World Cup Opening 2023: All You Need To Know

The first Orienteering World Cup Round of 2023 is about to begin in Østfold, Norway, as the world’s best athletes gather from Thursday April 27th until Sunday April 30th for a Long distance race on Thursday, a Middle distance race on Saturday and a Relay race on Sunday.

The races will be broadcast live on national TV-stations in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Czech Republic, and races will also be broadcast in France. The races can also be followed on IOF TV with English commentary by Katherine Bett and Jonas Merz (9 EUR per race or 25 EUR for all races). There will also be available live GPS-tracking (back on GPSSeuranta this season, quality should be excellent) and live results.

All races are organized in Våler, not far from the WOC 2019 arena. Tove Alexandersson (SWE) and Kasper Fosser (NOR), the World Cup 2022 titleholders, are set to defend their titles – with most of the World Orienteering elite present.

Program World Cup Østfold 2023

• Thursday April 27th: Long distance
  • 13:30 TV-broadcasts start – 17:30 end of broadcasts
  • 09:45 First start women – 10:10 First start men
  • 13:50 Last start women – 15:40 Last start men
• Saturday April 29th: Middle distance
  • 15:40 TV-broadcast start – 19:00 TV-broadcast end
  • 12:15 First start men – 14:30 First start women
  • 16:45 Last starat men – 18:10 Last start women
• Sunday April 30th: Relay
  • 13:00 TV-broadcast start – 17:00 TV-broadcast end
  • 13:05 Start men
  • 15:00 Start women

All times are CET.

Links & Live

• Orienteering.sports live page for World Cup round 1 – here you will find links to webTV-broadcast, GPS-tracking and live results.
• Bulletin 4 – detailed information
• IOF Eventor webpage for the event
• World Cup 2023 page
• World of O results archive which includes both World Cup, EOC and WOC

Broadcast times and links to broadcasts

	Thu 27th Apr LONG	Sat 29th Apr MIDDLE	Sun 30th Apr RELAY
Web-TV	13:30	15:30	13:00
Norway	13:30	15:30	13:00
Sweden	13:30	15:30	13:00
Finland	13:30	15:30	13:00

Table: TV times, from orienteering.sport. Broadcasts will also be shown on French and Czech national TV.

Old maps of race area and terrain

Three old maps from the race area are available – Torebråte (top of the article) and the maps Svinndal Varde and Trollhetta below. The terrain is varied with flatter parts and relatively steep detailed slopes, especially in the southern part.  The terrain is mostly open pine forest on the hill tops and denser spruce and mixed vegetation in the lower parts. According to the terrain description in Bulletin 4 there are relatively few, and fairly dry marshes. However, with recent weather in Østfold it may be a lot wetter (and colder) than one would anticipate from the Bulletin. Some parts of the terrain are undulating and detailed, with small height differences. There is mostly good runnability and medium visibility. The total height difference is about 100 metres. There are signs of forestry work in the terrain.

Race details (full information in Bulletin 4)

LONG DISTANCE, THURSDAY 27 APRIL 2023

• Format: Long distance, individual start, 2 and 3 min start interval
• Map: 1:15 000, 5 m, map size A3, 2022-2023 (ISOM 2017-2)
• Mapper: Kristen Treekrem Course planner: Erik Sandbæk
• Women: 82 min1, 12.0 km, 22 controls, 560 m climb, 3 refreshments
• Men: 90 min, 15.0 km, 30 controls, 660 m climb, 3 refreshments
• There is an arena passage

MIDDLE DISTANCE, SATURDAY 29 APRIL 2023

• Format: Middle distance, individual start, 2 min start interval
• Map: 1:10 000, 5 m, map size A4, 2022-2023 (ISOM 2017-2)
• Mapper: Kristen Treekrem Course planner: Morten Johansen
• Women: 33 min, 4.8 km, 17 controls, 295 m climb, 1 refreshment
• Men: 33 min, 5.8 km, 20 controls, 335 m climb, 1 refreshment

