Preview Sylvester 5 Days

Next week marks the start of the Sylvester 5 Days, an annual orienteering event held in Belgium and The Netherlands between Christmas and New Year. In the article of Liam you could already read the stage previews. This year’s edition promises thrilling competition, with exciting stages and an even more exciting line-up of participants. In this overview, we’ll have an interview with the course setter of the first stage, Simon Krekels and take a closer look at the top contenders in the women and men elite category. More information on the stages can be found on the site of Orienteering Vlaanderen.

Short stage overview and their difficulties

Stage 1 – Bosbergen West:
Hilly, physical first stage with plenty of green parts. Fast legs will come in handy.

Stage 2 – Sanicol:
A demanding stage requiring both technical and physical capabilities. Mistakes are easily made in this tricky terrain.

Stage 3 – Kattevenia:
Keep your head cool in the different types of terrain and you will master the forests of Kattevenia.

Stage 4 – De Winner:
This stage will test the versatility of the orienteers, with a mix of terrains that will challenge your adaptability.

Stage 5 – Galgenberg:
Very fast and open forest but also very technical small relief to decide the ultimate victor.

I asked the course setter of day 1, Simon Krekels, last years silver medalist a couple of questions about the first day and asked for some inside information.

1. What can the runners expect from the first stage next Thursday?
The first stage of the Sylvester 5 days will be a typical Sylvester race, to set the tone for what is to come. The map is mostly green and boasts an extremely dense path network. The terrain is part of what is called "De Kempense Heuvelrug" -- literally translated: The Campine Hill Range, and consists of a range of sand-dune hills. So expect green forest, lots of paths and lots of sand!

2. Will 1 mistake be the end of your race or is there any opportunity to take some time back?
Given the dense path network, BIG mistakes seem unlikely in the elite classes; the winner will likely have shaved off the most seconds by being a master of the greens.

3. Can you give us a little tip about the course setting?
Typical Sylvester course setting: there WILL be a long leg and there WILL be a lot of path running.

4. Who will win in the elite categories?
I dare not point fingers and name names! But looking at the start list it seems there will be several contenders for the top spot. In ME the race will be quite tight, with local legend Warre De Cuyper, who will have to come out of his pipe (as they say in Flemish) to keep his challengers behind him. I have heard rumours that some other runners have set their sights specifically on this race! For WE, the start field is a bit more compact with quite some international names. We will see!

Women’s competition:

Last year it came down to a close fight between 3 women for the podium. Anna Moilanen, a Finnish runner won E1 and E5 and also the overall. Iva Kavankova, a Czech runner won the second stage but lost a bit too much time on the first and last stage. The Belgian Greet Oeyen won the 2 most technical stages E3 and E4 but lost time on the rest of the stages. The women had respectively 3961, 3917 and 3890 points so a very close battle. Will there again be a big fight for the victory this year?

Top contenders:

3 stars - ***

Corina Hüni (Switzerland)
Is a strong elite runner living in Sweden. Having multiple top 10 places in Swiss championships and some great international results she is a big contender for the victory this year. She became 4th on the world university champs middle and 6th on Swiss championship long this year. She is ranked 127th on the IOF world ranking. Best result internationally: 4th JWOC middle 2021, 24th World cup long 2023. With such a record, you’re certainly favourite for Sylvester 5 days.

Eva Örnhagen Jorgensen (Denmark)
Is a promising elite runner living in Sweden. Ran EOC this year, finishing 41th in the middle distance. Ran also multiple JWOC’s with numerous top 50 last years. She’s a really promising young runner but can she master the Belgian terrains? She wont run the last day meaning she has to perform every day at her best level!

2 stars - **

Greet Oeyen (Belgium)
Is a technical runner who still has really good physical capabilities. Won the Sylvester 5 Days several times in the past. Look out for her on stage 2 and 5! She won silver in middle and gold in night at this year’s Belgian champs.

Violette Dupuy (France)
Is a French junior runner. 3th at French championship long in W20 this year. Won 3 stages in D21 last year. 10th at JEC long and 8th at JEC middle last year in Belgium. The terrain will be totally different but has shown some potential in the past.

Lisa Hubmann (Switzerland)
Is last year Swiss junior runner. Ran JWOC in 2023 with a 25th place on the long distance. She won Sylvester D20 last year where she won all five stages. Her speed last year was often only 10 to 20”/km slower than in the elite category and should be a dark horse for a podium spot.

