EMTBOC'15: Moments!

© Joaquim Margarido

EJMTBOC'15 & EYMTBOC'15: Moments!

© Joaquim Margarido

EMTBOC 2015: Moments!

© Joaquim Margarido

Portuguese PreO Championships 2015: Maps and solutions

Joaquim Margarido

Portuguese PreO Championships 2015: Titles for Jorge Baltazar and Ricardo Pinto

Jorge Baltazar and Ricardo Pinto were the big winners of the 3rd Portuguese PreO Championships that took place at Crasto forest, in Viseu. Scoring for the Portuguese TrailO Cup Invacare 2015, the event was a huge success, both for its technical challenge and the quality of the participants.

The beautiful green space of Crasto forest, one of the “lungs” of Viseu, received the Portuguese PreO Championships 2015, for its third edition. Organized by the Clube de Orientação de Viseu - Natura and the Portuguese Orienteering Federation, with the support of the Municipality of Viseu, Parish of Campo - Viseu, Sport and Youth Portuguese Institute and Invacare Portugal, among others, the event called to Viseu the best TrailO athletes in Portugal, offering an extraordinarily competitive journey, where the technical challenge tested the quality of the athletes.

With a course set by Luís Miguel Nobrega, the 3rd Portuguese PreO Championships saw Jorge Baltazar (GDU Azoia) achieved the title, making a total of 17 points within a set of 20 challenges. His long experience in Orienteering, combined with an enormous talent to this special discipline, resulted in a well-ran race and a well-deserved victory. Not without surprise, the second position fell to Ana Porta Nova (CPOC), one point behind the winner. And the result could have been quite different, with the athlete from Oeiras’ team answering wrong to the controls 7 and 11, two challenges where very few have failed. The third ranked was Nuno Pires (Ori-Estarreja), with the same points of Ana Porta Nova but worse performance in the timed controls. Next to leave for Croatia's World Championships, Luís Gonçalves (CPOC) was ranked fourth with 14 points, thanks in part to less achieved decisions already at the final part of his course, with three mistakes in the last four controls.

Team competition and Relay demo

In the Paralympic class, Ricardo Pinto got an expected victory, thus collecting his third gold medal in as many editions of the Portuguese PreO Championships. Despite the good performance, translated in a “score” of 14 points, also the DAHP athlete ended up wasting at least two points, thanks to wrong decisions. Julio Guerra and Cláudio Poiares, both representing DAHP, occupied the immediate positions on the podium, three points behind the winner. Collectively, the DAHP played alone for the national title, aligning with two teams. DAHP 1 - with Ricardo Pinto, Julio Guerra and Jose Leal Laiginha – took the title, succeeding to CRN, winner in 2014.

But the event didn’t finish here, with a demo competition of PreO Relay - an absolute novelty in our country -, included in the program. Offering challenges consisting in a single flag each (called "cluster A" in the jargon of the discipline), the mind-blowing Relay could transpose to the TrailO the thrill inherent to this kind of races, with the mass start, the turnovers and the arrivals, that constitute moments of celebration shared by all. For the story, there are the winners: DAHP (Ricardo Pinto, Julio Guerra and José Leal Laiginha) in the Paralympic class and Ori-Estarreja (Antonio Amador, Nuno Pires and Nuno Rebelo) in the Open Class.

Results

Portuguese PreO Championships 2015

Open Class

1. Jorge Baltazar (GDU Azoia) 17/20 (52 seconds)

2. Ana Porta Nova (CPOC) 16/20 (46 seconds)

3. Nuno Pires (Ori-Estarreja) 16/20 (102 seconds)

4. Luís Gonçalves (CPOC) 14/20 (11,5 seconds)

5. Acácio Porta Nova (CPOC) 14/20 (92 seconds)

6. Cláudio Tereso (ATV) 13/20 (79 seconds)

Paralympic Class

1. Ricardo Pinto (DAHP) 14/20 (97 seconds)

2. Julio Guerra (DAHP) 11/20 (151 seconds)

3. Cláudio Poiares (DAHP) 11/20 (167 seconds)

4. António Amorim (DAHP) 10/20 (99 seconds)

5. José Laiginha Leal (DAHP) 5/20 (102,5 seconds)

6. Ana Paula Marques (DAHP) 5/20 (212,5 seconds)

Team Competition

1. DAHP 1 (Ricardo Pinto, Júlio Guerra, José Laiginha Leal) 30 points (350,5 seconds)

2. DAHP 2 (Cláudio Poiares, António Amorim, Ana Paula Marques) 26 points (478,5 seconds)

Complete results, maps and solutions at http://www.cnpreo2015.coviseu-natura.pt/.

