Portugal City Race 2017: Raquel Ferreira wins in Santo Tirso and Vila Real

The Portugal City Race 2017 had its 4th and 5th stages in Santo Tirso and Vila Real. Raquel Ferreira was unstoppable, winning both stages in the Women Senior class. In the Men Senior class, José Lopes and Maikel Rodriguez got the victories.

After Esposende, Braga and Vila do Conde, the Portugal City Race 2017 continued, this time in the City of the Jesuits. The 4th stage, in Santo Tirso, was organized by NAST – Núcleo Associativo de Santo Tirso, gathering more than two hundred participants. With a weak entry on the map, which made him lose quickly two minutes to the lead, José Lopes (Individual) turned out to be the most regular on a grueling course, taking advantage of the successive mistakes of his direct opponents, achieving a surprising triumph in the Men Senior class with the time of 44:50, against 45:06 from Miguel Nóbrega (COV - Natura), second placed. As in Vila do Conde, in the previous stage, Raquel Ferreira (Individual) and Daniela Alves (AD Cabroelo) were the top protagonists in the Women Senior class, with the advantage smiling once more to Ferreira by a comfortable four-minute advantage.

The city of Vila Real hosted the 5th stage of the Portugal City Race 2017, in a race organized by the OriMarão Club which joined 150 participants. After a one-stage break, in Santo Tirso, Maikel Rodriguez (Budiñoraid) returned for another victory, the fourth in the Portugal City Race this season. The Spanish athlete spent 43:06, leaving his compatriot Ángel Soto (Aromon) more than 5 minutes apart. In the women's race, Raquel Ferreira and Daniela Alves played, for the third time in a row, an interesting duel, and once again the victory went to Ferreira with the time of 44:14, against 46:47 of her opponent. With five of the thirteen stages of Portugal City Race 2017 already contested, Maikel Rodriguez and Raquel Ferreira register four wins each and are in the lead of the respective rankings. Ángel Soto and Daniela Alves follow in the second position, while the third place is occupied by Miguel Nóbrega and Andrea Dumitru.

Results

Santo Tirso City Race, 07th May 2017

Men Senior

1. José Lopes (Individual) 44:50 (+ 00:00)

2. Miguel Nóbrega (COV – Natura) 45:06 (+ 00:16)

3. Pedro Rama (ADM Ori-Mondego) 46:52 (+ 02:02)

4. Gil Sousa Pinto (OriMarão) 47:56 (+ 03:06)

5. André Fonseca (COALA) 48:01 (+ 03:11)

Women Senior

1. Raquel Ferreira (Individual) 41:14 (+ 00:00)

2. Daniela Alves (AD Cabroelo) 45:21 (+ 04:07)

3. Candela Puime López (Budiñoraid) 46:30 (+ 05:16)

4. Sara Miranda (Amigos da Montanha) 48:55 (+ 07:41)

5. Cristiana Lagoa (NAST) 50:40 (+ 09:26)

Vila Real City Race, 14th May 2017

Men Senior

1. Maikel Rodriguez (Budiñoraid) 43:06 (+ 00:00)

2. Ángel Soto (Aromon) 48:31 (+ 05:25)

3. Miguel Nóbrega (COV – Natura) 51:25 (+ 08:19)

4. Luís Ferreira (AD Cabroelo) 53:53 (+ 10:47)

5. André Fonseca (COALA) 53:58 (+ 10:52)

Women Senior

1. Raquel Ferreira (Individual) 44:14 (+ 00:00)

2. Daniela Alves (AD Cabroelo) 46:47 (+ 02:33)

3. Alicia Perez (Aromon) 48:40 (+ 04:26)

4. Andrea Dumitru (Individual) 49:03 (+ 04:49)

5. Candela Puime López (Budiñoraid) 49:38 (+ 05:24)

Results and further information at http://www.cityrace.pt/.

[Photo: Susana Luzir / facebook.com/cityraceportugal]

Joaquim Margarido

Portugal City Race 2017: Maikel Rodriguez and Raquel Ferreira won in Vila do Conde

Maikel Rodriguez and Raquel Ferreira were the winners of Vila do Conde City Race 2017, in the main classes of competition. Scoring for the Portugal City Race 2017, the event also included a super sprint and an Adapted Orienteering stage, calling to the banks of Ave River 250 competitors.

The city of Vila do Conde received yesterday the third stage of the Circuit Portugal City Race 2017. Having the support of Vila do Conde Municipality, the Orienteering School Sport's Group from the Association of Schools D. Afonso Sanches and the Grupo Desportivo dos Quatro Caminhos organized the Vila do Conde City Race 2017, which attracted nearly 250 athletes. The fun started early in the morning with a Middle/Long Distance urban stage, continuing in the afternoon with a short and fast Super Sprint, with a large number of controls and requiring constant changes of direction. An Adapted Orienteering stage, scoring for the respective Portuguese League, was also part of the program, reinforcing the event's inclusive character, one of the brand images of Portugal City Race.