RELAYS, SUNDAY 30 APRIL 2023

• Format: Mass start
• Map: 1:10 000, 5 m, 2022-2023 (ISOM 2017-2), size A4
• Mapper: Kristen Treekrem Course planners: Bjørn Erik Glomsrud and Anders Vister
• Women: 102 min (3 x 34 min), 4.8 km, 17 – 18 controls, 190 – 195 m climb, 1 refreshment
• Men: 96 min (3 x 32 min), 5.5 km, 17 – 18 controls, 215 – 220 m climb, 1 refreshment

Preview and favourites

The latest episode of the Ivarnational Orienteering Podcast features a long section previewing the World Cup opener, including favourites for the races. Listening to the episode is highly recommended to get a full preview of the races. Below are some snippets from the preview. First off is Ivar Lundanes about the favourites in the women’s long distance – with reference to the Norwegian World Cup selection races in Østfold two weeks ago:

… two weeks ago Tove (Alexandersson, SWE) won very clearly in the middle distance and she won the long distance just ahead of Natalia Gemperle (SUI). And it seemed like those two were clearly better than the rest in that race. So I am going with a repeat of that with victory for Tove Alexanderson, second place for Natalia Gemperle and then I am going for Sara Hagström (SWE) in third. It has been quiet around her. She hasn’t been running any races at all lately, as I have seen. But from previous in the winter, she was doing really, really well in world ranking events in Spain and she has been spending a lot of time in Italy running. Having nicer weather than the snow that has been in Sweden, training well and I am  expecting her to show up in very, very close to top form. So she is my last girl on the podium.

Lundanes continues with his predictions for the men’s long distance, with a small question mark on Kasper Fosser (NOR) due to him having some problems with his groin recently:

… there is a question mark about Kasper Fosser. But basically every time he is a question mark and there is an important race, he shows up and he is flying. So I expect that to happen again. He was good in the long distance two weeks ago, even if he got beaten by Emil Svensk (SWE). But here I am going for Kasper Fosser for the first place, Emil Svensk for second place and then Mika Kirmula (FIN) edging Matthias Kyburtz (SUI) for the third place.

Listen to the podcast for predictions also for the middle distance and relay.

In addition to the runners mentioned by Lundanes above, Simona Aebersold (SUI), Karolin Ohlsson (SWE), Andrine Benjaminen (NOR) should be battling for the top positions in the women’s class this weekend. In the men’s class there are lots of runners who can battle for the top positions, including large parts of the Norwegian, Swedish and Swiss teams – and some of the top French and Czech runners.

Results from the World Cup selection races 2 weeks ago give some indications on who is in shape:

Middle Men

1	Eskil Kinneberg	Ok Kåre	Norway	33:40		5:46
2	Emil Svensk	Stora Tuna OK	Sweden	34:05	+0:25	5:50
3	Gaute Steiwer	Fredrikstad SK	Norway	34:46	+1:06	5:57
4	Lukas Liland	Nydalens SK	Norway	34:56	+1:16	5:59
5	Daniel Hubmann	Swiss Orienteering Team	Switzerland	34:58	+1:18	5:59
6	Håvard Sandstad Eidsmo	Freidig	Norway	34:59	+1:19	6:00
7	Magne Dæhli	Halden SK	Norway	35:14	+1:34	6:02
7	Martin Regborn	Hagaby GoIF	Sweden	35:14	+1:34	6:02
9	Lucas Basset	OK Linné	France	35:19	+1:39	6:03
10	Lauri Sild	Koovee	Estonia	35:28	+1:48	6:05
11	Martin Roudný	Halden SK	Czechia	35:39	+1:59	6:06
12	Elias Jonsson	NTNUI	Norway	35:50	+2:10	6:08
13	Eirik Langedal Breivik	NTNUI	Norway	36:03	+2:23	6:11
14	Håvard Wedege	Halden SK	Norway	36:05	+2:25	6:11
15	Sander Arntzen	NTNUI	Norway	36:38	+2:58	6:17
16	Florian Howald	Swiss Orienteering Team	Switzerland	36:43	+3:03	6:17
17	Matthias Kyburz	Swiss Orienteering Team	Switzerland	36:47	+3:07	6:18
18	Isak Jonsson	NTNUI	Norway	36:57	+3:17	6:20
19	Vegard Jarvis Westergård	Oppsal Orientering	Canada	37:03	+3:23	6:21
20	Mats Eidsmo	NTNUI	Norway	37:04	+3:24	6:21

