Angus Robinson: "I hope I can use my gold to increase this great sports popularity in Australia"

Angus Robinson lives close to Melbourne, studies at Victoria University to become a Paramedic and... is the current MTBO world junior champion in Sprint distance. In this Interview he takes us from his debut, at the age of 12, joining the Bayside Kangaroos Orienteering Club, to the gold at Liberec, in the Czech Republic, last August.

What do you see in MTB Orienteering that makes it so special?

Angus Robinson (A. R.) - I like having to be both physically and navigationally 'fit' in order to race well, the fact that it doesn't rely solely on the amount of training you do on the bike adds another level of difficulty that a lot of other sports lack.

Have you a training routine? How is, in your case, a typical week?

A. R. - I follow my coaches training program which varies depending on how full my week is and whether there is a race or not, but generally it involves 5-6 rides a week of various lengths, as well as hill sprints and interval training. I do a combination of MTB, MTBO and road training as the trails are not always convenient to get to each day.

What do you like the most: Long Distance or Sprint?

A. R. - Sprint would have to be my favourite discipline. The speed of navigation, intensity and pressure on each minor decision is something I always look forward to in a sprint distance race.

I can imagine your gold medal this year, in Czech Republic, as the best moment in your career so far. Do you have another significant moments that you'd like to talk? And what about the worse?

A. R. - The gold medal has definitely been a great moment for me, and it will be hard to beat. Other significant events would be racing at previous JWOCs in Estonia and Poland, as they were necessary to build experience and control my nerves making it easier in the lead up to racing in Czech Republic. My worst experience in MTBO would have to be my first ever race, where I got completely lost, thankfully I persisted with the sport and improved relatively quickly. Just because you struggle in the first race doesn't mean you can't orienteer.

Talking now about the gold medal, an historical one, the first ever for the Australian Junior MTBO. How did you prepare for the competition?

A. R. - In the lead up to major competitions I try to do as much orienteering as I can, which usually involves riding old maps from previous events and just cycling as much as I can as well as studying old Czech maps of the expected areas.

Was the gold medal in your plans?

A. R. - At JWOC Poland 2014 my best result was 10th in the sprint, so this year I went in with the mindset that I could improve my result given I had another year of training, experience and maturity to race with, but I wasn't sure by how much.

What about the JWMTBOC overall?

A. R. - The competition was very well run overall and the training maps represented the competition areas quite well which was nice. The terrain was very steep and hilly in the Middle and Long making for tough racing. The navigation was very interesting and technical as well, especially having to change my thought process about not riding off tracks.

If I asked you a moment - the great achievement of the Championships -, what would be your choice?

A. R. - It would have to be winning the Sprint bar far!

How important is the Junior World title for you? And for the Australian MTBO?

A. R. - Having trained for such a long time, travelled to many events each year and made sacrifices to my studies and other areas of my life, it is nice to know that it has all been worth it. I hope I can use my gold to increase this great sports popularity in Australia, making it more well known and competitive. In Australia the sport is very limited, with only a small number of competitors at each race. I'm working with various orienteers on how to better publicise MTBO in order for it to grow, and therefore produce more athletes to compete on the world stage, hopefully my gold medal will help to do this. It's always difficult to gauge my level of fitness in the lead up to JWOC as I don't get a chance to race against many other competitors at that level throughout the year, so I just have to be as fit as I can be and hope it is good enough when I get there.

Have you some goals already designed for the next season? Are you able to be a new Adrian Jackson?

A. R. - Having only won one gold medal, I try not to compare myself to other riders and just race as well as I can and hopefully do it again at some point throughout my career.

Would you like to share the biggest wish for the future?

A. R. - I hope to represent Australia as best I can at future races and would love to take home some more medals. Also in the future I hope Australia can become more highly recognised within MTBO as a country that can achieve great results each year.

[Photo: WMTBOC 2015 / www.wmtboc2015.cz/sprint/photovideo/]

Joaquim Margarido

WMTBOC 2015: The day after

1. The World MTB Orienteering Championships came to an end and nine countries shared the 24 medals distributed in the Elite classes. With two gold and three silver medals, Russia led the medalist of the Championships. The Czech Republic ranked second, reaching two gold, two silver and two bronze medals and thus ensuring the most robust portion of distinctions. Finland, Italy, France and Austria achieved one gold medal each, with the Finnish medalist to take extra advantage of two silver and one bronze medal. With also a silver medal and one bronze, Italy occupied the fourth position, leaving the fifth place, ex-aequo, to France and Austria. Sweden came in the seventh position with two bronze medals. Estonia and Great Britain completed this list, with a bronze medal each.

