WOC Long 2013 Men: The Small Analysis

A very comprehensive analysis has been made of the women’s race in WOC 2013 long distance. This analysis for the men’s race is not as thorough – partly because the route choice challenges worked a lot better in the women’s race than in the men’s race – and partly because there is a lot of GPS-data missing for the men’s race. Still, it should answer most questions you have about the race.

In the men’s race there were smaller differences for the different route choice alternatives than in the women’s race. One reason for this is that men are stronger and therefore can keep higher speed in the terrain compared to on paths/roads. This is knows from many earlier races – women often have more to gain by running around on roads/paths than men – especially in tough and demanding terrain.

Conclusion

Route choices on the long legs did not decide this race

The analysis is long with more details than most of the readers probably care about – therefore an overall conclusion here at the start.

• Route choices on the long legs did not decide this race. The longest leg to control 17 did not split the runners timewise at all – although they chose very different routes. The long leg to control 7 did not split in routes – but still Gueorgiou lost some time.
• Direction mistakes and parallel mistake on the last loop on the other hand was what decided the fight for the medals – Tsvetkov, Bertuks and Hubmann doing mistakes while Gueorgiou and Lakanen kept going strong.
• Thierry Gueorgiou won gold by doing a very stable race – not by having higher speed or better overall flow. Gueorgiou never lost more than 39 seconds on a leg – and that was the very little exciting long leg to control 7 where all took the same route. On the rest of the course time losses where limited to less than 30 seconds to the best split.

Jani Lakanen won silver by running an even more constant race than Gueorgiou

• Jani Lakanen won silver by running an even more constant race than Gueorgiou – steadily loosing some time to Gueorgiou. Just after the arena passing Lakanen was the closest – 19 seconds behind – but from there on an to the finish Gueorgiou slowly crept away – second by second.
• Edgars Bertuks lost the chances for gold due to a few direction mistakes on the last loop (control 24 and control 26 – in total costing more than he was behind in the end). His speed was slightly better than Gueorgiou’s, but he did not manage to execute well enough all the way to the finish.
• Dmitry Tsvetkov also had slightly better speed than Gueorgiou, but lost the medal chances due to a mistake at control 30 (paralell mistake – costing a minute) and a few wrong routechoices on quite short legs on the first loop.

About the analysis

In the analysis below, split times and standings are given for each leg. The runners who finished Top 6 are shown for each leg with red color (Top 3) or dark red color (Place 4-6). Time losses larger than 25 seconds are shown in bold. For each leg the map of the leg without routes is shown first. For legs where there are interesting route choices or other interesting aspects, additional illustrations are included – but not as many illustrations as for the women. Thanks a lot to the course setter Samuli Launiainen for comments and discussions.

Men Long Distance Final: S-1

Men Long Distance Final: S-1 (Legtimes) 1. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 2:52 +0:00 2. Thierry Gueorgiou 2:52 +0:00 3. Anders Holmberg 2:53 +0:01 4. Timo Sild 2:53 +0:01 5. Kalvis Mihailovs 2:55 +0:03 6. Tero Föhr 2:55 +0:03 7. Matthias Merz 2:56 +0:04 8. Andrey Salin 2:57 +0:05 9. Anders Nordberg 2:59 +0:07 10. Fredrik Johansson 2:59 +0:07 11. Jani Lakanen 2:59 +0:07 19. Edgars Bertuks 3:04 +0:12 28. Magne Dæhli 3:07 +0:15

Men Long Distance Final: S-1 (Total times) 1. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 2:52 +0:00 2. Thierry Gueorgiou 2:52 +0:00 3. Anders Holmberg 2:53 +0:01 4. Timo Sild 2:53 +0:01 5. Kalvis Mihailovs 2:55 +0:03 6. Tero Föhr 2:55 +0:03 7. Matthias Merz 2:56 +0:04 8. Andrey Salin 2:57 +0:05 9. Anders Nordberg 2:59 +0:07 10. Fredrik Johansson 2:59 +0:07 11. Jani Lakanen 2:59 +0:07 19. Edgars Bertuks 3:04 +0:12 28. Magne Dæhli 3:07 +0:15

No big differences for the first leg – all favourites have a fairly good start.

Men Long Distance Final: 1-2

Men Long Distance Final: 1-2 (Legtimes) 1. Edgars Bertuks 7:17 +0:00 2. Tue Lassen 7:20 +0:03 3. Anders Holmberg 7:22 +0:05 4. Valentin Novikov 7:24 +0:07 5. Anders Nordberg 7:26 +0:09 6. Thierry Gueorgiou 7:28 +0:11 7. Tero Föhr 7:29 +0:12 8. Matthias Merz 7:32 +0:15 9. Philippe Adamski 7:37 +0:20 10. Daniel Hubmann 7:38 +0:21 15. Magne Dæhli 7:45 +0:28 17. Jani Lakanen 7:50 +0:33 19. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 7:54 +0:37

Men Long Distance Final: 1-2 (Total times) 1. Anders Holmberg 10:15 +0:00 2. Thierry Gueorgiou 10:20 +0:05 3. Tue Lassen 10:20 +0:05 4. Edgars Bertuks 10:21 +0:06 5. Tero Föhr 10:24 +0:09 6. Anders Nordberg 10:25 +0:10 7. Valentin Novikov 10:27 +0:12 8. Matthias Merz 10:28 +0:13 9. Kalvis Mihailovs 10:37 +0:22 10. Jan Sedivy 10:40 +0:25 14. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 10:46 +0:31 15. Jani Lakanen 10:49 +0:34 19. Magne Dæhli 10:52 +0:37

The long leg to the second control gives problems to some runners – Lakanen, Tsvetskov and Dæhlie all loosing between 28 and 37 seconds. Lakanen generally has a slow start – loosing nearly half a minute both to control 2 and control 3 – being nearly a minute behind Bertuks at control 3. The comparison below shows Lakanen’s race compared to Bertuks up to control 5 (click for larger image).

Gueorgiou also looses some time on the long leg to control 2 and to control 3 – but is faster to the next controls and builds up a small lead at control 6 (click for large image).