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

WMMTBOC 2015: Four "tugas" on the podium

The Portuguese National Day couldn't be better signed on the second day of the World Masters MTB Orienteering Championships 2015. At Vale das Eiras, in a demanding Middle Distance course, the portuguese athletes creased their presence with four podiums. Regaining the World title achieved in 2013, Carlos Simões deserves a particular mention.

Vale das Eiras, in the municipality of Idanha-a-Nova, was the scenery this morning of the Middle Distance final in the World Masters MTB Orienteering Championships 2015. Lined at start, 161 athletes representing 21 countries fought for the World titles in 15 competition classes. The highlight goes, of course, to the victory of the Portuguese Carlos Simões in the H40 class, over a rival of the caliber of the Danish Lasse Brun Pedersen, a man bearing on his resume “only” four gold medals, two silver and two bronze in Elite World Championships. In the D40 class, Susana Pontes repeated the second place achieved in yesterday's Sprint, again behind the Spanish Monica Aguilera, while Francisco Moura and Luisa Mateus had also climbed on the podium, the first by finishing his race in H60 class in the second position and the second after the third place achieved in D55 class. Still a word for the 4th place of Inácio Seralheiro (H55) and the fifth place of Marco Palhinha (H40), both staying really close to the podium.

Besides Finland and Great Britain, France becames again the most winning team of the day, with two triumphs thanks to the superior performances of Aurelie Villar and Jean-Charles Lalevee, in the D45 and H55 classes, respectively. Of the 41 athletes that climbed to the podium in the opening stage, 23 repeated their presences, highlighting the Spanish Monica Aguilera (D40), the French Aurelie Villar (D45) and Jean-Charles Lalevee (H55), the Australian Carolyn Jackson (D50), the British Charlie Sommers-Cocks (D55), the German Harald Maennel (H60), the Swiss Monika Bonafini (D60), the Danish Birgit Hausner (D65), the New Zealand Yett Gelderman (D70) and the Austrian Herbert Lackner (H75).

At the end of the second day of the World Masters MTB Orienteering Championships 2015, the Board of Medals didn't registered significant movements. For the fourteen countries with a seat in this very special Hall of Fame, only Hungary remained unchanged on the day that Britain moved up two positions, settling in third with three gold medals, five silver and five bronze . France keeps the leadership, with five gold medals, one silver and two bronze medals, followed by Denmark with three gold medals, seven silver and seven bronze. With one gold medal, three silver and one bronze, Portugal occupies the 11th position in the list of the most awarded.

Results

WMMTBOC 2015

M40

1. Carlos Simões (Portugal) 47:22

2. Lasse Brun Pedersen (Denmark) 49:34

3. Simon Seger (Austria) 51:31

W40

1. Monica Aguilera (Spain) 57:59

2. Susana Bridges (Portugal) 1:03:46

3. Angela Imboden (Switzerland) 1:17:31

M45

1. Killian Lomas (Britain) 50:10

2. Beat Oklé (Switzerland) 50:26

3. Andy Conn (Great Britain) 52:02

W45

1. Aurelie Villar (France) 1:00:33

2. Tamsin Barnes (Australia) 1:14:35

3. Konchy Ureña (Spain) 1:25:00

M50

1. Olli Savikko (Finland) 48:44

2. Jose Luis Morcillo Laiz (Spain) 50:59

3. Trévisan Georges (France) 51:03

W50

1. Carolyn Jackson (Australia) 50:15

2. Elizabeth Clayton (Great Britain) 1:02:46

3. Ursula Hausermann (Switzerland) 1:07:56

M55

1. Jean-Charles Lalevee (France) 47:27

2. Allan Topp (Denmark) 55:29

3. Troels Bent Hansen (Denmark) 57:07

W55

1. Charlie Somers-Cocks (Great Britain) 55:19

2. Tove Andersen (Denmark) 1:07:45

3. Luisa Mateus (Portugal) 1:33:17

M60

1. Harald Maennel (Germany) 46:09

2. Francisco Moura (Portugal) 47:38

3. Joergen Nielsen (Denmark) 47:47

W60

1. Monika Bonafini (Switzerland) 43:48

2. Caroline Dallimore (Great Britain) 1:00:16

3. Kay Haarsma (Australia) 1:01:41

M65

1. Heikki Saarinen (Finland) 47:30

2. Walter Rahm (Switzerland) 55:13

3. Esbjorn Andrén (Sweden) 55:45

W65

1. Birgit Hausner (Denmark) 52:36

2. Licia Kalcich (Italy) 58:19

3. Annelise McLassen (Denmark) 1:05:58

M70

1. Ronny Hedlund (Sweden) 50:26

2. Wolf Eberle (Austria) 51:20

3. Seppo Kettunen (Finland) 53:20

W70

1. Yett Gelderman (New Zealand) 1:08:58

M75

1. Herbert Lackner (Austria) 56:44

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

[Photo courtesy of Maria Vieira]

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

WMMTBOC 2015: Gold for Spain, Portugal get the silver

Started today, in an official way, the World Masters MTB Orienteering Championships 2015. Along the streets and sidewalks of Penha Garcia, athletes from 21 countries competed for the world titles in Sprint, showing that the art of biking is for every age. Among the many athletes climbing to the podium, a special word to the Portuguese Susana Pontes, silver medallist in W40 class, and to Monica Aguilera, offering to Spain the first gold medal ever in an event of this level.