2. If we want to extend to the top six the list of athletes awarded with diplomas in the World Championships, we'll start by saying that were in number of 41 the athletes in these conditions, representing 11 nations. With four medals achieved, the Czech Martina Tichovska was the most valuable athlete of the Championships. The Finnish Jussi Laurila and the French Gaëlle Barlet also returned home with four diplomas, but in the case of Laurila two of them corresponded to two fifth places while Barlet had a diploma because of a fifth place and two diplomas corresponding to the fourth place. The Russian Anton Foliforov, the Italian Luca Dallavalle, the Czech Marek Pospisek, the British Emily Benham, the Finnish Susanna Laurila and Marika Hara and the Danish Camilla Soegaard reached three diplomas each, but it's important to say that the diplomas of Foliforov and Dallavalle represent as many medals.

3. Individually, it must be recognized in the Czech Martina Tichovska the “queen” of the Championships. The two gold medals (Sprint and Long Distance), one silver (Middle Distance) and one bronze (Courier) achieved for her speak too high compared with the medals achieved by the concurrence. The victory of Gaëlle Barlet in the Middle Distance and the Finnish Ingrid Stengard, Susanna Laurila and Marika Hara in the Relay, are also great achievements. To the gold in Relay, Laurila joins the silver in the sprint, which makes of her the second female athlete of the Championships.

4. On the other hand, if Tichovska is the “queen”, Anton Foliforov must be elected as “king” of the Championships. Two gold medals (Middle Distance and Long Distance) and one silver (Relay) are strong arguments in favour of the Russian. Achieving the historic Sprint title for Italy, which adds a silver medal (Middle Distance) and a bronze medal (Long Distance), Luca Dallavalle is another of the key figures of the World Championships, alongside the Austrian Kevin Haselsberger, Bernard Schachinger and Andreas Waldmann, surprising winners of the Relay.

5. In the second line of the personalities that marked these Championships, particular reference to the two podiums of the Swedish Cecilia Thomasson, bronze medallist in the Sprint and Long Distance. The silver medals of the Czech Vojtech Stransky (Sprint), the Finnish Jussi Laurila (Long Distance) and the Russian Svetlana Poverina (Long Distance and Relay) are strong arguments for their inclusion in this “second line” of the Championships' stars.

6. On the side of disappointments - not so much for what they did, but above all for what they didn't, given the expectations - are the Norwegian Hans Jorgen Kvale, “only” fourth in the Sprint and missing the other individual podiums, and especially the French Baptiste Fuchs, Yoann Garde and Cédric Beill, out of the top six in the individual races. From the Russian Valeriy Glohov, the Lithuanian Jonas Maiselis, the Finnish Pekka Niemi, the Estonian Tõnis Erm and the Austrian Tobias Breitschadel we would expect something more. As for the women, the British Emily Benham is, in spite of her bronze medal and two fourth places, one of the losers of the Championships, together with the Finnish Marika Hara, whose gold medal in the Relay can not delete her discoloured performances in the individual races. The French Hana Garde, the Finnish Antonia Haga and the Danish Caecilie Christoffersen stayed below the expectations.

7. In the Junior World Championships, France led the medalist, earning six of the 24 medals distributed, including two gold, three silver and one bronze. Also with six medals (two gold, two silver and two bronze), Russia ranked second in the table, while Sweden, with two gold medals and three bronze, ranked third. Followed, the Czech Republic (one gold medal, one silver and one bronze) and Australia (one gold medal). The remaining medals fit to Slovakia and Switzerland, with a silver medal each, and Finland, with a bronze medal.

8. Individually, the Swede Oskar Sandberg was the “prince” of the Championships, with two gold medals (Middle Distance and Long Distance) and one bronze medal (Sprint). Angus Robinson, by winning for Australia the first medal ever in the Junior World Championships - and a gold one, in Sprint (!) - it's also worthy of a very special mention. In turn, the French Lou Denaix deserves the title of “princess”, with a gold medal (Relay) and three silver medals on her luggage. A special note to Darya Mikryukova, not only for her extraordinary youth, but especially for the achievements of gold (Long Distance), silver (Courier) and bronze (Middle Distance and Sprint) that she took to Russia.

