Gydesen wins again, first KO-win for Breivik

The Orienteering World Cup round in Sweden got off to a great and exciting start on Thursday, with Hedvig Valbjørn Gydesen of Denmark and Eirik Langedal Breivik of Norway taking victories under the spring sun in Lidköping.

It was the culmination of a long day in the city, which is located at the southern end of the large lake Vänern and showed its best side already in the morning.

Here there was a qualification race in the eastern end of the city, where the around 250 athletes were faced with challenges right away. A course with a short technical leg to control 1 and then quickly a complicated longer route choice-leg stress-tested the athletes’ navigation skills from the start.

The top 12 in the three qualification heats advanced to the afternoon quarter-finals and the strong World Cup fields meant that several big names did not make it.

In the men’s heats, the Swedish World Championships medalists August Mollén and Jonatan Gustafsson failed to qualify, while the Swiss World Cup winner from Locarno, Tino Polsini, also finished outside the top 12. In the women’s event, the qualification was the final stop for Andrine Benjaminsen of Norway.

Straight Knock-Out Heats
The afternoon’s knock-out rounds were run with a finish in the arena at the central Nya Stadens Torg. All courses were run without forkings, butterflies or runners choice. Many barriers in the streets ensured difficult route choices and challenges in all heats.

And in the evening it was time for the finals, which developed into two very different races.

Breivik’s clever move
First it was the men’s turn and here the World Cup leader, Thomas Heikkilä (FIN) took the lead from the start. It seemed to end as a sprint showdown, but on the leg to the penultimate control Eirik Langedal Breivik took his own route choice, which was faster than the rest of the field. This gave him such a big lead that he could celebrate his victory even before the finish line. That’s his first ever KO Sprint on international level.

Behind him, Joey Hadorn of Switzerland and Guilhem Verove of France were fast on the last legs and took the other positions on the podium. Then came the Finns Heikkilä and Akseli Ruohola, while Anselm Reichenbach of Germany settled for sixth place.

Gydesen repeats win
The women’s final was also nail-biting with several different athletes in the lead. Swiss Simona Aebersold took the lead from the start and the European champion Cécile Calandry of France also looked fast behind her. Around halfway there was an opening for Sanna Fasth of Sweden, who took over the lead, before Aebersold claimed it back a little later. And then the story almost repeated itself from the first World Cup Knock-Out Sprint of the season in Locarno, Switzerland, just over a month ago.

Danish Hedvig Valbjørn Gydesen shot past Aebersold in the last 100 meters with an irresistible sprint and crossed the finish line first, while the Swiss, just like on home soil in April, held on to second place. Karolin Ohlsson of Sweden, who is also known for serving up a strong sprint, came in third. Sanna Fasth was fourth, Pia Young Vik of Norway fifth, while Calandry closed the field in sixth place.

After a well-deserved rest day, the World Cup round in Sweden continues tomorrrow with the individual sprint in Skara.

Results, Knock-Out Sprint Finals

Men
1 Eirik Langedal Breivik, NOR 6:53.5
2 Joey Hadorn, SUI +0:02.1
3 Guilhem Verove, FRA +0:02.2
4 Tuomas Heikkilä, FIN +0:02.8
5 Akseli Ruohola, FIN +0:05.9
6 Anselm Reichenbach, GER +0:08.9

Women
1 Hedvig Valbjørn Gydesen, DEN 7:22.8
2 Simona Aebersold, SUI  +0:00.9
3 Karolin Ohlsson, SWE +0:01.0
4 Sanna Fast, SWE +0:01.9
5 Pia Young Vik, NOR +0:02.6
6 Cécile Calandry, FRA +0:03.0