The Spanish Maikel Rodrigues, representing Budiñoraid, won easily this stage, finishing the 7.02 km of his course with the time of 38:48. Gil Sousa Pinto (OriMarão) spent more 8:22 than the winner and finished in the second place. With this result, Rodriguez built up his leading position of the Circuit Portugal City Race 2017, achieving his third victory in as many stages. The fight for the victory in the Women Senior class was much more balanced, but Raquel Ferreira (Individual) ended up being stronger than Daniela Alves (AD Cabroelo), winning by the difference of 1:29, after finishing the 5.7 km of her course with the time of 48:04. Raquel Ferreira also strengthened her leadership of this year's edition of the Portugal City Race 2017, after winning the first stage in Esposende and being second placed in Braga, in the second stage.

The event also included the Vila do Conde Super-Sprint, with Maikel Rodriguez climbing once again on the top of the podium, this time alongside with María Pilar Hernández, and a stage of Adapted Orienteering scoring for the Portuguese League, in which Vitor Pereira and Raquel Cerqueira were the winners.

Results

Vila do Conde City Race 2017

Men Senior
1. Maikel Rodriguez (Budiñoraid) 38:48 (+ 00:00)
2. Gil Sousa Pinto (OriMarão) 47:10 (+ 08:22)
3. Luís Ferreira (AD Cabroelo) 47:12 (+ 08:24)
4. Leandro Lima A. Montanha 47:25 (+ 08:37)
5. Ricardo Figueroa (Aromon) 49:17 (+ 10:29)

Women Senior
1. Raquel Ferreira (Individual) 48:04 (+ 00:00)
2. Daniela Alves (AD Cabroelo) 49:33 (+ 01:29)
3. Pilar Hernandez (Escondite) 51:24 (+ 03:20)
4. Zélia Viana (.COM) 52:54 (+ 04:50)
5. Carlota Veiga (Aromon) 1:01:15 (+ 13:11)

Complete results and further information HERE.

[Photo: Fernando Costa]

Joaquim Margarido

Portugal City Race 2017: Rodriguez and Delgado won in Braga

Celebrating the Historic Centre National Day, the city of Braga, North of Portugal, hosted the second stage of Portugal City Race. Like in 2016, Maikel Rodriguez and Carolina Delgado were the winners in the Senior category.

Once again, the Clube de Orientação do Minho, the Municipality of Braga and the Portuguese Orienteering Federation took forward the Braga City Race's third edition. The event was attended by three hundred participants, distributed by Formation, Competition and Open classes.

Winner of the previous edition of the Portugal City Race, the Spanish Maikel Rodriguez (Budiñoraid) didn't feel difficulties in the Men Senior class, reaching the best partial in 16 out of 19 controls points of the course and finishing the 6.5 Km of his race with the time of 33:07. The remaining podium was also occupied by athletes from neighbouring Spain, with Ángel Soto (Aromon) finishing in the second place with more 4:12 than the winner and his teammate, Xoel Chamorro, being the third placed with the time of 37:35.

In the Women Senior class, Carolina Delgado (GD4C) performed also at a higher level. Winner of the first two editions of the Portugal City Race, the athlete reached her third victory in the Braga City Race, spending the time of 34:51 to cover the 5.3 km of her race and getting the fastest time in 12 out of 16 controls of her course. Raquel Ferreira and Daniela Macedo, two athletes who competed individually, finished in the immediate positions with more 3:00 and 6:22, respectively, than the winner.

Results

Men Senior

1. Maikel Rodriguez (Budiñoraid) 33:07 (+ 00:00)
2. Ángel Soto (Aromon) 37:19 (+ 04:12)
3. Xoel Chamorro (Aromon) 37:35 (+ 04:28)
4. Vitor Barreiro (Individual) 39:23 (+ 06:16)
5. Luis Ferreira (AD Cabroelo) 40:09 (+ 07:02)

Women Senior

1. Carolina Delgado (GD4C) 34:51 (+ 00:00)
2. Raquel Ferreira (Individual) 37:51 (+ 03:00)
3. Daniela Macedo (Individual) 41:13 (+ 06:22)
4. Daniela Alves (AD Cabroelo) 43:41 (+ 08:50)
5. Sara Miranda (Amigos da Montanha) 49:12 (+ 14:21)

Further information and complete results at http://www.pontocom.pt/bragacityrace.

[Photo: Clube de Orientação do Minho / facebook.com/ori.pontocom/photos]

Joaquim Margarido

Esposende City Race 2017: Victories for Maikel Rodriguez and Raquel Ferreira

Esposende hosted the first stage of the Portugal City Race 2017. Like in 2016, Maikel Rodriguez start with the right foot, winning the Men Senior class. The winner of the Women Senior class was Raquel Ferreira. At the same time, the 2017 Portuguese Adapted Orienteering League had its kick off, with victories of Domingos Oliveira and Liliana Silva.

Beautiful city by the sea, Esposende was the chosen venue for the 1st stage of the Portugal City Race 2017. Organized by the Amigos da Montanha Association, the event gathered nearly 300 participants, many of them youngster from the school sports or simply curious, trying here the sport for the very first time. In parallel, took place the 1st stage of the 2017 Portuguese Adapted Orienteering League, which was attended by 25 paralympic athletes.