1 star - *

Outsider for the podium are Ems de Smul (really technical runner, doesn’t run day 3, questions about her current form but she has “de Smul blood”), Rahel Good (Swiss junior from 2007, 4th on EYOC long this year), Victoria Stevens (British runners, having some good results in international stage competitions)

 

Men’s Competition:

In the men’s race last year, Benjamin Anciaux dominated, winning four stages and the overall title. Simon Krekels won one stage and secured silver overall. The German Christoph Prunsche took third place. Krekels and Prunsche won’t compete this year. Anciaux will, but he is injured and maybe won’t run everything and not at competion speed. This year the field is stacked with a lot of possibilities for the podium.

Top Contenders:

3 stars - ***

Joschi Smid (Switserland)
Is a really strong junior runner. Some excellent results at JWOC: 7th at long distance in 2023, 12th at long distance in 2024, 13th at middle distance in 2023. Silver at relay in 2023. He has both the speed and technical capabilities to go for the podium this year.

Wouter Hus (Belgium)
Is one of Belgium’s top sprinters with some really great results at the international top level in sprint at WOC and World cup’s. But he also showed some things in the forest (namely in Belgium). Won Sylvester in 2022 (before last year winner Anciaux) and won some Belgian and Flemish titles in the last few years. When the terrain is fast, Wouter will be there but he has to keep his nerves under control in the technical parts.

2 stars - ***

Adam Zridkavesely (Czech Republic)
Is a strong junior. He ran JWOC and the 2 sprint world cups in Italy and Switzerland this year. 35th at JWOC long distance in his home country. He has the potential to challenge for a podium spot.

Liam Thiels (Belgium)
Is a senior runner, he performs best in sprint distance. 3th at Veluwe WRE event, only 3 min after winner Yannick Michiels. After a short talk with Thiels, I came with the conclusion that he would like to be the dark horse for the podium. He’ll get everyone when no one expects it. I wanted to give him 3 stars but he said I wasn’t allowed.

Michael van Baelen (Belgium)
Is a senior runner living in North-Macedonia. Ran the Mediterranean championships begin November with a 17th place at long distance and 15th place at middle distance. There are questions about his current form, but has certainly the talent to fight for the podium.

1 star - *

Jeroen Hoekx (consistent performer, 8th last year), Nico Ceunen (strong runner, with a specialty in Flanders terrain), Benjamin Anciaux (injured but mentioning worthy), Olle Bergstedt (real Swedish forest runner), Michael Imhof (Swiss runner, 19th at Austrian championship middle), Brent Vleugels (7th at Belgian Middle championship this year and often just outside top 5 on important competitions, 10th last year).

 

Other notable mentions:

On day 1 and 4 we have to look out for Warre De Cuyper, both his kind of forest terrain (however he is a sprinter by heart). Especially on day 1 were the competition centre is almost in his backyard, he is one of the favorites. On day 5 Rune de Clercq will try to take advantage of the fatigue of the other competitors in a terrain that suits him very well in The Netherlands. On the other side we have his eternal rival and your reporter Jorn Kennis who will make his forest comeback after an injury on day 2. Corneel Casier will only run day 1 and Arno Keuppens (our night specialist) will run day 1 and 5.

Most of Belgium’s juniors and young seniors will be absent, focusing on their January exams. However, the battle in the under-18 categories promises to be fierce!

The 2024 Sylvester 5 Days is shaping up to be an exciting competition, with a mix of experienced elites and rising stars. Stay tuned as the action unfolds across five challenging stages with the first stage next Thursday.

TT5: Juicy transfer nieuws

Throwback Tuesday is hier weer met deze keer een interessant artikel over de oriëntatietransfers in 2012. Het einde van het jaar komt er ook voor ons weer aan, gaan we ergens transfers zien of blijven alle atleten in hun eigen nest? Artikel is geschreven door lokale legende Toon Melis. Zeker het verhaal over "De goude draak" is het lezen waard. Geniet ervan!

Transfer-nieuws

Het jaar is een paar dagen geleden begonnen dus dat betekent dat de belangrijkste transfers zijn afgerond. Omdat wij vonden dat er dit jaar toch wel een paar intressante tussen zaten, zetten we ze even op een rijtje voor jullie!

Anna Serralonga  ??? ----> Trol
De Catalaanse furie loopt al een tijdje voor Trol (Nachtaflossing, Sylvester) maar vanaf 2013 kan ze ook lopen voor de aflossingsploeg van de trollen. Kan ze naast Desmond Franssen ook de Trol-ploeg naar ongekende hoogtes brengen? Afwachten!

Ian Geldof    Hamok ----> Asub
Ian verlaat zijn originele club Hamok voor de naburige club Asub. De reden bleef lange tijd een raadsel voor ons. Het grote geld? Plannen van studies aan het KMS? Ideale aflossingsploeg voor bk aflossing?

