Russia) 10:02

2. Alena Fedoseeva (Russia) 11:04

3. Uliana Sukholovskaya (Russia) 11:57

To see the full results and other information, please consult the event's webpage at http://mtbo15.fpo.pt/.

[Photos: Courtesy of Fernando Costa / Orievents.com]

Joaquim Margarido

EMTBOC 2015: Meet Tobias Breitschädel (Austria)

Name: Tobias Breitschädel Age: 36 Home location: Vienna, Austria Profession and educational background: Facility Manager of an office Tower in Vienna. Years in sport of any kind: 25 years. Years in MTBO: 9 years. What got you started: Knee injuries in Foot orienteering. IOF World Ranking: 25th position MTBO World Cup 2015: 20th position

What is your best moment in MTB Orienteering so far?

- Well, there were a few. I think the happiest ones were the 2 bronze medals with the relay team because we could celebrate together. But I am waiting for the very best moment: the gold in Relay!

Where do you draw your inspiration from?

- Riding my bike – doesn’t matter where and when and under what weather - I can break out the hard life at work and relax. To feel exhausted after a beautiful ride is priceless and worthy of doing it again and again.

What one or two things do you currently do in your training that are keys to your success?

- At the moment I just do relatively low quantity due to lots of work and to my family life, so I concentrate on the quality of my riding.

What are your goals for the European Championships, in Portugal?

- A diploma in an individual race and a medal in the relay (mission heavy metal 2.0).

What is your biggest challenge in the competition, and how do you intend to manage it?

- Well, I crashed about two weeks ago so my right thumb got badly injured and it hurts when I want to shift the gears. I think I'm not only going to have pain in my lungs and legs but also in my hand, so I need lots of adrenaline not to feel it because it's not possible to put a bandage on it.

What would be your ultimate achievement for the season?

- It may sound a bit weird but I want to win the overall Austria Cup in Elite a 5th time to equalize Didi Dörflers record and to be the national record owner with him then.

Do you have a saying or motto that you live your life by?

- Since I already had five serious knee injuries followed by operations and very long periods of recovery, I kept myself saying that “it doesn't matter how often you fall down, you just have to stand up once again”. It is actually so easy! (laughs)

Anything else you’d like to share?

- I wish all the riders good luck for the races, stay healthy and enjoy the steepness of this part of Portugal!

[Photo courtesy: Tobias Breitschädel]

Joaquim Margarido

EMTBOC 2015: "Le Jour de Gloire est Arrivé!"

The mazy streets of Idanha-a-Nova were the scenery, in today’s torrid morning, of the first of five finals in the European MTB Orienteering Championships 2015. Great protagonist of this opening day, the France get the triumph in the Mixed Sprint Relay, both in Elite and Junior categories.

It is found the first winner of the European MTB Orienteering Championships 2015, taking place at Idanha-a-Nova, Portugal, from today to next Saturday. Thanks to an extraordinary Gäelle Barlet’s first leg, the France won, categorically, the Mixed Sprint Relay, a race in which lined 15 teams of two elements each.

Alongside with Baptiste Fuchs, the World Champion in Sprint 2011 (Vicenza, Italy) had a brilliant start, ensuring a “fat” advantage of 1:28 over the second classified, the Finnish Marika Hara at the end of the first leg. The following three legs were a sort of “resource management”, leading with the threat of the Czech Republic (Martina Tichovska and Jiri Hradil) that would finish in second place. European champions in 2013 (Zamosc, Poland), the Finland (Marika Hara and Jussi Laurila) finishes in the third place.

Portugal finished 8th

Individually, highlight the Russian Anton Foliforov who fit the two best times in the male legs and the Swedish Cecilia Thomasson, the fastest in the third leg. On the other hand, the Russian Svetlana Poverina was unrecognizable and also a word to the teams of Italy, Denmark and Spain, disqualified for "mp". With Ana Filipa Silva and João Ferreira, the team of Portugal finished the race in the 8th position. To emphasize, above all, the last leg of João Ferreira, full of determination and will, to win two positions almost over the finish line.