In the Men Senior class, the victory smiled to the 2016 Portugal City Race's overall winner, the Spanish Maikel Rodriguez (Budiñoraid), with a time of 38:21. Nearly four minutes after the winner, another Spanish, Ángel Soto (Aromon), finished his race the second position, while the third place went to Luis Castro (AD Cabroelo), with a time of 45:08. In the Women Senior class, Joana Fernandes (.COM) wasn't able to repeat the victory of the last season, finishing second. The winner was Raquel Ferreira (Individual) with the time of 39:26 and an advantage of 1:19 over Fernandes. The third place fell to Daniela Alves (AD Cabroelo), with a two-minute difference to the winner. In the AdaptO race, Domingos Oliveira (Clube Gaia), the winner of 2016 Ranking, reached a comfortable triumph in the Men class, while Liliana Silva (Clube Gaia) took a sensational victory over the super-favourite Raquel Cerqueira in the Women class.

The Portugal City Race is back this year with another breath, divided for thirteen cities. Braga, Vila do Conde, Leiria, Águeda, Figueira da Foz, Porto and Aveiro welcome again the participants in the circuit, Penafiel Returns after a one-year break and the cities of Esposende, Santo Tirso, Vila Real, Tondela and Sesimbra join the event for the first time. Inspired by the City Race Euro Tour, the Portugal City Race bases its philosophy on Foot orienteering events in an urban environment and with courses designed for times of winners matching with the rules of the Portuguese Orienteering Federation for the Middle and Long Distance. The courses are suitable for all ages, can be made individually or in groups, and for the less competitive or those who are taking the first steps in Orienteering, the organization promotes a tourist course, putting on the map the major attractions of each cities where the event is performed. Braga will hosted the second stage of the Portugal City Race on 26th March.

Results

Men Senior

1. Maikel Rodriguez (Budiñoraid) 38:21 (+ 00:00)
2. Ángel Soto (Aromon) 42:13 (+ 03:52)
3. Luis Castro (AD Cabroelo) 45:08 (+ 06:47)
4. Daniel Ferreira (AD Cabroelo) 45:54 (+ 07:33)
5. Antonio Dominguez (Aromon) 47:02 (+ 08:41)

Women Senior

1. Raquel Ferreira (Individual) 39:26 (+ 00:00)
2. Joana Fernandes (.COM) 40:45 (+ 01:19)
3. Daniela Alves (AD Cabroelo) 41:27 (+ 02:01)
4. Daniela Macedo (Individual) 42:32 (+ 03:06)
5. Helena Miranda (GD4C) 45:23 (+ 05:57)

Adapted Orienteering

Men

1. Domingos Oliveira (Clube Gaia) 10 points / 13:28
2. João Encarnação (Clube Gaia) 10 points / 16:16
3. Hugo Mourão (Cercivar) 10 points / 16:21
4. José Ricardo Silva (Cercivar) 10 points / 17:36
5. Vitor Pereira (Cercivar) 10 points / 39:59

Women

1. Liliana Silva (Clube Gaia) 10 points / 15:44
2. Raquel Cerqueira (Clube Gaia) 10 points / 15:48
3. Maria Lurdes Amador (Cercivar) 10 points / 17:02
4. Tânia Valente (Cercivar) 10 points / 21:30
5. Cristina Soares (Clube Gaia) 10 points / 25:58

Complete results and further information can be seen at the event's webpage [HERE]

[Photo: Orientação Amigos da Montanha / facebook.com/orientacaoamigosdamontanha/]

Joaquim Margarido

Two or three things I know about it...

1. The Calendar of the 3rd edition of the Portugal City Race was announced yesterday. The 2017 Portugal City Race will conquer new cities and will have a set of 13 stages, starting on 5th February, in Esposende, and ending on 1st November, in Sesimbra. The cities of Esposende, Santo Tirso, Vila Real, Tondela and Sesimbra made its debut in the Circuit, in which we can notice the return of Penafiel. Barcelos and Viseu leave the Circuit in 2017 and the cities of Braga, Vila do Conde, Leiria, Águeda, Figueira da Foz, Porto and Aveiro remain. In total, it will count for the Rankings the seven best results out of the thirteen possible. The 2016 Portugal City race consisted on nine stages and counted almost four thousand participants. All information at http://www.cityrace.pt/.

2. Following the election to the Board of Directors of the Spanish Orienteering Federation, celebrated on 10th December, José Enrique Barcia is the FEDO's new Chairman. Cristina del Campo (1st Vice-President), Mercedes Jiménez (2nd Vice President), Raúl Ferra (Technical Director), Marta Armisén (Women and Sport Project), María Isabel Fajardo (Economic Director) and Jesús de Miguel Rey (General Secretary) are the remaining members. Promoting the General Assembly and ensuring its executive functions is the first and foremost goal of Barcia. Resources optimization and transparency are also key words of the new paradigm. Among the priorities, one can found the creation of the General Direction of Marketing and Communication, strengthening and betting on MTB Orienteering as a growth factor of the Sport and also the creation of the Spanish Ski Orienteering Championships (two stages). To the new Board of Directors and its Chairman, the Portuguese Orienteering Blog wishes the greatest achievements and a long and successful campaign.