Men Long Distance Final: 2-3

Men Long Distance Final: 2-3 (Legtimes) 1. Edgars Bertuks 3:01 +0:00 2. Fredrik Johansson 3:09 +0:08 3. Daniel Hubmann 3:13 +0:12 4. Timo Sild 3:15 +0:14 5. Tero Föhr 3:19 +0:18 6. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 3:19 +0:18 7. Thierry Gueorgiou 3:22 +0:21 8. Tue Lassen 3:22 +0:21 9. Anders Holmberg 3:23 +0:22 10. Valentin Novikov 3:23 +0:22 13. Jani Lakanen 3:28 +0:27 16. Matthias Merz 3:32 +0:31 18. Magne Dæhli 3:34 +0:33

Men Long Distance Final: 2-3 (Total times) 1. Edgars Bertuks 13:22 +0:00 2. Anders Holmberg 13:38 +0:16 3. Thierry Gueorgiou 13:42 +0:20 4. Tue Lassen 13:42 +0:20 5. Tero Föhr 13:43 +0:21 6. Valentin Novikov 13:50 +0:28 7. Daniel Hubmann 13:55 +0:33 8. Anders Nordberg 13:57 +0:35 9. Matthias Merz 14:00 +0:38 10. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 14:05 +0:43 14. Jani Lakanen 14:17 +0:55 17. Magne Dæhli 14:26 +1:04

Men Long Distance Final: 3-4

Men Long Distance Final: 3-4 (Legtimes) 1. Thierry Gueorgiou 3:15 +0:00 2. Fredrik Johansson 3:17 +0:02 3. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 3:21 +0:06 4. Timo Sild 3:23 +0:08 5. Jani Lakanen 3:24 +0:09 6. Yury Tambasov 3:24 +0:09 7. Philippe Adamski 3:25 +0:10 8. Hans Gunnar Omdal 3:26 +0:11 9. Stepan Kodeda 3:26 +0:11 10. Andrey Salin 3:26 +0:11 11. Edgars Bertuks 3:27 +0:12 25. Magne Dæhli 3:37 +0:22 32. Matthias Merz 3:46 +0:31

Men Long Distance Final: 3-4 (Total times) 1. Edgars Bertuks 16:49 +0:00 2. Thierry Gueorgiou 16:57 +0:08 3. Tero Föhr 17:14 +0:25 4. Anders Holmberg 17:15 +0:26 5. Tue Lassen 17:16 +0:27 6. Valentin Novikov 17:24 +0:35 7. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 17:26 +0:37 8. Timo Sild 17:28 +0:39 9. Daniel Hubmann 17:30 +0:41 10. Anders Nordberg 17:33 +0:44 12. Jani Lakanen 17:41 +0:52 14. Matthias Merz 17:46 +0:57 18. Magne Dæhli 18:03 +1:14

Men Long Distance Final: 4-5

Men Long Distance Final: 4-5 (Legtimes) 1. Daniel Hubmann 1:05 +0:00 2. Tero Föhr 1:06 +0:01 3. Valentin Novikov 1:06 +0:01 4. Jani Lakanen 1:06 +0:01 5. Magne Dæhli 1:06 +0:01 6. Simonas Krepšta 1:06 +0:01 7. Yury Tambasov 1:06 +0:01 8. Artem Panchenko 1:07 +0:02 9. Jan Sedivy 1:07 +0:02 10. Hans Gunnar Omdal 1:07 +0:02 18. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 1:09 +0:04 33. Thierry Gueorgiou 1:14 +0:09 40. Matthias Merz 1:17 +0:12 44. Edgars Bertuks 1:30 +0:25

Men Long Distance Final: 4-5 (Total times) 1. Thierry Gueorgiou 18:11 +0:00 2. Edgars Bertuks 18:19 +0:08 3. Tero Föhr 18:20 +0:09 4. Tue Lassen 18:25 +0:14 5. Valentin Novikov 18:30 +0:19 6. Anders Holmberg 18:31 +0:20 7. Daniel Hubmann 18:35 +0:24 8. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 18:35 +0:24 9. Timo Sild 18:38 +0:27 10. Anders Nordberg 18:43 +0:32 11. Jani Lakanen 18:47 +0:36 15. Matthias Merz 19:03 +0:52 17. Magne Dæhli 19:09 +0:58

Men Long Distance Final: 5-6

Men Long Distance Final: 5-6 (Legtimes) 1. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 3:28 +0:00 2. Valentin Novikov 3:31 +0:03 3. Thierry Gueorgiou 3:32 +0:04 4. Jani Lakanen 3:36 +0:08 5. Timo Sild 3:37 +0:09 6. Matthias Merz 3:37 +0:09 7. Tue Lassen 3:40 +0:12 8. Edgars Bertuks 3:42 +0:14 9. Anders Holmberg 3:42 +0:14 10. Daniel Hubmann 3:42 +0:14 21. Magne Dæhli 3:51 +0:23

Men Long Distance Final: 5-6 (Total times) 1. Thierry Gueorgiou 21:43 +0:00 2. Edgars Bertuks 22:01 +0:18 3. Valentin Novikov 22:01 +0:18 4. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 22:03 +0:20 5. Tero Föhr 22:05 +0:22 6. Tue Lassen 22:05 +0:22 7. Anders Holmberg 22:13 +0:30 8. Timo Sild 22:15 +0:32 9. Daniel Hubmann 22:17 +0:34 10. Jani Lakanen 22:23 +0:40 14. Matthias Merz 22:40 +0:57 18. Magne Dæhli 23:00 +1:17

Men Long Distance Final: 6-7

Men Long Distance Final: 6-7 (Legtimes) 1. Edgars Bertuks 10:51 +0:00 2. Matthias Merz 10:58 +0:07 3. Jani Lakanen 11:04 +0:13 4. Kiril Nikolov 11:05 +0:14 5. Fredrik Johansson 11:06 +0:15 6. Daniel Hubmann 11:08 +0:17 7. Sören Lösch 11:08 +0:17 8. Tue Lassen 11:10 +0:19 9. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 11:12 +0:21 10. Yury Tambasov 11:13 +0:22 18. Thierry Gueorgiou 11:30 +0:39 23. Magne Dæhli 11:43 +0:52

Men Long Distance Final: 6-7 (Total times) 1. Edgars Bertuks 32:52 +0:00 2. Thierry Gueorgiou 33:13 +0:21 3. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 33:15 +0:23 4. Tue Lassen 33:15 +0:23 5. Daniel Hubmann 33:25 +0:33 6. Jani Lakanen 33:27 +0:35 7. Anders Holmberg 33:30 +0:38 8. Timo Sild 33:32 +0:40 9. Valentin Novikov 33:35 +0:43 10. Matthias Merz 33:38 +0:46 17. Magne Dæhli 34:43 +1:51

– This was a leg which did not work as intended, the course setter commented about the long leg from 6 to 7. Nearly all runners took the path to the left. The course setter had hoped for more runners taking the direct/slightly right options which nobody took except for Simo-Pekka Fincke – but Fincke did not execute the leg well, being too long in the marsh – too close to the line.

– During our test races we found that it was slightly faster going direct, the course setter comments. He thinks the reason for nobody choosing this option is that the long leg on the qualification showed the runners that they should keep away from the marshes, as they were quite slow. – This leg failed, the course setter says.

