World of O News
Today’s leg in Route to Christmas 2025 is something very different from what we have seen so far – today we travel to Switzerland for a Sprint leg. Thanks a lot to Silvan Ullmann, course setter at the Knock-Out sprint at the World Cup final, for a very long and detailed analysis of one of the legs in his course from the quarterfinal.
Here is the background of the leg in Ullmann’ words:
In the past few years, following especially unforked KO Sprints, I realised that many of the route choices were typical „Sprint route choices“, where the options spread over a wide area and are difficult to compare against each other. Many runners seem not to be willing to take a gamble and would rather stay in the pack. That’s why, for the KO-Finals, I decided to take a bit of a different approach and provide a bunch of micro-route choice options rather than only a few main options to pick from. Like this, even when choosing one direction out of the control, there is still room for the runners to make their own decisions afterwards.
This is how I ended up with the leg to control 12 in the quarter final. It has stayed virtually unchanged since the first draft of the course, whereas all the other parts were completely reconceptualised. The leg functions as a transport to the arena and is, after the technical forked loops, rather physical.
The leg is as usually first provided without routes – you may take a look at it and think about how you would attack this leg (if the image is too small, you may click on it to get it larger):
Location
You find other maps from the area in omaps.worldofo.com here. See also latest additions in 3DRerun from this area in order to learn more about this terrain type.
Webroute
Next you can draw your own route using the ‘Webroute’ below. Think through how you would attack this leg, and draw the route you would have made. Some comments about why you would choose a certain route are always nice for the other readers.
Then you can take a look at how the runners have solved this leg below. The routes are colored according to fastest split time on the leg, with the fastest routes in green and the slowest in red. Note that the coloring here is according to “GPS-times”, so not very accurate, but it gives a coarse overview of which variants are faster and slower.
Then we are ready for Ullmann’s analysis. There are essentially two parts of the leg, the first part to the main road crossing and the second part after. In total, 6 options were chosen on the first part, and 4 on the second part. Ullmann has provided first an analysis of the route choice alternatives for the complete leg, then an analysis of the different parts, and finally tables of variants versus time for both the men’s and women’s quarterfinals. Here is first an overview of selected variants for the complete leg, and below is Ullmann’s analysis:
The measurement of distances shows that option E (blue, 434 m) is the shortest out of the control, narrowly followed by D (green, 441 m). Since the best route attacking the starting control of this route choice (control 11) is from the right, I assumed both of these options to be equivalent in time. Next is an analysis of just the first part of the leg – until the passing of the road. Here you can clearly see that the two northern variants are the shortest also to the road:
Then we take a look at the second part of the leg – first the variants for the second part of the leg when choosing the southern passing of the road, i.e. variant A or B on the first part of the leg (marked X – red – 252 m , Y – green – 232 m, Z – blue – 263 m, V – purple – 247 m) :
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And then the variants for the second part of the leg when choosing the northern passing of the road on the first part of the leg (marked X – red – 258 m , Y – green – 229 m, Z – blue – 239 m, V – purple – 255 m) :
For the second part of the leg, in all cases, option Y (green) is clearly the shortest and thus expected to be fastest.
With a few exceptions, these assumptions held up during the competition day. Of course, the KO sprint dynamic had quite a significant influence on the split times, too (see all splits for this leg according with variant before and after the road passing below).
Here are the developments in the competition, where the leading runners chose non-optimal routes, partially giving away their semi-final qualification:
- Tuomas Heikkilä losing a few seconds by choosing option Z in the second part, but still maintaining his lead.
- Benjamin Wey and Martin Regbord losing a significant amount of time by missing the passage on the stairs next to the artificial barrier and taking the very long option F. They had a large enough gap to the other athletes to keep the lead, nevertheless.
- Akseli Ruohola being passed by Riccardo Rancan (D) because of taking a similar non-ideal route choice (A/B) as Mariani and Gustafsson in the lead.
- Similarly, Isaac von Kursenstierna losing his second heat place even though Krivda/Suter/Granqvist/Robertson chose option Z in the second part.