3. If you like “cool” events and you're a fan of PreO you are not going to miss the coolest PreO event ever. The 4th annual Aurora Borealis PreO Event will take place on January 6th 2017, with the Event Centre located in the Vuosaari Golf course main building, Helsinki, Finland. The course will have 22 – 26 controls to the Elite (12 – 15 controls to the Elite B) and 2.000 meters length, set by Ari Tertsunen on a completely new map with his signature. The winner gets the great “Aurora Borealis PreO Challenge Cup” for the period of one year (get it your own after three victories). The winners so far are Aleksei Laisev (2014), Pinja Mäkinen (2015) and Anna Jakobson (2016). In the case of extreme weather conditions, the Event shall be cancelled only if the temperature falls below - 40 degrees celsius. However, “cancellation is very unlikely, as last year we had only - 26 degrees”, the organizers assure. Please find all the the information at http://www.trailo.fi/?x118281=343966.

4. The first trailer for the Austrian MTBO Days 2017 is online. Enjoy!

Joaquim Margarido

Portugal City Race 2016: Vesanto and Karklina won in Aveiro

The second edition of the Portugal City Race came to the end. Held in Aveiro, the last stage saw Anssi Vesanto and Elina Karklina reach the top of the podium. Maikel Rodriguez and Carolina Delgado were the winners of the overall standings.

Adapting to the Portuguese scale a successful model in Europe, the Portugal City Race met, in 2016, its second edition. The event started in Barcelos, on 13th March, extending over seven months to the cities of Braga, Vila do Conde, Viseu, Leiria, Águeda, Figueira da Foz and Porto, to finish today in the city of Aveiro, the “Venice of Portugal”, in a stage organized by the Clube de Orientação de Estarreja. Involving in the organizing effort a total of eight clubs, the Portugal City Race 2016 recorded 2200 athletes in the nine steps scoring to the event, to whom we must add close to 1700 participants in other activities, which included, in addition to the main stage, night races, Adapted Orienteering and Trail Orienteering.

Winning the first three stages of the Portugal City Race 2016, the Spanish Maikel Rodriguez (Budiñoraid) saw a successful trajectory interrupted in the following two stages by the Portuguese Tiago Gingão Leal (GD4C), winner of the Portugal City Race 2015. Although 100% successful, the participation of the Portuguese stopped there, opening to Rodriguez the chance of a comfortable triumph and that turned out to be entirely deserved. In the final stage, in Aveiro, Rodriguez finished in the second place with a time of 54:17 and two minutes after the winner, the Finnish Anssi Vesanto (Espoon Suunta). The Latvian Elina Karklina (Single) won the female Senior class with a time of 43:05, leaving Carolina Delgado (GD4C) in the second place, with more 24 seconds. With this result, Delgado took definitively the lead of the female ranking, ensuring the victory for the second year in a row. In terms of ranking, a total of 604 athletes scored for this year's Portugal City Race, distributed by 12 competition classes and one formation class.

Results

Aveiro City Race

Seniors M

1. Anssi Vesanto (Espoon Suunta) 52:17 (+ 00:00)

2. Maikel Rodriguez (Budiñoraid) 54:17 (+ 02:00)

3. Edgar Domingues (COC) 56:04 (+ 03:47)

4. Luis Leite (GD4C) 58:24 (+ 06:07)

5. Miguel Nóbrega (CO Viseu – Natura) 1:00:20 (+ 08:03)

Seniors W

1. Elina Karklina (Individual LAT) 43:05 (+ 00:00)

2. Carolina Delgado (GD4C) 43:29 (+ 00:24)

3. Joana Fernandes (.COM) 48:12 (+ 05:07)

4. Susana Almeida (CO Viseu – Natura) 52:44 (+ 09:39)

5. Daniela Alves (AD Cabroelo) 53:55 (+ 10:50)

Portugal City Race 2016

Final standings

Seniors M

1. Maikel Rodriguez (Budiñoraid) 578.7 points

2. Miguel Nóbrega (CO Viseu – Natura) 491.9 points

3. Carlos Viana (. COM) 454.9 points

4. Vasco Vinhas (Individual) 453.5 points

5. Ricardo Brito (OriMarão) 432.5 points

Seniors W

1. Carolina Delgado (GD4C) 490.1 points

2. Sara Miranda (Individual) 473.6 points

3. Céu Costa (GD4C) 468.8 points

4. Zélia Viana (.COM) 443.5 points

5. Carla Sousa (GD4C) 394.6 points

Other classes

Junior M/W – Pedro Silva (AD Cabroelo) and Eduarda Moreira (AD Cabroelo)

Juvenil M/W – Rui Silva (AD Cabroelo) and Ana Castro (NAST)

Veterans1 M/W – Joaquim Sousa (COC) and Raquel Ferreira (Individual)

Veterans2 M/W – Jorge Silva (Amigos da Montanha) and Aida Correia (GD4C)

Veterans3 M/W – Costa Leite (Montepio Geral) and Beatriz Leite (Montepio Geral)

Formation – Alexandra Serra Campos (.COM)

All information at http://www.cityrace.pt/.