Although its non official character, also in the Junior category took place the Mixed Sprint Relay, in which the French team would also be the strongest. Lou Denaix did two good legs but Florian Pinsard made the difference, showing that could be headed another great star of the MTB Orienteering world. Russia, with Olga Mikhailova and Iurii Balev, finished second, while Finland (Essi Hakala and Sakari Puolakanaho) completed the podium and Portugal (Ana Margarida Rocha and Paul Roothans) was ranked seventh. Also in the category of Youth Portugal was ranked seventh in a race won by Russia (Daria Mikryukova and Valeriy Rodin).

Results

1. France (Gäelle Barlet / Baptiste Fuchs) 44:09

2. Czech Republic (Martina Tichovska ( Jiri Hradil) 45:59

3. Finland (Marika Hara / Jussi Laurila) 46:41

4. Sweden (Cecilia Thomasson / Marcus Jansson) 46:49

5. Austria (Marina Reiner / Kevin Haselsberger) 47:57

6. Lithuania (Asta Simkoniene / Jonas Maiselis) 48:14

7. Russia (Svetlana Poverina / Anton Foliforov) 48:38

8. Portugal (Ana Filipa Silva / João Ferreira) 54:39

9. Germany (Anke Danowski / Olaf Kaden) 55:42

10. Slovakia (Stanislava Fajtova / Rastilav Malatek) 56:47

Complete results and further information at http://mtbo15.fpo.pt/.

[Photo courtesy: Fernando Costa / Orievents.com]

Joaquim Margarido

EMTBOC 2015: Meet Svetlana Poverina (Russia)

Name: Svetlana Poverina Age: 22 Home location: Moscow, Russia Profession and educational background: Athlete. Student at the Moscow Sports Institute. Years in sport of any kind: I've been doing Orienteering since I was a child, since my parents were, also, athletes. Years in MTBO: I've started riding a bike at the age of 11-12 years. What got you started: My parents. IOF World Ranking: 2nd position MTBO World Cup 2015: 3rd position

What is your best moment in MTB Orienteering so far?

- My best moments in the MTBO are all my victories. I cannot single out one particular, they are all good.

Where do you draw your inspiration from?

- My inspiration comes from my dream of winning, which I want to make real.

What are your goals for the European Championships, in Portugal?

- My ultimate goal is to achieve the best place possible, but now with my studying I cannot fully concentrate on the races at Portugal.

What is your biggest challenge in the competition, and how do you intend to manage it?

- The most complex challenge it to keep my thinking and running synchronized. Sometimes I run too fast and don't always think correctly and, because of it, I make mistakes.

What would be your ultimate achievement for the season?

- Let us wait and see.

Do you have a saying or motto that you live your life by?

- Faster, higher, stronger!

[Photo credits: Anastasia Skopinskaya]

Joaquim Margarido

  

EMTBOC 2015: Meet Jiří Hradil (Czech Republic)

Name: Jiří Hradil Age: 29 Home location: Zlín, Czech Republic Profession and educational background: Technical University in Brno, currently working as a bike mechanic at ForRide.cz. Years in sport of any kind: 20 years. Years in MTBO: 13 years. What got you started: I just wanted to try it. IOF World Ranking: 3rd position MTBO World Cup 2015: 12th position

What is your best moment in MTB Orienteering so far?

- Being the fastest finisher at the 5 days of competition, in Pilsen.

Where do you draw your inspiration from?

- From my team colleague, Ivo Odvárka.

What one or two things do you currently do in your training that are keys to your success?

- This season I haven't achieved any big success so far.

What are your goals for the European Championships, in Portugal?

- I hope I will have some success there. I would like to ride as fast as I can with no mistakes. If not, I would like to enjoy this week as a holiday.

What is your biggest challenge in the competition, and how do you intend to manage it?

- My biggest challenge is running a clean race, with no mistakes.

What would be your ultimate achievement for the season?

- I'm looking forward to getting a medal.

[Photo courtesy: Jiří Hradil]

Joaquim Margarido

EMTBOC 2015: Final countdown!

Portugal is prepared to host the seventh edition of the European MTB Orienteering Championships. All the ways lead to Idanha-a-Nova where, over the next week, the world starts will be hitting by the conquest of the European titles in Sprint, Middle Distance, Long Distance, Relay and Mixed Sprint Relay.

