WOC Long Preview: Who will win the gold?

Thierry Gueorgiou is the big favourite among the men, but in the women’s class it is more open in the WOC long distance which starts at 12:30 CET in Savoie, France today. Can Gueorgiou live up to the expectations he has set for himself? Can the Swedish women continue their success from the sprint – Annika Billstam was very strong this spring…

The long distance is a race for the though men and women – and the orienteering is expected to be a combination of tricky orienteering and easier orienteering – adapting the speed to the orienteering challenges and keeping up the concentration will be important to take home the gold medal today.

Women

• The Swedish women impressed this spring. Annika Billstam did some extraordinary good races this spring – but has she kept her shape? Helena Jansson was also very good this spring, but she might not be 100% back after her injuries in May/June. Emma Claesson took the bronze medal in Trondheim last year – and with gold medalist Simone Niggli and silver medalist Marianne Andersen missing on the startlist, Claesson is the one on the startlist with best result in last years WOC long distance – but is she strong enough in the French terrain? If I should choose one of the Swedes, Annika Billstam would be my choice.
• Signe Søes is a runner which it has not been talked much about, but she has gotten closer and closer to the absolute top the last years. Last year she struggled with injuries, but still did several good international races. This years she has been without injuries since February, and impressed a lot in OOCup in July. The silver medalist from EOC middle in Bulgaria last year said a few weeks ago that she does not have full control in this terrain, but then who has…?
• The Czech women – and especially Dana Brozkova – must be watched closely in this long distance final. Brozkova does always bring out something extra in the World Champs races – so don’t be fooled by the fact that we have not seen the WOC 2008 long distance champion much in the top earlier this season. Eva Jurenikova is also one of the outsiders.
• The Finnish women are also among the favourites. Minna Kauppi has done good qualification races, but is probably not 100% back after the problems this spring. Merja Rantanen is in the outsider group, but not one of the big favourites for gold.
• Two Norwegian women are outsiders to the medals – Tone Wigemyr and Mari Fasting. Wigemyr impressed in the World Cup in France last year – and has also impressed in races in relevant terrain – should take a medal with a good race today.

Men

• The French men impressed in the qualification races – each winning one heat. Thierry Gueorgiou is the big favourite – it will be very difficult to beat Gueorgiou if he has a perfect race – and thus his biggest challenge is to manage the pressure. Philippe Adamski has been very close to Gueorgiou lately – and could be a runner up for gold if  Gueorgiou fails – Adamski will anyway be in the fight for the medals. Francois Gonon is just back after injury problems this spring. It looked like he is nearly back were he was based on his qualification run, but the 4th man from WOC long 2011 is still only the third choice among the French men.
• The Norwegian men won the double last year. The reigning World Champion Olav Lundanes has been very strong in nordic terrain this spring, but not 100% stable in the French terrain although he has done some top races. Anders Nordberg has been more stable and looks very determined – my biggest favourite among the Norwegians although Lundanes could very well be the new World Champion as well. Carl Waaler Kaas and Audun Weltzien are also among the outsiders.
• The Swiss men did not impress that much in the qualification races, but have shown earlier this year that they can master the terrain well. Baptiste Rollier is my biggest favourite among the Swiss men. Daniel Hubmann will also mix in on the fight for the medals, but two sprint races yesterday have probably cost a bit. The last Swiss – Marc Lauenstein – is the dark horse among the Swiss. He did not perform very well in the Swiss selection races, but still qualified for WOC. He says that his shape is good, and that the mix of technical and less technical terrain expected should fit him well.
• To complete the list of outsiders, I also put up the Danish Tue Lassen who has run well in technical terrain – but is it technical enough? Also the Finnish Pasi Ikonen should be on the list.