Joaquim Margarido

Porto City Race 2016: Esteves and Covas Costa won the Queen Stage

Ricardo Esteves and Tânia Covas Costa were the big winners of today's Porto City Race stage. Facing tough and challenging courses, both athletes finished the event in the best way, achieving good victories in its most important stage.

After a rainy night, the beautiful city of Porto woke up with sun and the excitement of an international Orienteering event. Organized by Grupo Desportivo dos Quatro Caminhos, the event had the participation of close to five hundred orienteers from 15 different countries, trying the tricky spaces of Asprela Universitary Campus, in the northern part of the city, in a stage scoring for the City Race Euro Tour 2016 and for the Portugal City Race 2016.

Showing a good shape in the fall of the season, the winner of the 2016 Portuguese Cup's ranking in the M18 class, Ricardo Esteves (ADFA), got a comfortable triumph in the Men Senior class with the time of 32:33, which was his third victory in as much stages along the weekend. Two athletes from .COM took the immediate positions, João Magalhães being second placed with more 2:45 than Esteves, and João Novo taking the third place with the time of 36:08. The Spanish Maikel Rodriguez (Budiñoraid), current leader of the Portugal City Race 2016, finished in the fourth position, 4:56 after the winner.

More balanced, the course in the Women Senior class had in Tânia Covas Costa (.COM), a surprising winner, over a really combative Triin Jäädmaa, Estonia. The difference between the two athletes was of 1:34, with Covas Costa recording 34:25 in the end. Joana Fernandes (.COM) took the third place with more 1:40 than the winner, while Filipa Rodrigues, the young winner of the two previous stages, mispunched. Portugal City Race's current leader in this class, Sara Miranda (Individual), finished 10th with the time of 47:17.

Results

Men Senior

1. Ricardo Esteves (ADFA) 32:33 (+ 00:00)

2. João Magalhães (.COM) 35:18 (+ 02:45)

3. João Novo (.COM) 36:08 (+ 03:35)

4. Maikel Rodriguez (Budiñoraid) 37:29 (+ 04:56)

5. Pedro Duarte (ADFA) 37:56 (+ 05:23)

Women Senior

1. Tânia Covas Costa (.COM) 34:25 (+ 00:00)

2. Triin Jäädmaa (Estonia) 35:59 (+ 01:34)

3. Joana Fernandes (.COM) 36:05 (+ 01:40)

4. Joanne Pickering (WIM) 37:09 (+ 02:44)

5. Patricia Casalinho (COC) 40:25 (+ 06:00)

[Click on the image to see the photo album]

Further information and complete results at http://www.gd4caminhos.com/portocityrace.

Joaquim Margarido

Portugal City Race 2016: Tiago Leal and Inês Aires win in Leiria

Tiago Gingão Leal and Inês Aires were the Leiria City Race's big winners. The event took place last Sunday, joining nearly three hundred competitors.

On the occasion of the 18th edition of the popular RA4 Grand Prix, the COC – Clube de Orientação do Centro organized the Leiria City Race, urban race in Long Distance scoring for the Portugal City Race 2016. In what was the second most participated stage of the certamen so far, 274 competitors joined the party in the city of Leiria, fulfilling the open green spaces of downtown or running through the steep narrow streets around the medieval castle, in courses where the demand and the challenge proved to be proportional to the joy of finding a control after another.

In the Men Senior class, Tiago Gingão Leal (GD4C) was the only athlete to finish the course below the 60 minute's barrier, achieving a large winning of over ten minutes on Rafael Miguel (Ori-Estarreja), the second ranked. Winner of the Portugal City Race 2015, Gingão Leal reached his second victory in a row and begin to seriously threaten the leadership that still belongs to the Spanish Maikel Rodriguez (AROMON). In the Women Senior class, Inês Aires (Ori-Estarreja) reached the victory with a time of 1:18:09, beating Catarina Castelão (RA4) by the difference of 1:29. With this result, the young athlete from Estarreja rose up a couple of steps in the ranking, although without putting into question the leadership of Carolina Delgado (GD4C), winner of the previous edition of the Portugal City Race.

Results

Men Senior

1. Tiago Gingão Leal (GD4C) 59:53 (+ 00:00)

2. Rafael Miguel (Ori-Estarreja) 1:10:13 (+ 10:20)

3. Luis Barreiro (NADA) 1:16:25 (+ 16:32)

4. Orlando Marques (RA4) 1:24:08 (+ 24:15)

5. Sérgio Contente (RA4) 1:25:01 (+ 25:08)

Women Senior

1. Inês Aires (Ori-Estarreja) 1:18:09 (+ 00:00)

2. Catarina Castelão (RA4) 1:19:38 (+ 01:29)

3. Marta Fonseca (ADFA) 1:21:17 (+ 03:08)

4. Sara Miranda (Individual) 1:36:45 (+ 18:36)

5. Inês Gonçalves (Ori-Estarreja) 1:43:14 (+ 25:05)

Full results and further information at http://www.coc.pt/as-nossas-provas/18-gp-ra4-leiria-city-race/.

[Photo: Cesar Conceição / facebook.com/cesar.conceicao]

Joaquim Margarido

Two or three things I know about it...