9. Finally we talk about the Portuguese participation in these Championships, which had a really positive note in the seventh place of the men's Relay, in what is the best result ever from our team in the World Championships. Even far from the podiums of 2011 and 2012, the 16th place of Davide Machado in the Long Distance is also noteworthy. The results of the “veterans” Daniel Marques and Carlos Simões also worth a flattering reference. Far from what was expected, stayed the female Elite team and the male Junior team, with results in the back of the respective standings.

Joaquim Margarido

WMTBOC 2015: Golden Relay to Austria and Finland

The big surprise was saved for the last day of the World MTB Orienteering Championships 2015. With a performance absolutely brilliant, Austria won the world title in men's Relay, in what was the most contested final ever. In the women's sector the victory went to Finland, while in the Junior World Championships,  France was the winner in both categories.

Giving to the World MTB Orienteering Championships 2015 the great note of sensation, Austria was the winner of the men's Relay, which took place this morning. The Czech Republic started stronger, through Frantisek Bogar, facing the hard opposition of Russian, Finnish, Austrian and... Portuguese. Indeed, Davide Machado had a brilliant performance in the first leg, throughout the testimony to Daniel Marques in the second position, just a few 36 seconds to the leadership. In the group of five, only Marques sank in the second leg, so the decisive leg offered the prospect of an intense battle for the gold medal between Finns, Czechs and Russians, with Austria being the great outsider in this exciting Relay. Portugal occupied the sixth position then, with a lead of 3:59 over Estonia, current World Champion and now ranked seventh.

But it was precisely Austria to give the note of sensation and quoting itself as the great surprise of the Championships. Andreas Waldmann - now in his first season within the elite, after being consecrated World Champion Junior of Long Distance in 2014 - knew endure the pressure of having behind him names such as the Czech Vojtech Stransky, the Finnish Jussi Laurila and the Russian Anton Foliforov, performing the last leg always on the edge and concluding with a more than welcomed victory in 2:32:15, against 2:32:23 and 2:32:26 over Russia and Finland, respectively. Only eleven seconds separated the top three, in which becomes the most disputed Relay ever in thirteen editions of the World Championships, gave to Austria a tasty and particularly deserved title. Portugal finished in the 7th place, with more 15:38 than Austria, thus achieving its best result ever in the Relay in the World Championships.

Finland recovers female world title

In the women's sector, Sweden played its biggest trump card in the first leg, with Cecilia Thomasson to be the fastest among the 19 athletes who lined up at the start. However, Sanna Wallenborg was quickly overcome by her more direct opponents, with Russia and the Czech Republic to erase the disadvantage of nearly one minute they had. To the Russian Anastasiya Bolshova and the Czech Marie Brezinova joined the Finnish Marika Hara, winning almost three minutes over her opponents and giving to Susanna Laurila the leadershio at the start for the decisive let. Big names of the Long Distance course, when they raised the top two positions, the Czech Martina Tichovska and the Russian Svetlana Poverina were not able, in the leat leg, to neutralize the difference to the Finnish, sharing than the discussion of the silver medal, with Poverina to bringing the best after a vigorous sprint. In the end, victory for Finland in 2:08:19, which thus recovers the title that escaped in 2014, precisely to Russia.

The Junior World MTB Orienteering Championship JWMTBOC 2015 had in the French teams a common denominator regarding to the winner in male and female categories. France won by comfortable margins in both cases on Russia, with Finland in male and female in Sweden to occupy the third place of the respective tables. Hard fought earlier, the men's race had in the French Samson Deriaz the big name, to move away significantly from the concurrence in the second leg, opening the victory to Florian Pinsard, also with a great performance. In the women class, the second leg of Constance Devillers was also decisive, but Lou Denaix, with a blazing start, also was important in the victory of the French, that Lou Garcin could confirm.

