EOC 2021: All You Need To Know

Finally! Thursday May 13th at 16:40 CET the international orienteering elite will compete for medals again as the European Orienteering Championships (EOC) starts off with the Sprint Relay. EOC 2021 is the first pure sprint EOC, and is organized in Neuchatel, Switzerland.

Excellent live coverage is promised, with live TV broadcasts of all three races –  Sprint Relay, Knock-Out Sprint (Semi-finals and Finals) and Sprint. In addition to the webTV broadcast on orienteering.sport with English and Russian commentary, the races will be broadcast on national television in Switzerland, Sweden, Finland and Norway.

Program

Three medal races are included in this year’s EOC:

• Sprint Relay on Thursday. Start 16:40, TV from 16:30
• Knock-Out Sprint Qualification on Friday (Start from 15:00, no TV broadcast)
• Knock-Out Sprint final rounds on Saturday, TV from 15:00
  • Quarterfinals from 13:20 CET (no TV broadcast)
  • Semi-finals from 15:10
  • Finals Saturday from 16:20
• Individual Sprint on Sunday. Start from 13:10 (women first), TV from 13:10.

All times are CET.

Links & Live

Use these links to follow the championships:

• Orienteering.sports live page – here you can also buy a LIVE pass for EUR 6 per competition or EUR 12 for all competitions.
• EOC webpage & EOC Eventor page
• EOC Bulletin 4 – detailed information
• WoO results archive which includes both EOC and WOC

Race details

The races will be organized around Neuchatel and St-Blaise – see the embargoed areas below.

See the old map for (part of) the Neuchatel-area on the top of this article, and part of the St-Blaise area below.

Artificial barriers will be used. They are marked on the map with the purple symbol 708 (outof-bounds boundary) and the out-of-bounds symbol behind to clarify the situation. In the terrain, there is a mobile fence combined with grids and ribbon to show these barriers.

Artificial fences will be used. These fences are grids, 110cm heigh. Most of them are branded with sponsor and event logos.

Sprint Relay

• 4 legs (WOMEN-MEN-MEN-WOMEN).
• The starting order is determined by the results from EOC 2018, thereafter in alphabetical order.
• Map Neuchâtel, 1 :4000, 2.5m
• Course planners Kim Hadorn and Nils Eyer
• Course lengths
  • Leg 1 and 4 (WOMEN): 3.7-3.9km, 25m climb, 24-25 controls, 14-15 minutes
  • Leg 2 and 3 (MEN): 4.2-4.4km, 25m climb, 27-28 controls, 14-15 minutes
• Results from last championships:

Knock-Out Sprint

• Knockout sprint competition is conducted according to rule 12.26 and the Knock-Out Sprint format description document.
• For the elimination rounds, the courses may incorporate forking/splitting systems (There will be no announcement in advance which method is used in which round):
  • No forking
  • Forking with loops
  • «Course Choice Model» where each competitor picks one of three options
• Map St-Blaise 1:4000, 2m contours and Neuchâtel, 1:4000, 2.5m contours
• Course planners Fabian Hertner and Andreas Kyburz
• Urban terrain with smaller and bigger buildings and park areas. The old town of St-Blaise and Neuchâtel offer tricky orienteering in narrow streets and foot paths. Flat to hilly towards the old town of St-Blaise and the north of Neuchâtel.
• Qualification:
  • Race with 3 heats in both classes. 1’ start interval with 3 runners starting at the same time.
  • The start order in each qualification heat is determined strictly by the order of the Sprint World Ranking as of 11 May 2021 (highest ranked start first).
  • The top 12 runners in each heat qualify for the quarter final. In a case of a tie, the higher ranked runner in the Sprint World Ranking as of 11 May 2021 gets the better place.
  • Courses
    • Women qualification: 2.9-3.0km, 50m climb, 17-19 controls, 13-14 minutes
    • Men qualification: 3.1km, 55m climb, 20-21 controls, 13-14 minutes
  • The heat choice meeting will be held online with Microsoft Teams. All competitors qualified for the elimination rounds or a team leader should be present online. If a competitor is not present at the time of the heat choice, the competitor will lose her/his right to choose the heat. After everyone present made their choices, competitors who are not present will receive the available spots at random.
• Final:
  • 6 quarter finals, 3 semi-finals and 1 final per class with 6 runners in each final. The top 3 from each heat of the quarter final and the top 2 from each heat of the semi-final qualify for the next round.
  • Course lengths
    • Quarter final: 1.8km, 40m climb, 19 controls, 6-8 minutes
    • Semi-final: 1.7km, 55m climb, 12 controls, 6-8 minutes
    • Final: 1.7km, 50m climb, 13 controls, 6-8 minutes