1. One month left to the 4th International Orienteering Trophy Pinares de Soria / 5 Days of Spain, everything is ready to host the event. The magnificent natural environment around Urbión and Cebollera Sierras will receive six competition stages organized by five different clubs: Navaleno-O, CORZO, O-Getafe, Orientabonito and TJALVE. Offering a handful of completely new maps in terrains around 1000 – 1300 meters above the sea level, the program includes two Middle, two Long and two Sprint distances. The 2nd July we'll have the Spanish Mixed Sprint Relay Championships 2016, 2nd-3rd July the Spanish League's seventh stage and 5th-6th July the Spanish League's eighth stage. Mario Vidal Triquell, Rubén Pérez Pérez and Juanma García Crespo sign the maps, while the course setters are Luis Miguel García de Águeda, Per Emion, José Enrique Barcia, Ferrán Santoyo Medina and the very young Eduardo Gil Marcos. Lots of fun in Orienteering dreamland, combined with the hospitality, culture and gastronomic delights of this places and people, are waiting for you. The entries will be received until next Monday, 6th July, at 12 p.m. and you're more than welcome to join the 1300 competitors from 19 countries, entering the races! To know everything about the 4th International Orienteering Trophy Pinares de Soria / 5 Days of Spain, please visit the event's webpage at http://www.5days2016.es/en/.

2. Tove Alexandersson, Sweden and Matthias Kyburz, Switzerland are the clear leaders in this year’s World Cup standings after the European Championships' three counting races. Alexandersson got the Long and Middle gold and has 340 points. Nearest challenger to Alexandersson is Judith Wyder, the World Cup winner overall last year, 43 points behind the Swedish, followed by Maja Alm, Denmark, with 225 points. Matthias Kyburz has enjoyed a flying start to this season’s races with three wins from the five competitions held so far and 364 points overall. His compatriot Daniel Hubmann, last year’s winner overall, has had fluctuating success so far and lies second in the standings, at far 117 points. Next behind him is Gustav Bergman, Sweden, with 233 points. The next World Cup’s round will be held in Strömstad, comprising three stages corresponding to the three WOC individual finals. You may consult the full standings at http://ranking.orienteering.org/WorldCup.

3. After a first successful edition in 2015, the Viseu City Race returned last weekend as part of the Portugal City Race for two days of excellent Orienteering in the home of the Lusitanian Viriato. “Knowing Viseu with a map and run or walk with the help of your head” were the proposals of Viseu Orienteering Club – Natura, the event's organizer. After a warm-up on Saturday, at the Fontelo Forest Park, the Viseu City Race stage took place on Sunday, having been entered by two hundred competitors. Winners of the Portugal City Race's first edition, last year, Tiago Gingão Leal and Ana Carolina Delgado, both from GD4C, showe at the highest level, getting comfortable wins. Gingão Leal got a six minutes win on Rafael Miguel (Ori-Estarreja), with Gil Sousa Pinto (OriMarão) being third. In the Women, Carolina Delgado was ahead 8:05 of her team mate Céu Costa and 9:18 on Zélia Viana (.COM). After four stages, the Spanish Maikel Rodrigues (AROMON) and Carolina Delgado are the Portugal City race's leaders. For detailed information, please visit http://www.cityrace.pt/.

Joaquim Margarido

Two or three things I know about it...

1. Daniel Hubmann and Rachel Friedrich achieved the Middle Distance titles during the Swiss Orienteering Championships last weekend. Daniel Hubmann spent 31:41 to run his course, against 32:26 from his brother, Martin. Florian Howald was third, with more than 2:03 the winner. Rahel Friedrich conquered her first national gold by winning with 31:49; Simone Niggli and Sabine Hauswirth were second and third, with more 00:42 and 01:01, respectively. The Swiss journey counted with three more race tests, qualifying the best athletes for the European Championships in the Czech Republic and the World Cup round in Poland. The Long Distance had in Matthias Kyburz and Elena Roos the big winners, while Daniel Hubmann and Rahel Friedrich won the Sprint. Finally, Matthias Kyburz and Rahel Friedrich Were fastest on the 3000 meters race. With this results, the Swiss Orienteering Federation called to the Selection Team Daniel Hubmann, Martin Hubmann, Matthias Kyburz, Andreas Kyburz, Jonas Egger, Florian Howald, Andreas Rüedlinger, Raffael Huber, Christoph Meier, Térence Risse, Baptiste Rollier, Alain Denzler and Florian Schneider, in Men, and Rahel Friedrich, Sabine Hauswirth, Sarina Jenzer, Elena Roos, Martina Ruch, Kerstin Ullmann, Julia Gross, Lisa Holer, Sina Tommer, Anina Brunner, Lisa Schubnall and Judith Wyder, in Women. All the information at http://www.swiss-orienteering.ch/de/news/ol/773-10-athletinnen-und-11-athleten-fuer-em-selektioniert.html.