Results

M21

1. Austria (Kevin Haselsberger, Bernhard Schachinger, Andreas Waldmann) 2:32:15 (+ 00:00)

2. Russia (Ruslan Gritsan, Valerii Glukhov, Anton Foliforov) 2:32:23 (+ 00:08)

3. Finland (Pekka Niemi, Samuli Saarela, Jussi Laurila) 2:32:26 (+ 00:11)

4. Czech Republic (Frantisek Bogar, Marek Pospisek, Vojtech Stransky) 2:35:06 (+ 02:51)

5. France (Yoann Garde, Clement Souvray, Baptiste Fuchs) 2:35:58 (+ 03:43)

6. Estonia (Tõnis Erm, Margus Hallik, Lauri Malsroos) 2:42:00 (+ 09:45)

7. Portugal (Davide Machado, Daniel Marques, Carlos Simões) 1:47:53 (+ 15:38)

W21

1. Finland (Ingrid Stengard, Marika Hara, Susanna Laurila) 2:08:19 (+ 00:00)

2. Russia (Tatiana Repina, Anastasiya Bolshova, Svetlana Poverina) 2:09:45 (+ 01:26)

3. Czech Republic (Renata Paulickova, Marie Brezinova, Martina Tichovska) 2:09:51 (+ 01:32)

4. France (Nicole Hueber, Hana Garde, Gaëlle Barlet) 2:15:17 (+ 06:58)

5. Denmark (Nina Hoffman, Caecilie Christoffersen, Camilla Soegaard) 2:20:48 (+ 12:29)

6. Lithuania (Asta Simkoniene, Ramune Arlauskiene, Algirda Zaliauskaite) 2:24:23 (+ 16:04)

(...)

14. Portugal (Susana Pontes, Ana Filipa Silva, Tânia Costa Covas) 2:58:20 (+ 50:01)

M20

1. France (Antoine Vercauteren, Samson Deriaz, Florian Pinsard) 2:33:38 (+ 00:00)

2. Russia (Leonid Tsvetkov, Alexander Kulgaviy, Vyacheslav Chernykh) 2:36:16 (+ 02:38)

3. Finland (Sakari Puolakanaho, Miska Tervala, Sauli Pietikainen) 2:36:50 (+ 03:12)

4. Czech Republic (Vaclav Snuparek, Matyas Ludvik, Michael Nemet) 2:41:48 (+ 08:10)

5. Slovakia (Matej Muller, Teodor Takac, Andrej Cully) 2:48:10 (+ 14:32)

6. Sweden (Filip Bergstrom, Oskar Sandberg, Pontus Kullin) 2:50:26 (+ 16:48)

(...)

Portugal (Paul Roothans, Duarte Lourenço, Diogo Barradas) mp

W20

1. France (Lou Denaix, Constance Devillers, Lou Garcin) 2:31:46 (+ 00:00)

2. Russia (Olga Mikhaylova, Alena Fedoseeva, Darya Mikryukova) 2:32:38 (+ 00:52)

3. Sweden (Rebecka Hylander, Elvira Larsson, Kajsa Engstrom) 2:39:29 (+ 07:04)

4. Finland (Jutta Nurminen, Helena Hakala, Essi Hakala) 2:41:09 (+ 09:23)

5. Czech Republic (Andrea Kamenikova, Barbora Kohoutova, Veronika Kubinova) 2:48:21 (+ 16:35)

6. Austria (Lea Hnilica, Julia Ritter, Antonella Fantoni) 2:53:38 (+ 21:52)

Complete results and further information at www.wmtboc2015.cz/.

Joaquim Margarido

WMTBOC 2015: Another gold to Anton Foliforov and Martina Tichovska

About to come to an end, the World MTB Orienteering Championships 2015 saw the last individual competition of the program being held today. Anton Foliforov and Martina Tichovska were the big winners of the Long Distance final, fairly achieving the titles of “king” and “queen” of the World Championships. Oskar Sandberg and Darya Mikryukova won the gold at the Junior World Championships.

The third and penultimate day of the competitive program of the World MTB Orienteering Championships 2015 was dedicated to the Long Distance, acclaiming the last individual World Champions of the season. Extending to a wide area of the district towns of Liberec and Jablonec nad Nisou, in the Czech Republic, the courses presented very high levels of physical demand and technical challenge, in a particularly uneven area with a dense network of paths. In the men's race, the Russian Anton Foliforov renewed the title of World Champion, by completing his course in 1:42:11. Foliforov finish in the best way a season full of success, joining to this world title of Long Distance won today, the world title of Middle Distance reached last Tuesday last and still the European titles of Middle Distance and Long Distance brought from Idanha-a -Nova, Portugal, last June. Corollary of that which is his best season ever, the athlete reinforced his leadership in the IOF World Ranking, while he won the MTB Orienteering World Cup 2015. The fight for the second place was exciting, with the Finnish Jussi Laurila to be the strongest, finishing at 1:30 from Foliforov. In the third place stayed another of the great revelations of the Championships, the Italian Luca Dallavalle, who spent more six seconds than Laurila. Davide Machado was, once again, the best Portuguese in the competition, achieving a creditable 16th place, 10:12 behind the winner.