90% of the runners for which there is GPS-data available choose to take the path to the left (Bertuks route in the illustration below – Bertuks is fastest on this leg with 10:51). Only one runner choose each of the other options. Note that the splits on the illustration are GPS-times which are off with a few seconds.

Even if this leg did not have the intended route choice options, it did spread the field. Gueorgiou looses 39 seconds to Bertuks after taking the same route choice. Dæhlie looses 52 seconds. GPS-data for Gueorgiou and Dæhlie are unfortunately not available.

Here Bertuks takes over the lead again – Tsvetkov is up in third.

Men Long Distance Final: 7-8

Men Long Distance Final: 7-8 (Legtimes) 1. Andrey Salin 0:52 +0:00 2. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 0:54 +0:02 3. Thierry Gueorgiou 0:55 +0:03 4. Daniel Hubmann 0:55 +0:03 5. Philippe Adamski 0:55 +0:03 6. Baptiste Rollier 0:55 +0:03 7. Leonid Novikov 0:55 +0:03 8. Sören Lösch 0:55 +0:03 9. Artem Panchenko 0:56 +0:04 10. Yury Tambasov 0:56 +0:04 11. Edgars Bertuks 0:58 +0:06 20. Jani Lakanen 1:00 +0:08 22. Magne Dæhli 1:00 +0:08 26. Matthias Merz 1:03 +0:11

Men Long Distance Final: 7-8 (Total times) 1. Edgars Bertuks 33:50 +0:00 2. Thierry Gueorgiou 34:08 +0:18 3. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 34:09 +0:19 4. Tue Lassen 34:14 +0:24 5. Daniel Hubmann 34:20 +0:30 6. Jani Lakanen 34:27 +0:37 7. Anders Holmberg 34:28 +0:38 8. Timo Sild 34:32 +0:42 9. Valentin Novikov 34:34 +0:44 10. Matthias Merz 34:41 +0:51 19. Magne Dæhli 35:43 +1:53

Men Long Distance Final: 8-9

Men Long Distance Final: 8-9 (Legtimes) 1. Thierry Gueorgiou 2:58 +0:00 2. Edgars Bertuks 3:02 +0:04 3. Valentin Novikov 3:03 +0:05 4. Tue Lassen 3:06 +0:08 5. Daniel Hubmann 3:08 +0:10 6. Simonas Krepšta 3:08 +0:10 7. Jani Lakanen 3:11 +0:13 8. Tero Föhr 3:12 +0:14 9. Stepan Kodeda 3:13 +0:15 10. Matthias Merz 3:14 +0:16 18. Magne Dæhli 3:20 +0:22 36. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 3:43 +0:45

Men Long Distance Final: 8-9 (Total times) 1. Edgars Bertuks 36:52 +0:00 2. Thierry Gueorgiou 37:06 +0:14 3. Tue Lassen 37:20 +0:28 4. Daniel Hubmann 37:28 +0:36 5. Valentin Novikov 37:37 +0:45 6. Jani Lakanen 37:38 +0:46 7. Anders Holmberg 37:51 +0:59 8. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 37:52 +1:00 9. Matthias Merz 37:55 +1:03 10. Timo Sild 38:04 +1:12 18. Magne Dæhli 39:03 +2:11

The leg from 8-9 cost Tsvetkov 45 seconds – running too much in the green and getting unsecure towards the control. Tsvetkov was surprised to have lost that much on this leg – at this point in the race Tsvetkov is all the way down in 8th place – 1:00 behind Bertuks who is in the lead.

Men Long Distance Final: 9-10

Men Long Distance Final: 9-10 (Legtimes) 1. Thierry Gueorgiou 0:49 +0:00 2. Valentin Novikov 0:51 +0:02 3. Jani Lakanen 0:51 +0:02 4. Anders Nordberg 0:51 +0:02 5. Tero Föhr 0:51 +0:02 6. Daniel Hubmann 0:52 +0:03 7. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 0:52 +0:03 8. Mateusz Wenslaw 0:52 +0:03 9. Magne Dæhli 0:53 +0:04 10. Edgars Bertuks 0:54 +0:05 15. Matthias Merz 0:56 +0:07

Men Long Distance Final: 9-10 (Total times) 1. Edgars Bertuks 37:46 +0:00 2. Thierry Gueorgiou 37:55 +0:09 3. Daniel Hubmann 38:20 +0:34 4. Tue Lassen 38:20 +0:34 5. Valentin Novikov 38:28 +0:42 6. Jani Lakanen 38:29 +0:43 7. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 38:44 +0:58 8. Anders Holmberg 38:51 +1:05 9. Matthias Merz 38:51 +1:05 10. Timo Sild 39:10 +1:24 17. Magne Dæhli 39:56 +2:10

Men Long Distance Final: 10-11

Men Long Distance Final: 10-11 (Legtimes) 1. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 3:47 +0:00 2. Philippe Adamski 3:48 +0:01 3. Tiago Aires 3:48 +0:01 4. Kiril Nikolov 3:49 +0:02 5. Magne Dæhli 3:52 +0:05 6. Sören Lösch 3:52 +0:05 7. Thierry Gueorgiou 3:54 +0:07 8. Tue Lassen 3:54 +0:07 9. Simonas Krepšta 3:55 +0:08 10. Matthias Merz 3:56 +0:09 13. Jani Lakanen 3:57 +0:10 17. Edgars Bertuks 4:00 +0:13

Men Long Distance Final: 10-11 (Total times) 1. Edgars Bertuks 41:46 +0:00 2. Thierry Gueorgiou 41:49 +0:03 3. Tue Lassen 42:14 +0:28 4. Jani Lakanen 42:26 +0:40 5. Daniel Hubmann 42:28 +0:42 6. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 42:31 +0:45 7. Matthias Merz 42:47 +1:01 8. Anders Holmberg 42:51 +1:05 9. Timo Sild 43:06 +1:20 10. Philippe Adamski 43:12 +1:26 13. Magne Dæhli 43:48 +2:02

Men Long Distance Final: 11-12

Men Long Distance Final: 11-12 (Legtimes) 1. Thierry Gueorgiou 3:01 +0:00 2. Daniel Hubmann 3:09 +0:08 3. Jani Lakanen 3:12 +0:11 4. Simonas Krepšta 3:12 +0:11 5. Magne Dæhli 3:13 +0:12 6. Fredrik Johansson 3:13 +0:12 7. Stepan Kodeda 3:15 +0:14 8. Edgars Bertuks 3:16 +0:15 9. Tue Lassen 3:16 +0:15 10. Kiril Nikolov 3:16 +0:15 24. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 3:31 +0:30 32. Matthias Merz 3:40 +0:39

Men Long Distance Final: 11-12 (Total times) 1. Thierry Gueorgiou 44:50 +0:00 2. Edgars Bertuks 45:02 +0:12 3. Tue Lassen 45:30 +0:40 4. Daniel Hubmann 45:37 +0:47 5. Jani Lakanen 45:38 +0:48 6. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 46:02 +1:12 7. Anders Holmberg 46:11 +1:21 8. Matthias Merz 46:27 +1:37 9. Timo Sild 46:44 +1:54 10. Kiril Nikolov 46:45 +1:55 13. Magne Dæhli 47:01 +2:11

11-12 is a short and interesting route choice leg with three different choices. Tsvetkov and Merz choose the wrong option (left around the lake), and loose 30-40 seconds. Gueorgiou executes the leg very well – following as close to the line as possible along the lake – and wins the leg with 8 seconds.

