It is less than three weeks since the world’s best orienteers returned home from the World Orienteering Championships in Switzerland, but it’s already time to pull on the national team uniform again.
On Wednesday, Round 2 of the 2023 Orienteering World Cup begins in Czechia with more than 300 athletes from 28 nations.
Both sprint and forest specialists will have the opportunity to shine during the races in northern Czechia, as there is a sprint and sprint relay on Wednesday and Thursday respectively, before the World Cup moves to the sandstone forests for a middle and long distance on Saturday and Sunday.
The sprint races are held in Česká Lípa, which features a historic town centre with irregular streets.
Athletes who raced at the Orienteering World Championships 2021 in Czechia will have another chance to prove themselves in the continental sandstone terrain during the weekend.
Both races are held in Kokořínsko forest, where Long and Relay took place nearby two years ago.
After the first World Cup round in Norway in April, Sweden’s Tove Alexandersson and Sara Hagström share the lead in the women’s class with 180 points after they both took a first and a second place in Østfold.
Natalia Gemperle (SUI) holds third place with 100 points and has Marika Teini (FIN), Andrine Benjaminsen (NOR) and Simona Aebersold (SUI) behind her.
Defending World Cup champion Kasper Fosser (NOR) has taken a commanding lead after his two wins on home ground earning 200 points.
Emil Svensk (SWE) and Matthias Kyburz (SUI) has both scored 130 points after Norway, with Gustav Bergman (SWE), Martin Regborn (SWE) and Olli Ojanaho (FIN) on their heels.
See the World Cup standings here.
As always there is good opportunity to follow the races, if you can’t be at the arenas in Czechia.
IOF TV sends all four races with both English and Norwegian commentary.
The Norwegian orienteering audience is accompanied by famous speaker Kjell-Erik Kristiansen, who among many other things handled the speaking during WOC 2019 in Norway.
IOF TV’s experienced commentators Katherine Bett and Jonas Merz will take care of the English stream.
Tickets are 9/30 EUR for one/all races at IOF TV.
The World Cup races are broadcasted by CzTV (Czechia), SVT (Sweden), YLE (Finland) and TV8 Mont Blanc (France) as well.
Start lists, GPS-tracking and live results are available at IOF LIVE.
2023 Orienteering World Cup, Round 2
(All times UTC +2)
Wednesday, 2 August
Sprint
14:10 Est. first start
16:00 – 18.30 TV Broadcast
Thursday, 3 August
Sprint relay
17:00 – 18.30 TV Broadcast
17:15 Start
Saturday, 5 August
Middle
8:32 Est. first start W
10:00 Est. first start M
11:00-15.30 TV Broadcast
Sunday, 6 August
Long
8:35 Est. first start W
8:58 Est. first start M
11:00-15.30 TV Broadcast
World Cup Round 2 homepage–World Cup Round 2 Facebook–World Cup Round 2 Instagram