In the women's race, the Czech Martina Tichovska was a much acclaimed winner, completing her course with the time of 1:31:07 and beating a strong concurrence. After the second place in the Middle Distance and the gold achieved in the Sprint, Tichovska closes in the best way her participate in the Championships where, “playing home”, she was able to give enormous joy to the many fans that are following closely the competition. For the second consecutive year, the Russian Svetlana Poverina reached the silver medal in the Long Distance, ending her course with more 1:06 than the winner. The Swedish Cecilia Thomasson completed her course in 1:34:04 and was the third ranked, thus repeating the bronze achieved in the final of Sprint last Wednesday. The best Portuguese athlete in competition was Susana Pontes, finishing with a time of 2:21:11 to which correspond the 44th place.

The last reference goes to the Junior World Championships, which saw also assign the titles of Long Distance. Succeeding to the Austrian Andreas Waldmann, the Swedish Oskar Sandberg won the World title by completing his course in 1:26:48. It's him, unavoidably, the brightest star of these Junior World Championships 2015, having reached the gold in the Middle Distance course that opened the Championships and was bronze medallist in the final of Sprint. The Czech Vaclav Snuparek was - as happened in the European Championships - the second placed, at 56 seconds to the Swedish, while the third place fell to Frenchman Antoine Vercauteren, with more 1:25 than the winner. In the women's class, the Russian Darya Mikryukova finally reached the gold after the third places achieved in the previous finals. European Champion in this distance but in the W17 class (!), the very young Russian gave a lesson to the strong concurrence, winning with a time of 1:26:22. The French Lou Denaix completed her race in 1:32:20, earning her third silver medal in a row. In the third place stayed the Swedish Elvira Larsson, a few three seconds more than Denaix. A curious note just for the fact that Darya Mikryukova have established today a new record, fixing in 5:58 the biggest difference of times ever between the winner and the runner-up in eight editions of women's Junior World Championships.

Results

M21

1. Anton Foliforov (Russia) 1:42:11 (+ 00:00)

2. Jussi Laurila (Finland) 1:43:41 (+ 01:30)

3. Luca Dallavalle (Italy) 1:43:47 (+ 01:36)

4. Samuli Saarela (Finland) 1:44:16 (+ 02:05)

5. Jiri Hradil (Czech Republic) 1:46:10 (+ 03:59)

6. Marek Pospisek (Czech Republic) 1:46:37 (+ 04:26)

(...)

16. Davide Machado (Portugal) 1:52:23 (+ 10:12)

34. Daniel Marques (Portugal) 2:02:05 (+ 19:54)

45. Carlos Simões (Portugal) 2:10:21 (+ 28:10)

W21

1. Martina Tichovska (Czech Republic) 1:31:07 (+ 00:00)

2. Svetlana Poverina (Russia) 1:32:13 (+ 01:06)

3. Cecilia Thomasson (Sweden) 1:34:04 (+ 02:57)

4. Gaëlle Barlet (France) 1:37:06 (+ 05:59)

4. Emily Benham (Britain) 1:37:06 (+ 05:59)

6. Camilla Soegaard (Denmark) 1:37:18 (+ 06:11)

(...)

44. Susana Pontes (Portugal) 2:21:11 (+ 50:04)

49. Ana Filipa Silva (Portugal) 2:30:30 (+ 59:23)

51. Tânia Covas Costa (Portugal) 2:39:42 (+ 1:08:35)

M20

1. Oskar Sandberg (Sweden) 1:26:48 (+ 00:00)

2. Vaclav Snuparek (Czech Republic) 1:22:44 (+ 00:56)

3. Antoine Vercauteren (France) 1:28:13 (+ 01:25)

4. Alexander Kulgaviy (Russia) 1:28:51 (+ 02:03)

5. Sauli Pietikäinen (Finland) 1:29:30 (+ 02:42)

6. Florian Pinsard (France) 1:30:27 (+ 03:39)

(...)

38. Paul Roothans (Portugal) 1:55:57 (+ 29:09)

43. Duarte Lourenço (Portugal) 2:03:53 (+ 37:05)

45. Diogo Barradas (Portugal) 2:05:09 (+ 38:21)

48. André Ramalho (Portugal) 2:12:04 (+ 45:16)

Afonso Barreiros (Portugal) mp

W20

1. Darya Mikryukova (Russia) 1:26:22 (+ 00:00)

2. Lou Denaix (France) 1:32:20 (+ 05:58)

3. Elvira Larsson (Sweden) 1:32:23 (+ 06:01)

4. Sandrine Muller (Switzerland) 1:34:55 (+ 08:33)

5. Doris Kudre (Estonia) 1:37:04 (+ 10:42)

5. Anna Semenova (Russia) 1:38:37 (+ 12:15)

Complete results and further information at http://www.wmtboc2015.cz/.