Middle Women

1	Tove Alexandersson	Stora Tuna OK	Sweden	31:41		6:53
2	Tone Bergerud Lye	Nydalens SK	Norway	33:21	+1:40	7:15
3	Simona Aebersold	Swiss Orienteering Team	Switzerland	33:36	+1:55	7:18
4	Andrine Benjaminsen	Lillomarka OL	Norway	34:11	+2:30	7:25
5	Ingrid Lundanes	Emblem IL	Norway	34:26	+2:45	7:29
6	Marianne Andersen	Kristiansand OK	Norway	34:51	+3:10	7:34
7	Evely Kaasiku	Helsingin Suunistajat	Estonia	35:10	+3:29	7:38
8	Victoria Hæstad Bjørnstad	Fossum IF	Norway	35:33	+3:52	7:43
9	Pia Young Vik	Nydalens SK	Norway	35:36	+3:55	7:44
10	Lisa Risby	Ok Kåre	Sweden	35:53	+4:12	7:48
11	Ragne Wiklund	Nydalens SK	Norway	35:59	+4:18	7:49
12	Natalia Gemperle	Swiss Orienteering Team	Switzerland	36:14	+4:33	7:52
13	Anne M Hausken Nordberg	Nydalens SK	Norway	36:24	+4:43	7:54
14	Ane Dyrkorn	NTNUI	Norway	36:30	+4:49	7:56
15	Kamilla Steiwer	Fredrikstad SK	Norway	36:38	+4:57	7:57
16	Katrin Mueller	Swiss Orienteering Team	Switzerland	36:42	+5:01	7:58
17	Oda Scheele	Nydalens SK	Norway	36:56	+5:15	8:01
18	Kaja Winsnes Nordhagen	Ås-NMBU Orientering	Norway	38:06	+6:25	8:16
19	Lilly Graber	Swiss Orienteering Team	Switzerland	38:16	+6:35	8:19
20	Kristin Melby Jacobsen	Larvik OK	Norway	38:30	+6:49	8:22

Long Men

1	Emil Svensk	Stora Tuna OK	Sweden	1:22:32		5:52
2	Kasper Harlem Fosser	Heming Orientering	Norway	1:22:52	+0:20	5:53
3	Matthias Kyburz	Swiss Orienteering Team	Switzerland	1:24:07	+1:35	5:58
4	Martin Regborn	Hagaby GoIF	Sweden	1:25:32	+3:00	6:05
5	Elias Jonsson	NTNUI	Norway	1:25:42	+3:10	6:05
6	Albin Ridefelt	OK Linné	Sweden	1:26:03	+3:31	6:07
7	Eirik Langedal Breivik	NTNUI	Norway	1:26:10	+3:38	6:07
8	Håvard Sandstad Eidsmo	Freidig	Norway	1:26:25	+3:53	6:08
9	Gaute Steiwer	Fredrikstad SK	Norway	1:26:58	+4:26	6:11
10	Sander Arntzen	NTNUI	Norway	1:27:29	+4:57	6:13
11	Lukas Liland	Nydalens SK	Norway	1:28:08	+5:36	6:16
12	Eskil Kinneberg	Ok Kåre	Norway	1:28:47	+6:15	6:18
13	Lucas Basset	OK Linné	France	1:28:50	+6:18	6:19
14	Lauri Sild	Koovee	Estonia	1:29:24	+6:52	6:21
15	Reto Egger	Swiss Orienteering Team	Switzerland	1:29:27	+6:55	6:21
16	Isak Jonsson	NTNUI	Norway	1:29:45	+7:13	6:23
17	Håvard Wedege	Halden SK	Norway	1:29:46	+7:14	6:23
18	Jørgen Baklid	NTNUI	Norway	1:29:50	+7:18	6:23
19	Daniel Hubmann	Swiss Orienteering Team	Switzerland	1:30:13	+7:41	6:24
20	Timo Suter	Swiss Orienteering Team	Switzerland	1:30:21	+7:49	6:25