Sprint

• Sprint distance, no qualification (changed EOC-rules compared to previous events). The starting order is determined by the order of the Sprint World Ranking as of 11 May 2021
  • 1st block: for those outside the 40 best-ranked competitors entered, interval 1 minute, men and women starting and running at the same time
  • 2nd block: the 40 best-ranked women, interval 1.5 minutes
  • 3rd block: the 40 best-ranked men, interval 1.5 minutes
• Map Neuchâtel,1:4’000, 2.5m contours, by Beat Imhof
• Course lengths
  • WOMEN: 4.0km, 65m climb, 21 controls, 15 minutes
  • MEN: 4.4km, 85m climb, 25 controls, 15 minutes
• Course planners Judith Wyder and Nils Eyer
• Terrain
  • Urban terrain with smaller and bigger buildings and park areas. The old town of Neuchâtel offers tricky orienteering in narrow streets and foot paths. Flat to hilly towards the north of Neuchâtel.

• Results from last championships:

Who will win the races?

Men

Based on the results from the last sprint races with top international participation, Yannick Michiels must be considered the favourite in the men’s class with a win in last weekend’s Swiss Championships Sprint in addition to wins in the two last World Cup Sprint races in the 2019-season (see results below). However, the Siwss runners will also be very strong on home ground, with young Joey Hadorn finishing second in the Swiss Championships Sprint and also several good results in the World Cup Sprint in 2019 (including 2nd place in World Cup Knock-Out Sprint). The Swiss veterans Daniel Hubmann and Matthias Kyburz always shine when there are international medals to be fought for – definitely count them into the battle – and of course also the rest of the Swiss team. Young Norwegian Kasper Fosser has impressed a lot since he entered the senior elite scene with a big bang with the silver medal at the World Orienteering Championships Long distance in Norway in August 2019 – he has beaten all of the Swiss Sprint elite in some races this spring, and finished third in the Swiss Championships Sprint last weekend.

But there are several other runners who will also be in the fight for the medals: Count in Czech World Cup Knock-Out Sprint winner from the autumn 2019, Vojtech Kral. Also the Swedish team will be strong – with Emil Svensk and Jerker Lysell the possibly the strongest. Tim Robertson and Frederic Tranchand are other runners to be counted in. And with nearly two years since the last international sprint race, there will surely be some surprises (like in China last time the World Cup was held).

Women

The biggest favourites in the women’s class are Swiss Simona Aebersold and Elena Roos – and Swedish Tove Alexandersson. Aebersold won the Swiss Championships last weekend ahead of Elena Roos – and was also in the very top at the World Cup Sprint races last year. Roos is still waiting for her first individual championships medal – with several Top3 results in the World Cup in 2019. Alexandersson is even stronger in the forest than in urban terrain, but has proven many times that she can beat everybody in urban sprint races as well.

The rest of the Swedish team headed by Karolin Ohlsson and Lina Strand will also be in the fight for the medals. Also count in Natalia Gemperle in the mix – although the Russian has been even stronger in the forest the last years. Czech Tereza Janosikova should definitely also be counted among the favourites – especially on the Knock-Out Sprint. As for the men – there might very well be some surprises with nearly two years since the last international sprint race.

Results Swiss Champs

Knock-Out Sprint: WC #6 2019

World Cup 2021

The 2021 World Cup consists of three rounds; Neuchatel (Switzerland), Idre Fjäll (Sweden) and Cansiglio (Italy), see below. The World Orienteering Championships, organized in Czech Republic, is not part of the World Cup.

Competitors

See below for a list of all competitors below – sorted by best WRE position. Most top athletes are on the list, but some federations are not participating.

