Alex 14th in WOC MBO Sprint!

Monday, 6 August 2007

First race today.  The sprint.  And it was great to start racing.  After all the training, travelling and race preparation.

The venue for the sprint was a ski (and biathlon) area.  Another stunning venue, perfect for orienteering.  The map, a maze of tracks at 1:5,000 made the best use of the area.

The men had a 6 km course.  Unlike a normal event this race was televised on national Czech tv and they took away the 1 minute to get your map ready.  So as soon as you got your map your time started.  This made for an interesting start.  Fast decisions were essential.

Alex Randall had a great ride only 30 seconds off the podium to place 14th in 16:14 on the tricky terrain.  He arrived at the finish minus a few bits of lung - claimed by the steep uphill sections of the course.  Dave S was out first and also had a great ride to come home in 45th in 18 min flat.  Paul D was next in 18:12 and was also happy with his ride.  Tony made a blue on the first check point but also rode steadily for the rest of the course.

The depth and speed of the race was quite stunning.  The first 50 riders came within 3 minutes of the Dane Tobjorn Grajsberg, who blitzed the course in a little over 15 min, or 24 kmh.  Impressive.

Tomorrow we're ready for the middle distance and looking forward to building on our start today.