Long Women

1	Tove Alexandersson	Stora Tuna OK	Sweden	1:15:07		7:27
2	Natalia Gemperle	Swiss Orienteering Team	Switzerland	1:16:08	+1:01	7:33
3	Marianne Andersen	Kristiansand OK	Norway	1:17:19	+2:12	7:40
4	Lisa Risby	Ok Kåre	Sweden	1:19:12	+4:05	7:51
5	Ane Dyrkorn	NTNUI	Norway	1:20:45	+5:38	8:00
6	Tone Bergerud Lye	Nydalens SK	Norway	1:21:44	+6:37	8:06
7	Kaja Winsnes Nordhagen	Ås-NMBU Orientering	Norway	1:21:59	+6:52	8:07
8	Victoria Hæstad Bjørnstad	Fossum IF	Norway	1:22:02	+6:55	8:08
9	Ingrid Lundanes	Emblem IL	Norway	1:22:56	+7:49	8:13
10	Andrine Benjaminsen	Lillomarka OL	Norway	1:22:59	+7:52	8:13
11	Simona Aebersold	Swiss Orienteering Team	Switzerland	1:23:34	+8:27	8:17
12	Kristin Melby Jacobsen	Larvik OK	Norway	1:23:43	+8:36	8:18
13	Pia Young Vik	Nydalens SK	Norway	1:23:55	+8:48	8:19
14	Anne M Hausken Nordberg	Nydalens SK	Norway	1:23:59	+8:52	8:19
15	Oda Scheele	Nydalens SK	Norway	1:24:42	+9:35	8:24
16	Tilla Farnes Hennum	NTNUI	Norway	1:25:59	+10:52	8:31
17	Elena Roos	Swiss Orienteering Team	Switzerland	1:26:55	+11:48	8:37
18	Ragne Wiklund	Nydalens SK	Norway	1:27:15	+12:08	8:39
19	Evely Kaasiku	Helsingin Suunistajat	Estonia	1:28:05	+12:58	8:44
20	Sanna Hotz	Swiss Orienteering Team	Switzerland	1:28:44	+13:37	8:48

Orienteering World Cup 2023

The 2023 Orienteering World Cup comprises three exciting rounds featuring a total of seven individual races and three relays. The first round kicks off in Norway (April 27-30), followed by the Czech Republic (August 2-6), and concluding in Italy (October 4-8).

Round 2 of the World Cup will be held in the northern part of Czech Republic, spanning five days with four races on the schedule. The opening two days of Round 2 will challenge competitors in a sprint and a sprint relay through the historic city of Česká Lípa, where athletes must make quick decisions amid the maze of narrow, paved streets. The competition then moves to the demanding sandstone terrain of Kokořínsko, where a middle and long distance race awaits runners on Saturday and Sunday.

The 2023 Orienteering World Cup final will take place in and around Verona, Italy, and is also the European Orienteering Championships 2023. The World Cup finale comprises sprint, sprint relay, and knock-out sprint events in northern Italy over five days. The races will be staged in Verona, Soave, and Vicenza, respectively, featuring urban courses with labyrinthine streets and fast-paced, challenging route choices.

Final standings World Cup 2022:

Full results