WRE pos sprint	WRE pos forest	Name	Country	WRE ID
1	257	Yannick Michiels	BEL	13592
19	2	Gustav Bergman	SWE	7562
2	3	Daniel Hubmann	SUI	10849
3	4	Matthias Kyburz	SUI	12305
4	8	Vojtech Kral	CZE	12187
5	74	Tim Robertson	NZL	15525
30	6	Frederic Tranchand	FRA	17348
29	7	Ruslan Glibov	UKR	9910
9	9	Joey Hadorn	SUI	23033
10	21	Kasper Harlem Fosser	NOR	23855
15	10	Lucas Basset	FRA	7403
761	10	Eskil Kinneberg	NOR	11757
12	23	Martin Hubmann	SUI	10851
14	12	Florian Howald	SUI	10810
13	16	Emil Svensk	SWE	16905
17	25	Aleksi Niemi	FIN	18700
18	18	Milos Nykodym	CZE	14322
22	27	Jonas Egger	SUI	18893
22	45	Christoph Meier	SUI	13502
463	22	Gaute Steiwer	NOR	16697
24	40	Robert Merl	AUT	13549
25	82	Riccardo Scalet	ITA	18966
27	166	Artem Popov	RUS	15086
35	29	Audun Heimdal	NOR	10545
32	34	Max Peter Bejmer	SWE	7466
32	592	Piotr Parfianowicz	POL	14642
36	58	Marek Minar	CZE	20166
37	137	Jakob Edsen	DEN	22688
42	99	Maxime Rauturier	FRA	20176
48	43	Jonas Vytautas Gvildys	LTU	10248
44	354	Tomas Krivda	CZE	28597
50	44	Haakon Jarvis Westergaard	NOR	11163
299	51	Isac von Krusenstierna	SWE	25180
52	76	Arturs Paulins	LAT	14704
53	124	Eduardo Gil Marcos	ESP	13255
65	53	Akseli Ruohola	FIN	24217
56	127	Severi Kymalainen	FIN	12307
–	56	Jerker Lysell	SWE	13053
57	63	Michal Olejnik	POL	14406
62	401	Jakub Glonek	CZE	24672
63	85	Kenny Kivikas	EST	11784
64	126	Riccardo Rancan	SUI	18900
131	65	Mathieu Perrin	FRA	22868
67	195	Matthias Reiner	AUT	15405
68	152	Dag Blandkjenn	NOR	25227
69	145	Ivan Sirakov	BUL	16365
69	215	Algirdas Bartkevicius	LTU	18826
71	105	Quentin Rauturier	FRA	20655
76	694	Jonas Hubacek	CZE	20162
79	194	Tuomas Heikkila	FIN	23025
327	89	Einari Heinaro	FIN	10547
91	139	Vojtech Sykora	CZE	25347
92	129	Emil Oebro	DEN	18647
100	95	Dmitrii Nakonechnyi	RUS	14003
200	98	Kristo Heinmann	EST	10551
127	99	Mathias Peter	AUT	14853
99	312	Daniil Kashin	RUS	21401
101	154	Aron Bako	HUN	7286
110	615	Marvin Goericke	GER	9942
115	143	Loic Capbern	FRA	8188
117	308	Mattia Debertolis	ITA	19153
135	120	Sebastian Inderst	ITA	11008
129	1139	Tomas Hendrickx	BEL	10587
130	516	Ahmet Kacmaz	TUR	11402