The first illustration below shows all routes chosen colored by time. The fast are colored green and the slow red. It is clearly seen how the most direct route along the lake is fastest – the one to the north of the lake is slowest, and that all the other more southern/western variants are slower. Taking the road/path around is the second fastest option.

This second illustration compares Bertuks with Tsvetkov.

Men Long Distance Final: 12-13

Men Long Distance Final: 12-13 (Legtimes) 1. Fredrik Johansson 1:08 +0:00 2. Tue Lassen 1:09 +0:01 3. Simonas Krepšta 1:09 +0:01 4. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 1:10 +0:02 5. Anders Nordberg 1:10 +0:02 6. Ralph Street 1:10 +0:02 7. Anders Holmberg 1:11 +0:03 8. Thierry Gueorgiou 1:13 +0:05 9. Jan Petrzela 1:14 +0:06 10. Matthias Merz 1:15 +0:07 17. Jani Lakanen 1:17 +0:09 20. Edgars Bertuks 1:19 +0:11 33. Magne Dæhli 1:26 +0:18

Men Long Distance Final: 12-13 (Total times) 1. Thierry Gueorgiou 46:03 +0:00 2. Edgars Bertuks 46:21 +0:18 3. Tue Lassen 46:39 +0:36 4. Jani Lakanen 46:55 +0:52 5. Daniel Hubmann 46:59 +0:56 6. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 47:12 +1:09 7. Anders Holmberg 47:22 +1:19 8. Matthias Merz 47:42 +1:39 9. Kiril Nikolov 48:06 +2:03 10. Timo Sild 48:08 +2:05 13. Magne Dæhli 48:27 +2:24

Men Long Distance Final: 13-14

Men Long Distance Final: 13-14 (Legtimes) 1. Daniel Hubmann 4:02 +0:00 2. Valentin Novikov 4:09 +0:07 3. Magne Dæhli 4:10 +0:08 4. Jani Lakanen 4:11 +0:09 5. Edgars Bertuks 4:13 +0:11 6. Kiril Nikolov 4:15 +0:13 7. Timo Sild 4:15 +0:13 8. Jan Petrzela 4:15 +0:13 9. Hans Gunnar Omdal 4:15 +0:13 10. Fredrik Johansson 4:17 +0:15 13. Thierry Gueorgiou 4:19 +0:17 14. Matthias Merz 4:21 +0:19 19. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 4:24 +0:22

Men Long Distance Final: 13-14 (Total times) 1. Thierry Gueorgiou 50:22 +0:00 2. Edgars Bertuks 50:34 +0:12 3. Daniel Hubmann 51:01 +0:39 4. Jani Lakanen 51:06 +0:44 5. Tue Lassen 51:10 +0:48 6. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 51:36 +1:14 7. Anders Holmberg 51:50 +1:28 8. Matthias Merz 52:03 +1:41 9. Kiril Nikolov 52:21 +1:59 10. Timo Sild 52:23 +2:01 13. Magne Dæhli 52:37 +2:15

Another short route choice leg were some top runners loose time:  Gueorgiou looses 17 seconds and Tsvetkov 22 seconds on the best time of Daniel Hubmann. Going direct seems to be 10-12 seconds faster – but also more risky. This might very well be risk reduction by Gueorgiou & Co.

This leg takes Daniel Hubmann into top three – 39 seconds behind Gueorgiou.

Men Long Distance Final: 14-15

Men Long Distance Final: 14-15 (Legtimes) 1. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 2:41 +0:00 2. Matthias Merz 2:48 +0:07 3. Fredrik Johansson 2:48 +0:07 4. Tero Föhr 2:49 +0:08 5. Thierry Gueorgiou 2:50 +0:09 6. Simo-Pekka Fincke 2:52 +0:11 7. Jani Lakanen 2:53 +0:12 8. Yury Tambasov 2:53 +0:12 9. Edgars Bertuks 2:54 +0:13 10. Sören Lösch 2:54 +0:13 15. Magne Dæhli 2:58 +0:17

Men Long Distance Final: 14-15 (Total times) 1. Thierry Gueorgiou 53:12 +0:00 2. Edgars Bertuks 53:28 +0:16 3. Daniel Hubmann 53:56 +0:44 4. Jani Lakanen 53:59 +0:47 5. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 54:17 +1:05 6. Tue Lassen 54:18 +1:06 7. Matthias Merz 54:51 +1:39 8. Anders Holmberg 54:56 +1:44 9. Kiril Nikolov 55:19 +2:07 10. Timo Sild 55:29 +2:17 13. Magne Dæhli 55:35 +2:23

Men Long Distance Final: 15-16

Men Long Distance Final: 15-16 (Legtimes) 1. Thierry Gueorgiou 1:00 +0:00 2. Jan Sedivy 1:02 +0:02 3. Edgars Bertuks 1:03 +0:03 4. Daniel Hubmann 1:03 +0:03 5. Simo-Pekka Fincke 1:03 +0:03 6. Matthias Merz 1:06 +0:06 7. Anders Holmberg 1:06 +0:06 8. Baptiste Rollier 1:06 +0:06 9. Sören Lösch 1:06 +0:06 10. Hans Gunnar Omdal 1:06 +0:06 12. Jani Lakanen 1:07 +0:07 13. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 1:07 +0:07 43. Magne Dæhli 1:22 +0:22

Men Long Distance Final: 15-16 (Total times) 1. Thierry Gueorgiou 54:12 +0:00 2. Edgars Bertuks 54:31 +0:19 3. Daniel Hubmann 54:59 +0:47 4. Jani Lakanen 55:06 +0:54 5. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 55:24 +1:12 6. Tue Lassen 55:25 +1:13 7. Matthias Merz 55:57 +1:45 8. Anders Holmberg 56:02 +1:50 9. Kiril Nikolov 56:31 +2:19 10. Timo Sild 56:36 +2:24 14. Magne Dæhli 56:57 +2:45