Joaquim Margarido

WMTBOC 2015: After the silver, gold to Dallavalle and Tichovska

Better than silver, only the gold! Twenty-four hours after taking the second place in the Middle Distance of the World MTB Orienteering Championships 2015, Luca Dallavalle and Martina Tichovska ran today to the victory in the Sprint, held in Turnov. In the Junior World Championships, Angus Robinson and Veronika Kubinova took the gold.

The program of the second day of competition of the World MTB Orienteering Championships 2015 was dedicated to the Sprint finals. The surroundings of Stadium Ludvík Daněk, at Turnov, were the scenery of intense duels, with the uncertainty about the winners to stay until the last second. In the Men Elite class, the Italian Luca Dallavalle was the fastest, offering to his country a historic gold medal, the first ever in the Italian Mountain Biking Orienteering. Dallavalle already yesterday had threatened the first place, finishing the Middle Distance course with the silver on his chest, a few five seconds after the winner, the Russian Anton Foliforov. Nonconformist and combative, the Italian athlete faced this race with determination, showing the “fury” which makes him a great champion and winning with a time of 20:58.

In a highly contested race - the top ten finishers ended separated by margins of less than one minute -, the Czech Vojtech Stransky reached the second place, having spent 4 seconds more than the winner. The third place went to the current European Champion, the Estonian Lauri Malsroos, with a time of 21:18. With a total of four athletes in the top ten, the Czech Republic was in great prominence today. Sprint World Champion in 2014 and star of the first day of the Championships, Anton Foliforov finished in the 12th place with a time of 22:17. As for the Portuguese, Davide Machado was, once again, our best representative, ending his race in the 35th place, 2:35 from Dallavalle.

Tichovska also makes history

As already mentioned, the history of the women's race is written exactly with the same words of the men's race. A 21:52 record was enough to Martina Tichovska conquer a gold medal also historic, being the first for the Czech Republic in the Women Elite class in thirteen editions of the World Championships. The 55 seconds that separated Tichovska from the Finnish Susanna Laurila are well a demonstration of the supremacy of the Czech athlete, already evidenced at Idanha-a-Nova, last June, when she reached the European title of Sprint, imposing itself the current leader of the IOF World Ranking, the British Emily Benham. The third place was awarded to the Swedish Cecilia Thomasson, with a time of 22:49, while the Finnish Marika Hara, Sprint World Champion in 2014, finished in the 6th place. With a time of 30:11, corresponding to the 43rd place, Ana Filipa Silva was the best Portuguese representative in this course.

In the Junior World Championships, the Australian Angus Robinson took the World Champion title, completing his race in 21:27 against 21:48 of the Swiss Silvan Stettler. With 33 seconds more than Robinson, the Swedish Oskar Sandberg - great winner of the Middle Distance final held yesterday and Sprint World Champion in 2014 - finished third. Afonso Barreiros was the best Portuguese, finishing in the 38th place with a time of 26:24. The women's race confirmed the Czech Veronika Kubinova as the great favorite, who defended here, before her public, the world title won in the previous year in Bialystok, Poland. Recovering from the failure of yesterday's race, where she was disqualified, Kubinova avenged the second place in the European Championship before Lou Denaix, winning with 22:15 time. Denaix repeated the second place of yesterday's Middle Distance course, having spent more 4 seconds than the winner. Also the Russian Daria Mikryukova repeated the climb to the lowest place of the podium, staying at 15 seconds of Kubinova. Finally, as a curiosity note, special mention to the gold medal won by the Australian Angus Robinson, the first ever of an Australian junior athlete in the World Championships. Silvan Stettler also offered to the Swiss's junior male MTB Orienteering its first medal ever in the most important competition of the MTBO international agenda.

Results

M21

1. Luca Dallavalle (Italy) 20:58 (+ 00:00)

2. Vojtech Stránsky (Czech Republic) 21:02 (+ 00:04)

3. Lauri Malsroos (Estonia) 21:18 (+ 00:20)

4. Hans Jorgen Kvale (Norway) 21:23 (+ 00:25)

5. Jussi Laurila (Finland) 21:26 (+ 00:28)

6. Frantisek Bogar (Czech Republic) 21:33 (+ 00:35)

(...)