132	197	Arto Talvinen	FIN	22099
316	133	Aleksi Anttolainen	FIN	7065
136	148	Pau Llorens Caellas	ESP	18699
142	285	Rasmus Moeller Jess	DEN	28258
318	146	Timo Suter	SUI	23936
147	176	Janis Tamuzs	LAT	17066
149	378	Ats Sonajalg	EST	16991
156	338	Sergei Rjaboshkin	EST	15512
158	219	Anton Salmenkyla	USA	25115
169	237	Mathias Blaise	BEL	28056
333	169	Reto Egger	SUI	32166
215	171	Felix Spaeth	GER	16618
179	173	Nicolas Kastner	AUT	22896
194	550	Thomas Wilson	GBR	20390
195	337	Fryderyk Pryjma	POL	21895
201	895	Wouter Hus	BEL	20876
205	554	Aleksei Asmolov	RUS	22811
320	219	Andris Jubelis	LAT	11329
373	221	Jannis Bonek	AUT	23784
225	274	Uldis Upitis	LAT	22993
248	253	Lukas Liland	NOR	27350
380	252	Erik Doehler	GER	20178
261	366	Matija Razum	CRO	15372
285	2648	Warre De Cuyper	BEL	28066
541	296	Soren Thrane Odum	DEN	18651
890	343	Vitalii Hychko	UKR	10900
395	348	Mate Baumholczer	HUN	7426
408	351	Havard Sandstad Eidsmo	NOR	33052
364	1390	Touko Seppa	FIN	28434
369	817	Zoltan Bujdoso	HUN	33353
392	1187	Quentin Moulet	FRA	32613
398	1147	Georg Groell	AUT	25271
400	1498	Taras Rachuk	UKR	28134
508	428	Guilhem Elias	FRA	28547
448	518	Joao Magalhaes	POR	28514
512	469	Evgeniy Godlevskiy	RUS	28033
956	471	Ozgur Fettah	TUR	9438
790	492	Axel Granqvist	SWE	33937
501	848	Fabian Aebersold	SUI	32449
516	1170	Riccardo Casanova	GER	23290
1032	532	Fricis Spektors	LAT	33558
584	536	Endijs Titomers	LAT	19137
656	545	Apostol Atanasov	BUL	7164
594	649	Stefan Yordanov	BUL	25423
783	–	Francesco Mariani	ITA	37592
835	2734	Joao Mega Figueiredo	POR	9450
1436	869	Valentin Shishkov	BUL	23822
876	1996	Malte Kjaer Hemmingsen	DEN	27392
881	1232	Dmitrii Patrin	RUS	20891
1312	909	Andreas Bock Bjoernsen	DEN	22246
2198	997	Gregor Hvala	SLO	20131
1023	2517	Jose Pedro Fernandes	POR	36128
1342	1062	Jonatan Gustafsson	SWE	40367
1137	1735	Petar Borisov	BUL	33843
1283	2106	Samuel Pihlstrom	SWE	33968
1291	2024	Jacob Steinthal	DEN	33892
1298	2000	Linus Agervig Kristiansson	DEN	37747
–	1321	Lobel Horvat	CRO	25312
–	–	Tadas Dementavicius	LTU	34169
–	–	Ricardo Schaniel	USA	36515
–	–	Isaac Hernandez Pindado	ESP	37625