Men Long Distance Final: 16-17

Men Long Distance Final: 16-17 (Legtimes) 1. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 11:21 +0:00 2. Kiril Nikolov 11:23 +0:02 3. Edgars Bertuks 11:27 +0:06 4. Jani Lakanen 11:27 +0:06 5. Valentin Novikov 11:29 +0:08 6. Thierry Gueorgiou 11:32 +0:11 7. Magne Dæhli 11:41 +0:20 8. Hans Gunnar Omdal 11:52 +0:31 9. Daniel Hubmann 12:13 +0:52 10. Peeter Pihl 12:14 +0:53 16. Matthias Merz 12:18 +0:57

Men Long Distance Final: 16-17 (Total times) 1. Thierry Gueorgiou 65:44 +0:00 2. Edgars Bertuks 65:58 +0:14 3. Jani Lakanen 66:33 +0:49 4. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 66:45 +1:01 5. Daniel Hubmann 67:12 +1:28 6. Tue Lassen 67:40 +1:56 7. Kiril Nikolov 67:54 +2:10 8. Valentin Novikov 68:09 +2:25 9. Matthias Merz 68:15 +2:31 10. Magne Dæhli 68:38 +2:54

16-17 is the longest leg in the men’s course – nearly equal to the women’s leg. In the women’s race the corresponding leg proved to be very decisive, giving big time differences. In the mens race the direct and left road option are very equal. While there are six men within 11 seconds, there was nearly 1:40 between the first six women on the corresponding leg.

Jani Lakanen runs the road to the left – Bertuks direct – and they have both exactly the same time. Tsvetkov is the fastest on the leg – executing the direct option very well. Gueorgiou also runs direct – loosing 11 seconds to Tsvetkov.

– I considered taking the road – and would maybe have done it if it had meant that I could read more ahead in the course, but this was just before the map exchange, Tsvetkov comments about his route choice.  The map exchange was after control 18.

Merz looses nearly a minute on this leg taking the direct option. With 12:18 he is only 27 seconds faster than Eliasson on the very similar leg for the women.

GPS data is lacking for many runners on this leg, and thus no good analysis can be performed – please take a look at the women’s data.

Men Long Distance Final: 17-18

Men Long Distance Final: 17-18 (Legtimes) 1. Jani Lakanen 1:59 +0:00 2. Artem Panchenko 2:01 +0:02 3. Magne Dæhli 2:04 +0:05 4. Daniel Hubmann 2:08 +0:09 5. Anders Holmberg 2:08 +0:09 6. Anders Nordberg 2:08 +0:09 7. Aleksei Alekseyonok 2:08 +0:09 8. Markus Lang 2:10 +0:11 9. Leonid Novikov 2:11 +0:12 10. Tiago Aires 2:11 +0:12 21. Edgars Bertuks 2:24 +0:25 22. Thierry Gueorgiou 2:25 +0:26 37. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 2:33 +0:34 40. Matthias Merz 2:37 +0:38

Men Long Distance Final: 17-18 (Total times) 1. Thierry Gueorgiou 68:09 +0:00 2. Edgars Bertuks 68:22 +0:13 3. Jani Lakanen 68:32 +0:23 4. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 69:18 +1:09 5. Daniel Hubmann 69:20 +1:11 6. Tue Lassen 70:16 +2:07 7. Kiril Nikolov 70:21 +2:12 8. Valentin Novikov 70:23 +2:14 9. Magne Dæhli 70:42 +2:33 10. Matthias Merz 70:52 +2:43

Just as for the women, the control before the map exchange proves to give many runners problems. While we had most of the favourites within 11 seconds – Bertuks, Gueorgiou, Tsvetkov and Merz all loose 25 seconds or more on this short leg. GPS-data is lacking on this leg (probably due to the closeness to the arena with all the mobile phones), but it seems probable that the reason for the time loss is similar to the women’s class: Taking the southern path into the control was significantly faster than going direct.

At the map exchange there is only 23 seconds between the three first – Gueorgiou being in the lead 13 seconds ahead of Bertuks and another 11 seconds ahead of Lakanen. The gap down to Tsvetkov in 4th is 1:09 and Hubmann in 4th at 1:11 is also in the fight for medals.

Men Long Distance Final: 18-19

Men Long Distance Final: 18-19 (Legtimes) 1. Magne Dæhli 4:19 +0:00 2. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 4:23 +0:04 3. Jani Lakanen 4:25 +0:06 4. Simo-Pekka Fincke 4:26 +0:07 5. Thierry Gueorgiou 4:29 +0:10 6. Daniel Hubmann 4:29 +0:10 7. Yury Tambasov 4:29 +0:10 8. Edgars Bertuks 4:30 +0:11 9. Anders Holmberg 4:30 +0:11 10. Tero Föhr 4:33 +0:14 15. Matthias Merz 4:36 +0:17

Men Long Distance Final: 18-19 (Total times) 1. Thierry Gueorgiou 72:38 +0:00 2. Edgars Bertuks 72:52 +0:14 3. Jani Lakanen 72:57 +0:19 4. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 73:41 +1:03 5. Daniel Hubmann 73:49 +1:11 6. Kiril Nikolov 74:57 +2:19 7. Tue Lassen 74:59 +2:21 8. Magne Dæhli 75:01 +2:23 9. Valentin Novikov 75:05 +2:27 10. Matthias Merz 75:28 +2:50

Men Long Distance Final: 19-20

Men Long Distance Final: 19-20 (Legtimes) 1. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 0:50 +0:00 2. Thierry Gueorgiou 0:52 +0:02 3. Tue Lassen 0:53 +0:03 4. Simonas Krepšta 0:53 +0:03 5. Simo-Pekka Fincke 0:53 +0:03 6. Daniel Hubmann 0:54 +0:04 7. Magne Dæhli 0:54 +0:04 8. Matthias Merz 0:54 +0:04 9. Anders Holmberg 0:54 +0:04 10. Yury Tambasov 0:54 +0:04 11. Edgars Bertuks 0:55 +0:05 15. Jani Lakanen 0:56 +0:06

Men Long Distance Final: 19-20 (Total times) 1. Thierry Gueorgiou 73:30 +0:00 2. Edgars Bertuks 73:47 +0:17 3. Jani Lakanen 73:53 +0:23 4. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 74:31 +1:01 5. Daniel Hubmann 74:43 +1:13 6. Tue Lassen 75:52 +2:22 7. Kiril Nikolov 75:55 +2:25 8. Magne Dæhli 75:55 +2:25 9. Valentin Novikov 76:04 +2:34 10. Matthias Merz 76:22 +2:52

Men Long Distance Final: 20-21

In the butterfly the total times are no longer correct, so please diregard them. See the graphical split representation at the bottom of the page for a real comparison of the standing.