From tomorrow and until next June 13th, the municipality of Idanha-a-Nova is the venue chosen for the European MTB Orienteering Championships 2015. After the World Championships 2010, the final round of World Cup in 2013 and, at the same time, the World Masters MTB Orienteering Championships 2013 - and even before the World Championships next year, at Bairrada region- the Portuguese Orienteering Federation back to receive the warmest recognition and trust from the International Orienteering Federation, organizing the second most important event of the world's competitive calendar in 2015. To do that, the Portuguese Orienteering Federation has the invaluable support of the Municipality of Idanha-a-Nova, the Portuguese Institute of Sport and Youth and almost a hundred volunteers from many national Orienteering clubs, saying “yes” in another of the great moments of the Portuguese Orienteering Federation's life, blowing 25 candles this year.

Alongside the big event will take place also at Idanha-a-Nova the Junior European MTB Orienteering Championships 2015, the Youth European MTB Orienteering Championships 2015 - here in its first edition - and the World Masters MTB Orienteering Championships 2015, calling to Portugal 376 competitors, representing 24 countries. Alongside the usual “heavyweights” - Russia, Finland and the Czech Republic - we can find in the list of participants, aged between 17 y.o. And 79 y.o., representatives from Australia and New Zealand, the US, Japan and from Turkey, among others. Portugal will be represented by a total of 47 athletes distributed for several classes, with natural emphasis on the presence of Carlos Simões, seeking here to recover the three world titles won in 2013 in M40 class, and Susana Pontes, owner of three bronze medals won in the events of Sprint's most recent World Championships and being in Idanha-a-Nova with the aim of a more “heavy” medal.

Foliforov and Benham, headliners

Paying attention to the list of 62 male athletes and 40 female athletes entered in the European MTB Orienteering Championships, stand out immediately the names of Anton Foliforov (Russia) and Emily Benham (Great Britain). Both lead the International Orienteering Federation's World Ranking and come to Portugal in excellent shape, having been leading figures in the first round of the World Cup 2015 held in Várgesztes (Hungary) in early May. Moreover Emily Benham defends the European title of Middle Distance as Foliforov, currently the World Champion in Sprint and Long Distance, set as a personal goal to win his first gold medal in the European Championships.

Jussi Laurila (Finland), Valeriy Gluhov (Russia), Cecilia Thomasson (Sweden) and Marika Hara (Finland) are also main references of the European championships of Idanha-a-Nova, here defending their titles achieved in June 2013, in Zamosc (Poland ). Jussi Laurila is the current leader of the World Cup in Mountain Bike Orienteering 2015 and is in the European championships defending his title of Sprint. Marika Hara dominated the panorama of mountain bike orienteering women in the past three years and is the current European and World Champion in Sprint. Middle Distance World Champion in title, Cecilia Thomasson appears at Idanha-a-Nova defending her European title of Long Distance. Finally Valeriy Gluhov is the holder of the gold medal won in the previous European Championships, in the Middle Distance.

Many “roosters” for a few “perches”

Also retain the names to the fight for the highest places on the podium of Ruslan Gritsan, Tatiana Repina and Svetlana Poverina (Russia), Baptiste Fuchs, Gäelle Barlet and Hana Garde (France), Jiri Hradil and Martina Tichovska (Czech Republic), Pekka Niemi and Ingrid Stengard (Finland), Lauri Malsroos and Hans Jorgen Kvale (Norway). They all boast European and World podiums in the curriculum - with six gold medals won in individual events, the Russian Ruslan Gritsan is even the most medaled athlete ever in twelve editions of the World Championships - and are natural candidates to the medals. Collectively, the Estonia should resent from the absence of Tõnis Erm and will hardly repeat the feat of Bialystock, when was the winner of the Relay World title in the Men class 2014 while Finland defends their European title of Relay (Men and Women) and Mixed Sprint Relay. Great rivals of the Finns, Russia presents itself as a strong contender for the gold – it is the current World Champion in title - and it is not neglecting the France, Czech Republic and even Austria and Denmark as sets with reasonable expectations and natural aspiration.