Sharing the attentions with this major event which is the European MTB Orienteering Championships 2015, the World Masters 2015 took today its first “serious” competition. For the Sprint race titles at Penha Garcia, in the municipality of Idanha-a-Nova, lined up in the start a total of 146 athletes spread over 15 competition classes, between 40 and 79 years old.

Reviewing the Hall of Fame of this particular competition, we can find here the Danish Lasse Brun Pedersen, World Champion in Sprint (2008 and 2009) or the Swiss Beat Oklé, mainstay of Swiss MTB Orienteering since the first World Championships (Fontainebleau, 2002), as the Finnish Risto Orpana, the British Charlie Somers-Cocks or the German Harald Maennel, constant presences on the highest steps of the podium since the first edition of the World Masters in Gdansk, Poland (2010) .

Monica Aguilera gives historical gold to Spain

Looking to the results, a particular attention to the gold medal won by Monica Aguilera in W40 class, the first of Spain ever in a World MTB Orienteering Championships. In this class, the second place was awarded to the Portuguese Susana Pontes, improving clearly the bronze medal achieved in the previous three editions of the World Masters Championships, all of it in the distance of Sprint. Reference also to the tight victory of Beat Oklé over the British Killian Lomas in M45 class, for just 10 seconds apart while in the opposite direction the “fatest” victory belonged to the Swiss Monika Bonafini, in the W60 class, with a lead of 7:06 over the second classified, the British Caroline Dallimore. A note still for the Australian Carolyn Jackson, World Champion in Sprint for the third year in a row.

At the end of this first day, the Board of Medals of the World Masters MTB Orienteering Championships 2015 shows the presence of 14 countries and a total of 41 medals distributed. France, with three gold medals, one silver and one bronze heads this table, followed by Denmark with two gold medals, four silver and four bronze and Australia and Switzerland, ex-aequo, with two gold medals and one bronze medal each.

Results

WMMTBOC 2015

H40

1. Lasse Brun Pedersen (Denmark) 18:59

2. Peter Reibert Hansen (Denmark) 20:29

3. Andrew Windrum (Great Britain) 21:13

D40

1. Monica Aguilera (Spain) 21:12

2. Susana Pontes (Portugal) 23:32

3. Katja Brunstedt (Denmark) 26:42

H45

1. Beat Oklé (Switzerland) 20:27

2. Killian Lomas (Britain) 20:37

3. Andy Conn (Great Britain) 21:36

D45

1. Aurelie Villar (France) 22:26

2. Erzsébet Penzes (Hungary) 26:19

3. Tamsin Barnes (Australia) 29:07

H50

1. Joël Poirette (France) 20:51

2. Stefan Kilberg (Sweden) 22:01

3. Patric Ostergard (Finland) 22:30

D50

1. Carolyn Jackson (Australia) 19:31

2. Elizabeth Clayton (Great Britain) 21:54

3. Charlotte Bergmann (Denmark) 22:01

H55

1. Jean-Charles Lalevee (France) 19:07

2. Denaix Michel (France) 22:44

3. Laus Seir Hansen (Denmark) 23:41

D55

1. Charlie Somers-Cocks (Great Britain) 18:17

2. Tove Andersen (Denmark) 23:35

3. Marie Mateo (France) 27:29

H60

1. Harald Maennel (Germany) 16:13

2. Joergen Nielsen (Denmark) 17:06

3. Nick Dallimore (Great Britain) 17:21

D60

1. Monika Bonafini (Switzerland) 18:31

2. Caroline Dallimore (Great Britain) 25:37

3. Ing-Marie Andrén (Sweden) 28:35

H65

1. Risto Orpana (Finland) 17:54

2. Keld Johnsen (Denmark) 19:00

3. Walter Rahm (Switzerland) 19:03

D65

1. Birgit Hausner (Denmark) 25:47

2. Licia Kalcich (Italy) 26:38

3. Denise Harper (Great Britain) 28:37

H70

1. Privett Leigh (Australia) 20:30

2. Wolf Eberle (Austria) 21:55

3. Per Allen Pedersen (Denmark) 22:20

D70

1. Yett Gelderman (New Zealand) 41:49

H75

1. Herbert Lackner (Austria) 30:42

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

[Photo: Organization / facebook.com/mtbo15.portugal]

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