Men Long Distance Final: 20-21 (Legtimes) 1. Stepan Kodeda 1:05 +0:00 2. Simo-Pekka Fincke 1:06 +0:01 (to #31) 3. Matthias Merz 1:07 +0:02 4. Edgars Bertuks 1:07 +0:02 (to #31) 5. Simonas Krepšta 1:08 +0:03 (to #31) 6. Yury Tambasov 1:08 +0:03 (to #31) 7. Thierry Gueorgiou 1:09 +0:04 8. Jani Lakanen 1:09 +0:04 9. Magne Dæhli 1:09 +0:04 10. Fredrik Johansson 1:09 +0:04 12. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 1:10 +0:05 (to #31)

Men Long Distance Final: 20-21 (Total times) 1. Thierry Gueorgiou 74:39 +0:00 2. Jani Lakanen 75:02 +0:23 3. Daniel Hubmann 75:58 +1:19 4. Tue Lassen 77:03 +2:24 5. Magne Dæhli 77:04 +2:25 6. Matthias Merz 77:29 +2:50 7. Kiril Nikolov 78:07 +3:28 8. Fredrik Johansson 78:17 +3:38 9. Tero Föhr 78:52 +4:13 10. Anders Nordberg 78:58 +4:19 24. Edgars Bertuks 97:56 +23:17* 25. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 98:06 +23:27*

Men Long Distance Final: 21-22

Men Long Distance Final: 21-22 (Legtimes) 1. Magne Dæhli 0:51 +0:00 2. Daniel Hubmann 0:52 +0:01 3. Edgars Bertuks 0:52 +0:01 (to #29) 4. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 0:52 +0:01 (to #29) 5. Thierry Gueorgiou 0:53 +0:02 6. Matthias Merz 0:53 +0:02 7. Fredrik Johansson 0:53 +0:02 8. Jani Lakanen 0:54 +0:03 9. Kiril Nikolov 0:54 +0:03 10. Hans Gunnar Omdal 0:54 +0:03

Men Long Distance Final: 21-22 (Total times) 1. Thierry Gueorgiou 75:32 +0:00 2. Jani Lakanen 75:56 +0:24 3. Daniel Hubmann 76:50 +1:18 4. Magne Dæhli 77:55 +2:23 5. Tue Lassen 78:04 +2:32 6. Matthias Merz 78:22 +2:50 7. Kiril Nikolov 79:01 +3:29 8. Fredrik Johansson 79:10 +3:38 9. Tero Föhr 79:47 +4:15 10. Anders Nordberg 79:55 +4:23 24. Edgars Bertuks 96:15 +20:43* 25. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 96:25 +20:53*

Men Long Distance Final: 22-23

Men Long Distance Final: 22-23 (Legtimes) 1. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 0:31 +0:00 2. Daniel Hubmann 0:33 +0:02 3. Magne Dæhli 0:33 +0:02 4. Hans Gunnar Omdal 0:33 +0:02 5. Simo-Pekka Fincke 0:33 +0:02 (to #30) 6. Jani Lakanen 0:34 +0:03 7. Edgars Bertuks 0:34 +0:03 (to #30) 8. Thierry Gueorgiou 0:35 +0:04 9. Tue Lassen 0:35 +0:04 10. Matthias Merz 0:35 +0:04

Men Long Distance Final: 22-23 (Total times) 1. Thierry Gueorgiou 76:07 +0:00 2. Jani Lakanen 76:30 +0:23 3. Daniel Hubmann 77:23 +1:16 4. Magne Dæhli 78:28 +2:21 5. Tue Lassen 78:39 +2:32 6. Matthias Merz 78:57 +2:50 7. Kiril Nikolov 79:36 +3:29 8. Fredrik Johansson 79:45 +3:38 9. Tero Föhr 80:23 +4:16 10. Anders Nordberg 80:31 +4:24 24. Edgars Bertuks 96:49 +20:42* 25. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 96:56 +20:49*

Men Long Distance Final: 23-24

Men Long Distance Final: 23-24 (Legtimes) 1. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 3:44 +0:00 2. Matthias Merz 3:44 +0:00 3. Thierry Gueorgiou 3:48 +0:04 4. Anders Holmberg 3:58 +0:14 (to #21) 5. Stepan Kodeda 4:04 +0:20 (to #21) 6. Jani Lakanen 4:05 +0:21 7. Tue Lassen 4:08 +0:24 8. Philippe Adamski 4:11 +0:27 (to #21) 9. Valentin Novikov 4:12 +0:28 (to #21) 10. Jan Sedivy 4:12 +0:28 11. Magne Dæhli 4:16 +0:32 39. Edgars Bertuks 5:18 +1:34 (to #21)

Men Long Distance Final: 23-24 (Total times) 1. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 78:15 +0:00 2. Edgars Bertuks 79:05 +0:50 3. Thierry Gueorgiou 79:55 +1:40* 4. Valentin Novikov 80:16 +2:01 5. Jani Lakanen 80:35 +2:20* 6. Anders Holmberg 80:44 +2:29 7. Philippe Adamski 81:12 +2:57 8. Daniel Hubmann 82:06 +3:51* 9. Simonas Krepšta 82:16 +4:01 10. Timo Sild 82:16 +4:01 12. Matthias Merz 82:41 +4:26* 13. Magne Dæhli 82:44 +4:29*

Bertuks makes his fatal mistake at control 24 – loosing 90 seconds to Gueorgiou (see illustration below) – the 13 second gap increasing to a gap of 1:43. Bertuks first does a direction mistake, and then does a follow-on mistake when trying to relocate to find the control.

– I think I did a good pace until the end. I don’t think it was about the running speed, it was about the orienteering, Bertuks commented after the race.

Tsvetkov on the other hand has a very good leg – suddenly even getting into the fight for gold. With his 3:44 on this leg Tsvetkov is 50 seconds ahead of Bertuks – only 13 seconds behind Lakanen in second and 53 seconds behind the leader Gueorgiou.

Daniel Hubmann also misses control 24 – loosing 59 seconds here (and 38 seconds on control 25). This sends Hubmann from a 4th place 1:16 behind Gueorgiou and out of the medal fight.