35. Davide Machado (Portugal) 23:33 (+ 02:35)

43. Daniel Marques (Portugal) 24:21 (+ 03:23)

55. Carlos Simões (Portugal) 24:45 (+ 03:47)

58. João Ferreira (Portugal) 25:02 (+ 04:04)

66. Luis Barreiro (Portugal) 25:46 (+ 04:48)

77. Mario Guterres (Portugal) 27:08 (+ 06:10)

W21

1. Martina Tichovska (Czech Republic) 21:52 (+ 00:00)

2. Susanna Laurila (Finland) 22:47 (+ 00:55)

3. Cecilia Thomasson (Sweden) 22:49 (+ 00:57)

4. Emily Benham (Great Britain) 23:06 (+ 01:14)

5. Gaelle Barlet (France) 23:07 (+ 01:15)

6. Marika Hara (Finland) 23:12 (+ 01:20)

(...)

43. Ana Filipa Silva (Portugal) 30:11 (+ 08:19)

45. Susana Bridges (Portugal) 30:46 (+ 08:54)

51. Tania Covas Costa (Portugal) 33:41 (+ 11:49)

M20

1. Angus Robinson (Australia) 21:27 (+ 00:00)

2. Silvan Stettler (Switzerland) 21:48 (+ 00:21)

3. Oskar Sandberg (Sweden) 22:00 (+ 00:33)

4. Vyacheslav Chernykh (Russia) 22:07 (+ 00:40)

5. Matej Muller (Slovakia) 22:12 (+ 00:45)

6. Vaclav Snuparek (Czech Republic) 22:37 (+ 01:10)

(...)

38. Afonso Barreiros (Portugal) 26:24 (+ 04:57)

43. Paul Roothans (Portugal) 27:04 (+ 05:37)

48. Duarte Lourenço (Portugal) 28:00 (+ 06:33)
57.Diogo Barradas (Portugal) 31:52 (+ 10:25)

André Ramalho (Portugal) mp

 

W20

1. Veronika Kubinova (Czech Republic) 22:15 (+ 0:00)

2. Lou Denaix (France) 22:19 (+ 00:04)

3. Darya Mikryukova (Russia) 22:30 (+ 00:15)

4. Constance Devillers (France) 22:59 (+ 00:44)

5. Doris Kudre (Estonia) 23:29 (+ 01:14)

5. Viktorija Michnovic (Lithuania) 23:29 (+ 01:14)

Complete results and further information at http://www.wmtboc2015.cz/.

Joaquim Margarido

WMTBOC 2015: Gold in the Middle Distance to Foliforov and Barlet

Anton Foliforov and Gaëlle Barlet are the new MTBO World Champions in Middle Distance. Held at Jablonec nad Nisou, in high-quality terrains, both races were hardly disputed, with few seconds separating the gold from the silver. In the Junior World Championships, Oskar Sandberg and Alena Fedoseeva were the best.

After the World titles of Long Distance (2010 and 2014) and Sprint (2011 and 2014), Anton Foliforov reached this morning the individual title that was missing him. The Russian needed 58:16 to complete his course, leaving the Italian Luca Dallavalle at five seconds only. The third place fell to the Czech Marek Pospisek with more 1:04 than the winner. Middle Distance World Champion in 2014, the Russian Ruslan Gritsan concluded on the 6th place, 2:24 after his team mate. Portugal entered six athletes in this course, quoting up Davide Machado as the best national representative with a time of 1:08:08, corresponding to the 38th place.

The French Gaëlle Barlet was the winner of the women's race. World Champion of Sprint in 2011, the athlete appeared this year in the European Championships at Idanha-a-Nova (Portugal) with a highly competitive winning hand, having reached the title of Middle Distance and also the silver medal in the Long Distance. Now she consolidates her status of bigger star of MTB Orienteering in 2015, winning the course in the time of 53:32 and leaving the Czech Martina Tichovska 24 seconds away. Current leader of the IOF World Ranking, the British Emily Benham got the third place, while the World Champion in 2014, the Swedish Cecilia Thomasson, finished 8th. Susana Pontes was the best placed among the three Portuguese entered, finishing in 46th place in the list of 60 athletes that started.