2. The city of Vila do Conde hosted the Portugal City Race 2016's third stage. The event was organized by the Grupo Desportivo dos Quatro Caminhos, Municipality of Vila do Conde and Portuguese Orienteering Federation. After two triumphs in a row for the Spanish Maikel Rodrigues, João Novo (.COM) won the Men Seniors class, meeting the 8800 meters of his course in 38:35. Maikel Rodrigues (AROMON) spent 54 seconds more than the winner and reached the second position, while the third place went to Jorge Fernandes (NAST) with a time of 43:40. In the women's class, Joana Fernandes, from Clube de Orientação do Minho won for the second time a stage of the Portugal City Race 2016 with 38:14, after the triumph in Barcelos, in the opening stage of the Circuit. Tânia Covas Costa, from the same club, and Sara Miranda (Individual) occupied the immediate positions with more 2:45 minutes and 9:21, respectively, than the winner. Maikel Rodrigues and Joana Fernandes are the leaders od the respective rankings. Everything to read at http://www.cityrace.pt/.

3. Jan Kocbach opened an interesting debate about the estimated winning time for women's Long Distance, after the IOF Foot-O Athletes' Commission's survey [HERE http://orienteering.org/athlete-survey-estimated-winning-time-for-womens-long-distance-events/]. Would you like to know the best athletes's opinions on the subject right now? Just take a look at http://news.worldofo.com/2016/04/13/how-long-should-the-womens-long-distance-be/ and see for yourself. From lots of messages, we can see Annika Billstam's sentence: “Just because we always done it this way doesn’t mean it’s right. It’s uncomfortable to change, but change is what makes progress.” And also Eva Jurenikova's opinion: “I wish this change came 10-20 years ago, it is too late for my own elite career, but I still want and I will continue to make effort to make our sport better and to increase the choice for the female athletes of the current and coming generations.”

4. The Swedish Trail Orienteering League started last weekend in Skåne region with two PreO stages. Almost one hundred competitors entered for the event, 44 of which in the Elite class. The Swedish Marit Wiksell (Rehns BK) won the first stage with 18 points and just one wrong answer. With 17 points there was 9 competitors and here the timed controls made the difference. William Rex (OK Landehof) performed better than the concurrency and was second, followed by Lennart Wahlgren (Rehns BK), Martin Fredholm (OK Linné) and Jens Andersson (OK Roslagen). The Norwegian Lars Jakob Waaler took the sixth place and was the first non-Swedish in the standings. On the second day, Marit Wiksell was 13th, 1 point less than the leading group. The winner was the Swedish Michael Johansson (Vänersborgs SK) with 19 points, the same number of points as 9 other competitors. But the former European and World Champion in 2014 solved the two timed tasks in 9 seconds and was the winner, with Clara Jakobsson and Robert Jakobsson, both from Tidaholm SOK Sisu, being second and third and close 3 and 4 seconds, respectively. Clive Allen (Silkeborg OK), from Great Britain, was this time the first non-Swedish competitor in the standings. Full results at https://www.preoresultat.se/.

Joaquim Margarido

Two or three things I know about it...

1. Known as the “Archbishops' City”, Braga hosted the second stage of the Portugal City Race 2016. Included in the Historic Centers National Day's program, the event was organized by the Clube de Orientação do Minho, Municipality of Braga and the Portuguese Orienteering Federation, registering two hundred participantes, from which 130 in the competition classes. As happened in Barcelos, in the Portugal City Race's opening stage, the Spanish Maikel Rodrigues (AROMON) won the Men Seniors class, covering the 12,600 meters of his course in 57:11. Ricardo Figueroa, from the same club, spent more 4:11 than the winner and reached the second position, while the third place went to Jorge Marques (GD4C), with a time of 1:02:27. In the Women Seniors class, the winner of the Portugal City Race in 2015, Carolina Delgado (GD4C) returned to the top of the podium, spending 44:54 to the 8400 meters of her course. Beatriz Moreira (CPOC) and Daniela Macedo (Individual) occupied the immediate positions with over 1:41 minutes and 4:59, respectively, to the winner. Complete results and further information at http://www.pontocom.pt/bragacityrace.

2. 82 participants in the TempO competition, 39 in the PreO Elite class and 34 in the Standard class took part in the Jan Kjellström International Festival of Orienteering this year. “The competition was intense and the results very close”, says John Kewley, adding some details: “The TempO at Leeds University, which had 5 stations with 4 tasks at each, was won by Ian Ditchfield (MV) with a cumulative time including penalties of 283.5 seconds. Tom Dobra (UBOC) in second place had a score just 4 seconds more - both Ian and Tom had 4 controls wrong. Third and fourth-placed Nick Barrable (SYO) and Saku Asikainen, Finland, had only 3 wrong but were slower, Nick scoring 315 seconds and Saku only just behind on 316.5. Best junior was Matthew Leitch (SO) with 364.5 (8 wrong). The best on the PreO Elite at Ampleforth Abbey had 18 correct out of 21, and were separated on the timed controls. Here Peter Huzan (SLOW) was quickest, completing the two tasks in 10.5 seconds. Iain Phillips (LEI) was just behind with 12.5 seconds and Anne Straube (OD) was third fastest with 14 seconds. The best Junior, Anna Harris (DEE), also had 18 correct and a time of 20.5 seconds, so 4th overall - a very creditable performance. Best Paralympic was John Crosby (NATO), 15 points + 16 seconds.” You may see the full results and some really interesting comments by Peter Roberts, the course planner, at http://www.thejk.org.uk/jk2016/index.php?pg=291.