Men Long Distance Final: 24-25

Men Long Distance Final: 24-25 (Legtimes) 1. Tue Lassen 1:30 +0:00 2. Anders Nordberg 1:31 +0:01 3. Edgars Bertuks 1:32 +0:02 (to #22) 4. Tero Föhr 1:33 +0:03 5. Thierry Gueorgiou 1:34 +0:04 6. Anders Holmberg 1:34 +0:04 (to #22) 7. Magne Dæhli 1:34 +0:04 8. Matthias Merz 1:35 +0:05 9. Zsolt Lenkei 1:39 +0:09 (to #22) 10. Hans Gunnar Omdal 1:39 +0:09 12. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 1:41 +0:11 (to #22) 13. Jani Lakanen 1:41 +0:11

Men Long Distance Final: 24-25 (Total times) 1. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 79:56 +0:00 2. Edgars Bertuks 80:37 +0:41 3. Thierry Gueorgiou 81:29 +1:33* 4. Valentin Novikov 81:59 +2:03 5. Jani Lakanen 82:16 +2:20* 6. Anders Holmberg 82:18 +2:22 7. Philippe Adamski 82:55 +2:59 8. Timo Sild 84:01 +4:05 9. Simonas Krepšta 84:07 +4:11 10. Stepan Kodeda 84:11 +4:15 12. Matthias Merz 84:16 +4:20* 14. Magne Dæhli 84:18 +4:22*

Men Long Distance Final: 25-26

Men Long Distance Final: 25-26 (Legtimes) 1. Thierry Gueorgiou 1:31 +0:00 2. Daniel Hubmann 1:32 +0:01 3. Jani Lakanen 1:35 +0:04 4. Magne Dæhli 1:37 +0:06 5. Hans Gunnar Omdal 1:37 +0:06 6. Yury Tambasov 1:38 +0:07 (to #23) 7. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 1:39 +0:08 (to #23) 8. Timo Sild 1:39 +0:08 (to #23) 9. Kiril Nikolov 1:39 +0:08 10. Sören Lösch 1:39 +0:08 (to #23) 17. Matthias Merz 1:43 +0:12 33. Edgars Bertuks 1:55 +0:24 (to #23)

Men Long Distance Final: 25-26 (Total times) 1. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 81:35 +0:00 2. Edgars Bertuks 82:32 +0:57 3. Thierry Gueorgiou 83:00 +1:25* 4. Valentin Novikov 83:41 +2:06 5. Jani Lakanen 83:51 +2:16* 6. Anders Holmberg 84:02 +2:27 7. Philippe Adamski 84:43 +3:08 8. Timo Sild 85:40 +4:05 9. Daniel Hubmann 85:47 +4:12* 10. Simonas Krepšta 85:48 +4:13 11. Magne Dæhli 85:55 +4:20* 12. Matthias Merz 85:59 +4:24*

Another mistake for Bertuks – loosing 24 seconds to Gueorgiou on a 90 second leg. Again this is a direction mistake – but Bertuks relocates fast – probably using the path – and manages to keep the time loss low.

Men Long Distance Final: 26-27

Men Long Distance Final: 26-27 (Legtimes) 1. Matthias Merz 2:28 +0:00 2. Anders Holmberg 2:29 +0:01 (to #24) 3. Daniel Hubmann 2:29 +0:01 4. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 2:33 +0:05 (to #24) 5. Magne Dæhli 2:33 +0:05 6. Edgars Bertuks 2:34 +0:06 (to #24) 7. Valentin Novikov 2:36 +0:08 (to #24) 8. Jani Lakanen 2:36 +0:08 9. Yury Tambasov 2:37 +0:09 (to #24) 10. Stepan Kodeda 2:39 +0:11 (to #24) 18. Thierry Gueorgiou 2:43 +0:15

Men Long Distance Final: 26-27 (Total times) 1. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 84:08 +0:00 2. Edgars Bertuks 85:06 +0:58 3. Thierry Gueorgiou 85:43 +1:35* 4. Valentin Novikov 86:17 +2:09 5. Jani Lakanen 86:27 +2:19* 6. Anders Holmberg 86:31 +2:23 7. Philippe Adamski 87:32 +3:24 8. Daniel Hubmann 88:16 +4:08* 9. Timo Sild 88:25 +4:17 10. Matthias Merz 88:27 +4:19* 11. Magne Dæhli 88:28 +4:20*

On the next leg it is Gueorgiou’s turn to loose some time. Direction mistake out of the control (or first planning a different more direct route?) leads to a time loss of 15 seconds to Merz.

Men Long Distance Final: 27-28

Men Long Distance Final: 27-28 (Legtimes) 1. Magne Dæhli 2:04 +0:00 2. Kiril Nikolov 2:05 +0:01 3. Matthias Merz 2:08 +0:04 4. Simo-Pekka Fincke 2:09 +0:05 (to #25) 5. Anders Holmberg 2:10 +0:06 (to #25) 6. Daniel Hubmann 2:10 +0:06 7. Thierry Gueorgiou 2:11 +0:07 8. Edgars Bertuks 2:13 +0:09 (to #25) 9. Simonas Krepšta 2:14 +0:10 (to #25) 10. Fredrik Johansson 2:14 +0:10 13. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 2:15 +0:11 (to #25) 14. Jani Lakanen 2:15 +0:11

Men Long Distance Final: 27-28 (Total times) 1. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 86:23 +0:00 2. Edgars Bertuks 87:19 +0:56 3. Thierry Gueorgiou 87:54 +1:31* 4. Valentin Novikov 88:33 +2:10 5. Anders Holmberg 88:41 +2:18 6. Jani Lakanen 88:42 +2:19* 7. Philippe Adamski 89:50 +3:27 8. Daniel Hubmann 90:26 +4:03* 9. Magne Dæhli 90:32 +4:09* 10. Matthias Merz 90:35 +4:12*

Men Long Distance Final: 28-29

Men Long Distance Final: 28-29 (Legtimes) 1. Simo-Pekka Fincke 1:01 +0:00 2. Thierry Gueorgiou 1:02 +0:01 3. Edgars Bertuks 1:03 +0:02 (to #26) 4. Jani Lakanen 1:03 +0:02 5. Magne Dæhli 1:03 +0:02 6. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 1:04 +0:03 (to #26) 7. Daniel Hubmann 1:04 +0:03 8. Kiril Nikolov 1:06 +0:05 9. Yury Tambasov 1:06 +0:05 (to #26) 10. Tero Föhr 1:07 +0:06 29. Matthias Merz 1:17 +0:16

Men Long Distance Final: 28-29 (Total times) 1. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 87:27 +0:00 2. Edgars Bertuks 88:22 +0:55 3. Thierry Gueorgiou 88:56 +1:29* 4. Valentin Novikov 89:43 +2:16 5. Jani Lakanen 89:45 +2:18* 6. Anders Holmberg 89:51 +2:24 7. Philippe Adamski 91:04 +3:37 8. Daniel Hubmann 91:30 +4:03* 9. Magne Dæhli 91:35 +4:08* 10. Matthias Merz 91:52 +4:25*

Mistake for Merz to 29 – costing him 16 seconds.