- Fosser and Aho taking option A and then Fosser even X, losing a lot of time but still feeding off their big lead. Temu Oksanen (C) passing Barros Vallet and Bujdoso (both B). Aebersold only marginally managed to compensate for choosing B with his extremely high running speed (up to 25 km/h), overtaking Oksanen only in the second part.
- Everybody in Heat 1, except for Sonesson, choosing option A/B such that she nearly caught up to Nurminen in the lead. Natalia Gemperle losing her spot with running X in the second part.
- Lundberg and Young Vik losing a few seconds taking Z, but still maintaining their huge lead.
- Ana Isabel Toledo keeping her second place, even though she took the non-optimal routes C+Z, because everybody else took B.
- Aleksandra Hornik almost giving away her lead by at first not seeing the passage on the stairs next to the artificial barrier on option D and, only after a few steps on option F, changing course.
- Girls in Heat 6 following Simona Aebersold into the detour of route F or taking the longer options A/B.
Leg times and time loss, men:
| Name | Heat | Time | Time Loss | Route | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max Peter Bejmer | QF4 | 01:16 | 00:00 | D | Y |
| Axel Granqvist | QF5 | 01:18 | 00:02 | D | Z |
| Teemu Oksanen | QF6 | 01:19 | 00:03 | C | Y |
| Timo Suter | QF5 | 01:19 | 00:03 | D | Z |
| Riccardo Rancan | QF3 | 01:20 | 00:04 | D | Y |
| Adrien Delenne | QF2 | 01:21 | 00:05 | E | Y |
| Fabian Aebersold | QF6 | 01:21 | 00:05 | B | Y |
| Jakub Glonek | QF1 | 01:21 | 00:05 | E | Y |
| Tino Polsini | QF4 | 01:21 | 00:05 | D | Y |
| Yannick Michiels | QF4 | 01:21 | 00:05 | E | X |
| Aarni Ronkainen | QF2 | 01:22 | 00:06 | E | Y |
| Tomas Krivda | QF5 | 01:22 | 00:06 | D | Z |
| Mathias Barros Vallet | QF6 | 01:23 | 00:07 | B | Y |
| Mathieu Perrin | QF2 | 01:23 | 00:07 | C | Y |
| Tim Robertson | QF5 | 01:23 | 00:07 | E | Z |
| Isaac von Krusenstierna | QF5 | 01:24 | 00:08 | B | Y |
| Matthias Kyburz | QF1 | 01:24 | 00:08 | E | Y |
| August Mollen | QF4 | 01:25 | 00:09 | ||
| Martin Regborn | QF2 | 01:25 | 00:09 | F | Y |
| Benjamin Wey | QF2 | 01:26 | 00:10 | F | Y |
| Simen Spets Storhov | QF1 | 01:26 | 00:10 | E | Y |
| Akseli Ruohola | QF3 | 01:27 | 00:11 | A | Y |
| Tuomas Heikilla | QF1 | 01:27 | 00:11 | E | Z |
| Jonatan Gustafsson | QF3 | 01:28 | 00:12 | B | Y |
| Francesco Mariani | QF3 | 01:29 | 00:13 | B | Y |
| Oskar Spets Storhov | QF3 | 01:29 | 00:13 | C | Y |
| Quentin Andrieux | QF1 | 01:31 | 00:15 | E | Y |
| Quentin Moulet | QF5 | 01:31 | 00:15 | D | Z |
| Zoltan Bujdoso | QF6 | 01:31 | 00:15 | B | Y |
| Aaro Aho | QF6 | 01:32 | 00:16 | A | Y |
| Daniel Hubmann | QF1 | 01:33 | 00:17 | E | X |
| Kasper Harlem Fosser | QF6 | 01:35 | 00:19 | A | X |
| Sampo Sankelo | QF3 | 01:35 | 00:19 | C | Y |
| Gustav Runefors | QF4 | 01:36 | 00:20 | B | X |
| Freddie Carcas | QF2 | 01:57 | 00:41 | D | Y |
| Joey Hadorn | QF4 | 02:14 | 00:58 | D | Y |
Leg times and time loss, women:
| Name | Heat | Time | Time Loss | Route | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ida Agervig Kristiansson | QF5 | 01:32 | 00:00 | D | Y |