A star called Alena Fedoseeva

Looking now on the Junior World MTB Orienteering Championships, were in number of 64 the athletes who lined up to start in the men’s class, for a hard fought race, with the first four classified separated by less than one minute. Great revelation of the World Championships in 2014, where he was crowned World Champion in Sprint, Oskar Sandberg returned to the top of the podium, this time to receive the gold medal in the Middle Distance. The Swedish athlete spent 52:39, against 52:56 of the Slovak Andrej Cully, second placed. The bronze medal stayed "at home", with the Czech Vaclav Snuparek to spend 53 more seconds than the winner. The Finnish Sauli Pietikainen, European Champion currently, couldn’t get better than the 10th position. Portugal presented five junior athletes in competition, belonging to André Ramalho our best result in the 43rd place.

Finally, regarding to the Women, a prominent note goes to the victory of the Russian Alena Fedoseeva, joining this gold medal to the title in the European Championships of Idanha-a-Nova (Portugal), but there in the W17 class. An amazing victory, achieved in the time of 49:28, against one of the big favorites, the French Lou Denaix, who spent more 48 seconds and was 2nd. The third place fell to another Russian youth athlete, Daria Mikryukova, while in the fourth position stayed the Swiss Sandrine Muller, bronze medal in the Middle Distance and Long Distance in the recent Junior World Championships... of Foot Orienteering! European Champion 2015 and World Champion 2014, both in Sprint, the Czech Veronika Kubinova was disqualified, while the World Champion of Middle Distance in 2014, the Swedish Kajsa Engstrom, finished in the 8th place. Participated in the course 36 athletes.

Results

M21


1. Anton Foliforov (Russia) 58:16 (+ 00:00)


2. Luca Dallavalle (Italy) 58:21 (+ 00:05)


3. Marek Pospisek (Czech Republic) 59:20 (+ 1:04)


4. Valerii Glukhov (Russia) 59:34 (+ 01:18)


5. Jussi Laurila (Finland) 59:59 (+ 1:43)


6. Ruslan Gritsan (Russia) 1:00:40 (+ 02:24)


(...)


38. Davide Machado (Portugal) 1:08:08 (+ 09:52)


48. Daniel Marques (Portugal) 1:11:55 (+ 13:39)


50. Carlos Simões (Portugal) 1:11:58 (+ 13:42)


56. João Ferreira (Portugal) 1:13:02 (+ 14:46)


73. Luis Barreiro (Portugal) 1:18:44 (+ 20:28)


73. Mario Guterres (Portugal) 1:18:44 (+ 20:28)



W21


1. Gaelle Barlet (France) 53:32 (+ 00:00)


2. Martina Tichovska (Czech Republic) 53:56 (+ 0:24)


3. Emily Benham (Great Britain) 54:06 (+ 00:34)


4. Susanna Laurila (Finland) 54:27 (+ 00:55)


5. Camilla Soegaard (Denmark) 54:50 (+ 01:18)


6. Marika Hara (Finland) 55:18 (+ 01:46)


(...)


46. Susana Pontes (Portugal) 1:16:28 (+ 22:56)


53. Ana Filipa Silva (Portugal) 1:26:19 (+ 32:47)


58. Tânia Covas Costa (Portugal) 1:44:47 (+ 51:15)



M20


1. Oskar Sandberg (Sweden) 52:39 (+ 00:00)


2. Andrej Cully (Slovakia) 52:56 (+ 00:17)


3. Vaclav Snuparek (Czech Republic) 53:32 (+ 0:53)


4. Vyacheslav Chernykh (Russia) 53:35 (+ 00:56)


5. Florian Pinsard (France) 53:51 (+ 01:12)


6. Edwyn Oliver Evans (Great Britain) 54:03 (+ 1:24)


(...)


43. André Ramalho (Portugal) 1:11:23 (+ 18:44)


47. Duarte Lourenço (Portugal) 1:12:09 (+ 19:30)


56. Diogo Barradas (Portugal) 1:28:35 (+ 35:56)


Afonso Barreiros (Portugal) mp


Paul Roothans (Portugal) mp



W20


1. Alena Fedoseeva (Russia) 49:28 (+ 00:00)


2. Lou Denaix (France) 50:16 (+ 00:48)


3. Darya Mikryukova (Russia) 50:27 (+ 00:59)


4. Sandrine Mueller (Switzerland) 53:11 (+ 3:43)


5. Doris Kudre (Estonia) 53:12 (+ 3:44)


6. Viktorija Michnovic (Lithuania) 54:23 (+ 04:55)



Complete results and further information at http://www.wmtboc2015.cz/.

Joaquim Margarido