As for the World Masters MTB Orienteering Championships, to highlight the presence in Portugal of many of the great names in the MTB Orienteering world over the age of 40. This is the case of the World Champions in Sprint, Per Gustavsson (Sweden) in M50 and Ing-Marie Andrén (Sweden) in W60, the World Champions in Middle Distance, Jean-Charles Lalevee (France) in M50 and Birgit Hausner (Denmark ) in W60, the World Champion in Long Distance, Olli Savikko (Finland) in M50, the World Champion in Sprint and Middle Distance, Jan Hausner (Denmark) in M70 and the World Champions in Middle Distance and Long Distance, Carolyn Jackson (Australia) in W50 and Heiki Saarinen (Finland) in M60.

To know more about the European MTB Orienteering Championships 2015, please consult the event webpage at http://mtbo15.fpo.pt/.

Joaquim Margarido

EMTBOC 2015: Meet Yoann Garde (France)

Name: Yoann Garde Age: 31 Home location: Pélussin, France Profession and educational background: Fruit juice producer. Years in sport of any kind: I have always done sports and I started doing Foot orienteering in 1993. Years in MTBO: Training since 2007 but my first race was in 1998. What got you started: I was in the French Team B in Foot orienteering but after many injuries I decided to try MTBO. Other personal information you would like to share: With Hana, we have a beautiful daughter, Alena. IOF World Ranking: 18th position MTBO World Cup 2015: 5th position

What is your best moment in MTB Orienteering so far?

- So many good moments!!... I was in my best shape in the World Cup in Poland 2012. But the World Championships in Italy were really good also.

Where do you draw your inspiration from?

- I like outdoor sports and I have to add the good atmosphere in the French team.

What one or two things do you currently do in your training that are keys to your success?

- I like doing different sports (Foot-O, MTBO and cycling). I usually meet the road bike club in Pelussin, for training.

What are your goals for the European Championships, in Portugal?

- To have fun and do my best.

What is your biggest challenge in the competition, and how do you intend to manage it?

- To keep a clear mind and strong legs, specially with lots of climbing.

What would be your ultimate achievement for the season?

- A podium in the European or the World Championships.

Anything else you’d like to share?

- I want to thank to all my family and my training partner's, and especially to my parents for their help with Alena.

[Photo credits: Hana Garde]

Joaquim Margarido

EMTBOC 2015: Meet Jussi Laurila (Finland)

Name: Jussi Laurila Age: 26 Home location: Jyväskylä, Finland Profession and educational background: Studying BBA for sports marketing, working as marketing coordinator in ski resort. Years in sport of any kind: 22 years. Years in MTBO: 12 years. What got you started: Tried MTBO as summer training for ski-O, and found it fun. Always liked orienteering and the higher speeds with the bike just make it much more fun. Other personal information you would like to share: I'm quite avid for watching other sports too, most sports will do. IOF World Ranking: 5th position MTBO World Cup 2015: 1st position

What is your best moment in MTB Orienteering so far?

- Bringing in the win in the World Champs Relay in Hungary 2012 after a tough race. It was the best thing to share that win with the guys after a well-ridden last leg.

Where do you draw your inspiration from?

- I aspire to be just a little bit faster and better every day. And meeting all the people I know at races is very nice too.

What one or two things do you currently do in your training that are keys to your success?

- The balance between exercise and rest is always tricky, the many years peaking the condition at the right moment have been tough. And keeping in mind the general and specific skills needed for a successful race in each terrain. This year, physically it just means I have to be fast uphill and downhill, which is something that has been in mind for quite a while in training.

What are your goals for the European Championships, in Portugal?

- I'll be aiming to run flawless races, while knowing that the speed will be enough for even the highest podium.

What is your biggest challenge in the competition, and how do you intend to manage it?

- Keeping in mind that I don't always have to find an advantage with a more clever route choice than necessary, and keeping focus while executing the chosen routes. And the way to achieve that is just doing enough proper map training and focusing.

What would be your ultimate achievement for the season?

- Winning in the World Champs. I'm still going for that individual medal.

Do you have a saying or motto that you live your life by?

- Just day by day, for now.

Anything else you’d like to share?

- I'm lousy at planning ahead for long periods of time, so sometimes my training is purely done by feel.

[Photo credits: Elina Erkkilä]

Joaquim Margarido