WRE pos sprint	WRE pos forest	Name	Country	WRE ID
1	1	Tove Alexandersson	SWE	65
8	2	Natalia Gemperle	RUS	6259
4	3	Simona Aebersold	SUI	23032
14	5	Lina Strand	SWE	5654
5	19	Elena Roos	SUI	4961
10	6	Sabine Hauswirth	SUI	2100
6	7	Karolin Ohlsson	SWE	4277
7	22	Maija Sianoja	FIN	5370
9	96	Tereza Janosikova	CZE	28127
12	28	Paula Gross	SUI	18906
13	12	Sara Hagstrom	SWE	1997
220	14	Tatiana Ryabkina	RUS	4880
15	45	Martina Ruch	SUI	18903
39	16	Denisa Kosova	CZE	3061
17	49	Megan Carter Davies	GBR	844
18	35	Aleksandra Hornik	POL	19685
19	256	Victoria Haestad Bjornstad	NOR	23852
21	115	Galina Vinogradova	RUS	6258
52	21	Cecilie Friberg Klysner	DEN	23304
22	33	Sarina Kyburz	SUI	2549
24	36	Vendula Horcickova	CZE	19096
25	30	Andrine Benjaminsen	NOR	396
49	25	Lotta Karhola	FIN	18912
32	26	Lilian Forsgren	SWE	1592
34	27	Svetlana Mironova	RUS	3932
29	107	Laura Ramstein	AUT	4800
30	42	Sofia Haajanen	FIN	1963
37	37	Sofie Bachmann	SUI	18907
38	88	Alexandra Enlund	FIN	28427
41	39	Sandra Grosberga	LAT	1865
57	39	Susen Loesch	GER	3602
40	134	Anna Dvorianskaia	RUS	19063
42	138	Maria Prieto	ESP	22997
44	62	Jana Knapova	CZE	2942
46	65	Veera Klemettinen	FIN	24311
48	47	Isia Basset	FRA	332
59	51	Evely Kaasiku	EST	2672
66	55	Caroline Gjotterup	DEN	1757
97	57	Amy Nymalm	FIN	24271
80	58	Ingeborg Eide	NOR	20206
60	65	Emma Bjessmo	SWE	22886
99	61	Jo Shepherd	GBR	5339
106	64	Ingrid Lundanes	NOR	25248
67	119	Anna Nilsson Simkovics	AUT	5414
68	89	Anja Arbter	AUT	173
70	142	Tereza Cechova	CZE	22097
70	344	Olena Babych	UKR	25660
94	73	Gabija Razaityte Saunoriene	LTU	4836
75	109	Maelle Beauvir	FRA	20207
79	122	Florence Hanauer	FRA	22869
81	237	Agata Olejnik	POL	5593
140	85	Hanna Wisniewska	POL	6443
88	101	Elena Pezzati	SUI	27540
95	157	Kateryna Dzema	UKR	25007
108	114	Anna Stickova	CZE	20209
114	184	Paula Starke	GER	20062
122	250	Fanny Tilkin	BEL	32367
125	180	Kristina Ivanova	BUL	2458
127	211	Filipa Rodrigues	POR	24882
184	130	Zsofia Sarkozy	HUN	18880
132	205	Viola Zagonel	ITA	6557
134	379	Tekle Emilija Gvildyte	LTU	1945
376	134	Marianne Haug	EST	22989
137	168	Anika Gassner	AUT	20213
282	158	Carina Polzer	AUT	4657
160	244	Jasmina Gassner	AUT	25245
163	261	Anna Caglio	ITA	18989
184	179	Liliana Gotseva	BUL	1767
189	394	Lucie Arno	BEL	33074
401	189	Margret Zimmermann	EST	6631
194	276	Elif Gokce Avci	TUR	22947
288	215	Irita Pukite	LAT	4737
234	852	Virag Weiler	HUN	19884
249	694	Anastasiya Grigoreva	RUS	34017
295	253	Andreya Dyaksova	BUL	20089
265	699	Cecile Calandry	FRA	33897
373	265	Annika Simonsen	DEN	5421
268	388	Teele Telgma	EST	21884
293	376	Ana Camarasa	ESP	22119
294	1546	Caterina Dallera	ITA	37849
307	684	Csenge Gerber	HUN	28391
311	550	Ann Charlotte Spangenberg	GER	27400
363	340	Hedvig Valbjorn Gydesen	DEN	32310
343	599	Inka Nurminen	FIN	24183
357	778	Josefine Lind	DEN	3454
370	1241	Leonore Winkler	GER	22481
384	592	Marina Garcia Castro	ESP	20064
483	389	Evangelina Dyaksova	BUL	24232
819	448	Ida Haapala	FIN	28437
674	490	Ems De Smul	BEL	28073
597	509	Ayse Bozkurt	TUR	18867
510	–	Aleksandra Voitova	RUS	6294
527	577	Ane Dyrkorn	NOR	26755
528	–	Annarita Scalzotto	ITA	34014
552	669	Emma Louise Arnesen	NOR	32593
838	774	Ida Agervig Kristiansson	DEN	40702
861	806	Hanna Lundberg	SWE	37614
859	810	Vilma von Krusenstierna	SWE	28253
825	1233	Eline Gemperle	SUI	33988
828	–	Olesia Riazanova	RUS	24084
842	1149	Malin Agervig Kristiansson	DEN	36181
989	851	Moa Enmark	SWE	18765
1037	964	Ragnhild Eide	NOR	33701
–	–	Kristine Brunere	LAT	33566
–	–	Lene Berg Hanssen	NOR	33930
–	–	Matilde Ribeiro	POR	37388
–	–	Eef van Dongen	NED	40634