Both of the Orienteering World Cup leaders extended their lead in the overall standings on Sunday, as the world’s best orienteers had another tough day in the Czech sandstone terrain.
Another day with rain in the hills of Kokořínsko forest made it even harder to climb and come down the steep slopes.
And there was a lot of climbing to do. Women’s course was 9,4 kilometers and had 720 meters to climb, while the men had to cope with 12,9 kilometers and 990 meters of climbing.
That didn’t seem to bother Tove Alexandersson (SWE), as she won her third race this week in the women’s class.
Alexandersson didn’t have a flawless race, but even though she lost time to control 13, her speed on the rest of the course meant the win was never really in danger.
The only athlete being somewhat close to the Swede was long distance world champion Simona Aebersold (SUI), who was 2.39 minutes slower.
The fight for third place was tough as Sara Hagström beat Natalia Gemperle (SUI) and Lisa Risby (SWE) by just 11 and 18 seconds respectively.
Norwegian Marie Olaussen made another good performance finishing sixth a minute further behind.
Fosser vs. Kyburz
The men’s class turned out to fight between two athletes – Kasper Fosser (NOR) and Matthias Kyburz (SUI).
While Kyburz had the fastest split times for the first hour of the race, he lost time to control 19. A very common mistake today, which ended up deciding the men’s race.
Fosser went straight to that control and had a lead of 1.16 minutes at the finish line.
Gustav Bergman (SWE) was 5 minutes further behind in third place, while home crowd favorite Tomas Krivda (CZE) shared the fourth place with Daniel Hubmann (SUI).
Hubmann was joined by his brother Martin on the podium, as he took sixth place a minute further behind.
Find the GPS-tracking, results and updated World Cup standings at IOF LIVE.
The 2023 Orienteering World Cup will be decided at the European Orienteering Championships in northern Italy in the first week of October.
Top 6 results
Women
1. Tove Alexandersson, Sweden 77:16 minutes
2. Simona Aebersold, Switzerland +2:39
3. Sara Hagstrom, Sweden +9:11
4. Natalia Gemperle, Switzerland +9:22
5. Lisa Risby, Sweden +9:29
6. Marie Olaussen, Norway +10:46
Men
1. Kasper Harlem Fosser, Norway 96:28 minutes
2. Matthias Kyburz, Switzerland +1:16
3. Gustav Bergman, Sweden +6:04
4. Tomas Krivda, Czechia +7:21
4. Daniel Hubmann, Switzerland +7:21
6. Martin Hubmann, Switzerland +8:30
Photos: Petr Kaderavek