Men Long Distance Final: 29-30

Men Long Distance Final: 29-30 (Legtimes) 1. Edgars Bertuks 4:58 +0:00 2. Thierry Gueorgiou 5:06 +0:08 3. Matthias Merz 5:06 +0:08 4. Anders Holmberg 5:13 +0:15 (to #27) 5. Anders Nordberg 5:13 +0:15 6. Magne Dæhli 5:15 +0:17 7. Daniel Hubmann 5:17 +0:19 8. Simo-Pekka Fincke 5:17 +0:19 (to #27) 9. Yury Tambasov 5:21 +0:23 (to #27) 10. Jani Lakanen 5:23 +0:25 32. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 5:59 +1:01 (to #27)

Men Long Distance Final: 29-30 (Total times) 1. Edgars Bertuks 93:20 +0:00 2. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 93:26 +0:06 3. Thierry Gueorgiou 94:02 +0:42* 4. Anders Holmberg 95:04 +1:44 5. Jani Lakanen 95:08 +1:48* 6. Valentin Novikov 95:25 +2:05 7. Philippe Adamski 96:35 +3:15 8. Daniel Hubmann 96:47 +3:27* 9. Magne Dæhli 96:50 +3:30* 10. Matthias Merz 96:58 +3:38*

At control 29 Tsvetkov is in a clear third spot – only 15 seconds behind Lakanen and 1:04 behind Guergiou. To control 30 the Russian looses more than a minute – is out of the fight for gold and silver – and has to fight with Bertuks for bronze.

– I got uncertain towards the control and thought I was further to the left, Tsvetkov comments his mistake.

Bertuks on the other hand runs the best split time on this leg, and gets a lead of 6 seconds to Tsvetkov.

Men Long Distance Final: 30-31

Men Long Distance Final: 30-31 (Legtimes) 1. Simo-Pekka Fincke 2:00 +0:00 2. Magne Dæhli 2:02 +0:02 3. Edgars Bertuks 2:03 +0:03 (to #28) 4. Thierry Gueorgiou 2:03 +0:03 5. Matthias Merz 2:03 +0:03 6. Jani Lakanen 2:06 +0:06 7. Ralph Street 2:06 +0:06 (to #28) 8. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 2:07 +0:07 (to #28) 9. Daniel Hubmann 2:08 +0:08 10. Anders Holmberg 2:09 +0:09 (to #28)

Men Long Distance Final: 30-31 (Total times) 1. Edgars Bertuks 95:23 +0:00 2. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 95:33 +0:10 3. Thierry Gueorgiou 96:05 +0:42* 4. Anders Holmberg 97:13 +1:50 5. Jani Lakanen 97:14 +1:51* 6. Valentin Novikov 97:42 +2:19 7. Magne Dæhli 98:52 +3:29* 8. Philippe Adamski 98:53 +3:30 9. Daniel Hubmann 98:55 +3:32* 10. Matthias Merz 99:01 +3:38*

Men Long Distance Final: 31-32

Men Long Distance Final: 31-32 (Legtimes) 1. Magne Dæhli 1:05 +0:00 2. Tero Föhr 1:05 +0:00 3. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 1:06 +0:01 4. Matthias Merz 1:06 +0:01 5. Diogo Miguel 1:06 +0:01 6. Thierry Gueorgiou 1:07 +0:02 7. Kiril Nikolov 1:07 +0:02 8. Ralph Street 1:08 +0:03 9. Yury Tambasov 1:08 +0:03 10. Nicolas Simonin 1:08 +0:03 11. Edgars Bertuks 1:10 +0:05 26. Jani Lakanen 1:15 +0:10

Men Long Distance Final: 31-32 (Total times) 1. Thierry Gueorgiou 97:12 +0:00 2. Jani Lakanen 98:29 +1:17 3. Edgars Bertuks 99:06 +1:54 4. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 99:12 +2:00 5. Magne Dæhli 99:57 +2:45 6. Matthias Merz 100:07 +2:55 7. Daniel Hubmann 100:11 +2:59 8. Tue Lassen 101:34 +4:22 9. Anders Holmberg 101:42 +4:30 10. Valentin Novikov 101:43 +4:31

Men Long Distance Final: 32-33

Men Long Distance Final: 32-33 (Legtimes) 1. Magne Dæhli 3:14 +0:00 2. Matthias Merz 3:22 +0:08 3. Anders Nordberg 3:27 +0:13 4. Ralph Street 3:27 +0:13 5. Simo-Pekka Fincke 3:30 +0:16 6. Edgars Bertuks 3:31 +0:17 7. Jan Sedivy 3:34 +0:20 8. Yury Tambasov 3:34 +0:20 9. Thierry Gueorgiou 3:35 +0:21 10. Kiril Nikolov 3:37 +0:23 11. Jani Lakanen 3:39 +0:25 13. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 3:41 +0:27

Men Long Distance Final: 32-33 (Total times) 1. Thierry Gueorgiou 100:47 +0:00 2. Jani Lakanen 102:08 +1:21 3. Edgars Bertuks 102:37 +1:50 4. Dmitriy Tsvetkov 102:53 +2:06 5. Magne Dæhli 103:11 +2:24 6. Matthias Merz 103:29 +2:42 7. Daniel Hubmann 103:53 +3:06 8. Tue Lassen 105:25 +4:38 9. Kiril Nikolov 105:43 +4:56 10. Valentin Novikov 105:43 +4:56

At control 32 Tsvetkov and Bertuks still fight for bronze – Bertuks having an edge of 6 seconds. A good execution of the leg to the last control would have given Tsvetkov the bronze medal – but he looses 27 seconds to the best split time of Magne Dæhlie – and 10 seconds to Bertuks. Lakanen also looses 25 seconds here – but at this point in the race the silver medal is already secured. Gueorgiou looses 21 seconds. This could have been a very decisive leg, though.

The GPS of Dæhli and Tsvetkov do not work at this point, but below a comparison of Merz and Gueorgiou is shown. The left variant is slower due to running longer and more up/down and wetland when crossing the marsh.

Graphical split analysis and performance index

Below you see a graphical split analysis of the race (click to see larger version). As you can see Bertuks and Gueorgiou change the lead in the first part of the race, and then Gueorgiou takes over for good at control 12. Bertuks is very close before his mistake at control 25. Lakanen seems to have a level which is a bit below the level of Gueorgiou – steadily loosing tome time. Also note how Tsvetkov looses a clear bronze position towards the end.

Looking at the performance index (click to see larger), it is interesting to note how both Bertuks and Tsvetkov show a better potential than Gueorgiou in this race – having a peak in the performance index further to the right. Gueorgiou executed his race better, though, doing less mistakes and making a more constant race. Jani Lakanen did an even better race compared to his current capabilities – having a very clean performance index curve somewhat lower than all the three others.