3. Looking forward the next World Orienteering Championships, many of the best orienteers in the world were present in Strömstad for the first real test in relevant terrain. “Although the very top of the result lists was Scandinavian, both French, Swiss and Canadian (!) runners were close to the top of the results list”, Jan Kocbach says on World of O [HERE]. Saturday’s Middle Distance was a close fight between two of the top runners the last years, Olav Lundanes and Thierry Gueorgiou. Lundanes won 33 seconds ahead of Gueorgiou with Eskil Kinneberg in 3rd at 0:55. As for the Women Elite, Helena Jansson (winner), Tove Alexandersson (6th) and Judith Wyder (2nd) were the ones with highest speed. None of them had a perfect technical race, but Jansson’s race was the best technically, leading to victory 31 seconds ahead of Wyder with Saila Kinni in the 3rd place at 0:45. Kinneberg showed this weekend the same great shape as last spring, winning on Sunday’s Long Distance. The Norwegian won 34 seconds ahead of Gustav Bergman, with Gueorgiou being 3rd at 1:45. In addition to winning Saturday’s middle, Jansson was also on top on Sunday’s long distance. The biggest surprise of the day was however the Canadian Emily Kemp in second place with 1:13 minutes more than the winner. Heidi Østlid Bagstevold was 3rd at 4:03.

4. The MTBO Commission has launched a database to collect data on injuries that happened on MTBO competitions. The objective is to collect the information related to the accident for the benefit of understanding risks associated with MTBO competitions, and to improve safety as much as reasonable. The Commission will periodically review the learnings and advise both teams and organisers on safety related considerations. “Please report noteworthy injuries from events starting from 2016, but do not hesitate to include any significant injuries from earlier years”, the Commission asks. Personal data will not be published or shared. The link to the form is http://tinyurl.com/zzacyek. It will be also available from the MTBO Commission's website [HERE].

[Photo: Portugal City Race / cityrace.pt]

Joaquim Margarido

Portugal City Race 2016: Rodriguez and Fernandes won the first stage

Barcelos attended the first stage of the Portugal City Race 2016. In a sunny morning, Maikel Rodriguez and Joana Fernandes were the big winners in the senior classes.

In a truly fantastic day for the practice of Orienteering, Barcelos hosted the 1st stage of the Portugal City Race. Organized by the Amigos da Montanha Association, the event called to this beautiful city more than 300 participants, many of them youngster from the school sports or simply curious, trying here the sport for the very first time.

In the Men Senior class, the victory went to the Spanish Maikel Rodriguez (Aromon) with a time of 40:16. Assiduous presence in the Portuguese races organized in the north, the athlete has shown a tremendous consistency along the course, taking advantage of the mispunch of Pedro Torres (VidaActiva), the great leader in the first half. With more 30 seconds than the winner, Victor Barreiro (Individual) would reach the second position, while the third place went to Carlos Viana (.COM), with a time of 42:17. In the Women Seniors class, Joana Fernandes (.COM) dominated from the first to the last control, beating categorically the favorite Carolina Delgado (GD4C), current National Champion of Spint and winner of the 1st edition of the Portugal City Race. Joana Fernandes spent 41:17 to complete her course, against 42:07 of Carolina Delgado. The third place fell to Tânia Covas Costa (.COM), with 2:18 more than the winner.

An attractive certamen

After a successful first edition, the Portugal City Race is back this year with another breath, divided for nine cities in the north and the center of the country. As Barcelos, the cities of Braga, Vila do Conde, Viseu and Porto back to welcome the event, Penafiel being the only “break” in relation to 2015. In contrast, the cities of Leiria, Águeda, Aveiro and Figueira da Foz do, this year, part of the offer, greatly enriching this unique set of events.

Inspired in the City Race Euro Tour, the Portugal City Race bases its philosophy on Foot orienteering events in an urban environment and with courses designed for times of winners matching with the rules of the Portuguese Orienteering Federation for the Middle and Long Distance. The courses cover all ages, can be made individually or in groups, and for the less competitive or to take the first steps in Orienteering, the organizations promote a tourist course, putting on the map the major attractions of each of the sites where the event is perform.

Results

Men Senior

1. Maikel Rodriguez (Aromon) 40:16 (+ 00:00)

2. Victor Barreiro (Individual) 40:46 (+ 00:30)

3. Carlos Viana (.COM) 42:17 (+ 02:01)

4. André Rodrigues (Individual) 42:44 (+ 02:28)

5. Sergio Duarte (.COM) 43:04 (+ 02:48)

Women Senior

1. Joana Fernandes (.COM) 41:17 (+ 00:00)

2. Carolina Delgado (GD4C) 42:07 (+ 00:50)

3. Tania Covas Costa (.COM) 43:35 (+ 02:18)

4. Carla Sousa (GD4C) 48:01 (+ 06:44)

5. Albertina Sá (ADFA) 49:27 (+ 08:10)

Complete results and further information at http://www.amigosdamontanha.com/_barcelos_city_race_6.

[Photo: Portugal City Race / facebook.com/cityraceportugal]

Joaquim Margarido