| Ida Haapala | QF5 | 01:32 | 00:00 | D | Y |
| Eleonora Alinder | QF4 | 01:35 | 00:03 | D | Y |
| Grace Molloy | QF2 | 01:36 | 00:04 | D | Y |
| Maelle Beauvir | QF4 | 01:36 | 00:04 | D | Y |
| Tereza Rauturier | QF4 | 01:36 | 00:04 | D | Y |
| Vilma von Krusenstierna | QF5 | 01:36 | 00:04 | D | Y |
| Alva Sonesson | QF1 | 01:38 | 00:06 | D | Y |
| Lilly Graber | QF5 | 01:38 | 00:06 | D | Y |
| Venla Harju | QF4 | 01:38 | 00:06 | D | Y |
| Ingrid Lundanes | QF2 | 01:39 | 00:07 | D | Y |
| Pia Young Vik | QF2 | 01:40 | 00:08 | E | Z |
| Aleksandra Hornik | QF5 | 01:41 | 00:09 | D | Y |
| Hanna Lundberg | QF2 | 01:41 | 00:09 | E | Z |
| Ana Isabel Toledo | QF3 | 01:42 | 00:10 | C | Z |
| Cecile Calandry | QF3 | 01:43 | 00:11 | B | Y |
| Eef van Dongen | QF6 | 01:43 | 00:11 | F | Y |
| Frida Vikstrom | QF6 | 01:44 | 00:12 | F | Y |
| Maija Sianoja | QF1 | 01:44 | 00:12 | B | Y |
| Victoria Haestad Bjornstad | QF3 | 01:44 | 00:12 | B | Y |
| Simona Aebersold | QF6 | 01:45 | 00:13 | F | Y |
| Ines Berger | QF3 | 01:46 | 00:14 | B | Y |
| Corina Hueni | QF2 | 01:47 | 00:15 | D | Y |
| Laura Robertson | QF5 | 01:47 | 00:15 | A | Y |
| Amy Nymalm | QF1 | 01:48 | 00:16 | A | Y |
| Annabelle Delenne | QF2 | 01:48 | 00:16 | D | Y |
| Hanne Hilo | QF6 | 01:48 | 00:16 | A | X |
| Deborah Stadler | QF1 | 01:50 | 00:18 | A | Y |
| Natalia Gemperle | QF1 | 01:50 | 00:18 | B | X |
| Josefine Lind | QF4 | 01:51 | 00:19 | D | Y |
| Jana Peterova | QF6 | 01:53 | 00:21 | B | Y |
| Ylvi Kastner | QF3 | 01:53 | 00:21 | B | X |
| Inka Nurminen | QF1 | 01:56 | 00:24 | B | V |
| Ane Dyrkorn | QF6 | 02:00 | 00:28 | A | V |
| Jana Pekarova | QF3 | 02:01 | 00:29 | B | Y |
Course of the Year
This course – along with the courses from the semi-final and final – are also nominated for Course of the Year 2025. You can see all the nominations and vote in this ScrollOStory which is actually a very nice way to get good insights into lots of nice courses.
Density map
See below for a density map of some of the ones who have drawn their routes so far (available during the day when some readers have drawn their route).
Additional information
You find the complete map in omaps.worldofo.com at this location.
Route to Christmas series
The Route to Christmas series is a pre-Christmas tradition at World of O – giving the readers the opportunity to do one Route Choice Challenge each day from December 1st until December 24th. If you have got any good legs in GPSSeuranta, 3DRerun, Loggator or Livelox from 2025-competitions, or old forgotten ones which are still interesting, please email me the link at Jan@Kocbach.net, and I’ll consider including it in Route to Christmas if it looks good. Route to Christmas gets interesting due to YOUR contribute!
Not all legs are taken for the interesting routechoice alternatives – some are also taken because the map is interesting – or because it is not straightforward to see what to do on a certain leg. Any comments are welcome – especially if you ran the event chosen for todays leg!