Een anonieme bron binnen de vriendenkring van de familie Geldof wist ons dan toch een verklaring te geven: "Verandering van spijs doet eten, je ziet dat ook bij de toppers in het wielrennen die te lang bij de zelfde ploeg blijven zitten. Als je ziet hoe goed Ullrich was in het jaar 2003 (toen hij voor Bianchi reed RED)".

Tristan Bloemen  Hamok --> C.O. Liege
Ook Europees kampioen Tristan aka "Het grote talent" verlaat zijn thuisclub hamok. Hij windt er ook geen doekjes rond, hij kiest voor het grote geld en de (naar zijn mening) betere trainingskampen van Frso. Maar zijn dat ook de echte redenen? Na een anonieme tip trokken we op onderzoek.

We trokken op onderzoek naar het Chinees restaurant "De gouden draak" in Antwerpen! Tot onze verbazing zagen we daar de recentste tussenstand van het wintercriterium op de tv! Toen we om meer uitleg vroegen bleek dat er volop wordt gegokt op "orientation" in China! Zo zou Michiels in China benaderd zijn door enkele Chinezen om ook dit jaar het wintercriterium te laten varen. We weten niet wat Michiels heeft geantwoord maar uit goede bron weten we dat de familie Michiels al een tijdje elke dag bami eet.

Toen we wat doorvroegen kwamen we te weten dat het topevenement van het jaar het bk aflossing was. De eigenaar had al enkele jaren grof geld verdiend met de 2de plaats van hamok op het bk en hij had ook dit jaar goede hoop op de 2de plaats van hamok. We kwamen verder ook te weten dat C.O. Liege een tweetal maanden geleden op 1:999 stonden (enkel borasca en epos deden beter RED.). Maar toen de transfer van Bloemen werd bekendgemaakt daalde dat naar 1:5. Een duidelijk teken dat er grof geld verdiend is aan de transfer van Bloemen.
We willen hier natuurlijk niets mee zeggen maar we vinden het toch verdacht! Verder onderzoek is nodig!

Beste wensen vor het nieuwe jaar van het ganse delaatstepost team!
Geschreven door een student die hier eigenlijk geen tijd voor heeft!

ULD and European champs Cross Country

Last weekend 2 big competitions in the national and international field took place. In Belgium we had the ULD in Brussels and in Turkey the European championship cross country took place.

At the European championship we had quite some orienteers selected themselves. In the senior men category we had Kasper Fosser (NOR) on a 27^th place, Anreas Bock Bjoernsen 36^th (DEN) and Martin Regborn 44^th (SWE) in a very strong field. There were also some juniors with high expectations in the Swiss camp with Loïc Berger (brother of…) finishing 19^th and Matthieu Bührer on a 32^th place. Another fast junior was Filip Jancik (SVK) but he only finished 93^th but it wasn't his day. Peter Molloy represented Great Brittain in U23 and finished 32^th. Finally Julia Rosen, member of well known OKS represented Sweden in U20 women finished 58^th. Furthermore we had some great results by the Belgian runners, especially in the senior classes with silver and bronze in the team competition for the men and women respectively. Results

On the ultra-long distances in Brussels we had the expected thrilling fight between the 4 best teams. In the end Arnaud Mazy & Mathis Brouwier took the win before Rune de Clerq & Corneel Casier. On a third place we had Lennert Lens & Nico Ceunen. Wouter Leeuws twisted his ankle so he had to abandon the race, Evert kept going and finished just behind the winners but was logically disqualified because he finished without a team mate. Results

Arnaud Mazy

In the moyen distance we had a win for Willem Bakelants & Liam Thiels with a clean and fast race. On second place we had the other favourites Louis & Oscar Bourgeois with a race with too much technical errors. On Strava Oscar wrote: “ca m’avait pas manqué la CO. The third place got taken by Kim Jansen & Jan Oeyen.

On the shortest distance the win got taken by 2 young promising juniors Tim Lemy Storme & Regis Vanschuytbroeck.

Liam Thiels

This weekend Thor will go (together with a lot of other Belgian orienteers) to Fontainebleau for a training camp. In Flanders we have a night competition in Dilsenerbos on Friday and a regional competition at De Beeltjens on Sunday. Next week we have another exciting competition in the Forest Cup with the 3th stage. Will Magalie Verstrepen (D21) and Jeroen Hoekx (H21) try to defend their first place our will most elite runners take rest for the Sylvester the week after?

Sylvester 2024: ENTRY DEADLINE and Stage previews

2024 is coming to its end and with that a new edition of the highly anticipated Sylvester 5-day orienteering competition is near. Spanning from 26-30 December, Sylvester provides 5 days of beautiful forest orienteering organised by 4 Belgian clubs and 1 Dutch club. The entry deadline however is near! 

You have until Saturday 14 December to register for this remarkable annual event !!

Not convinced? Do not fear! Read the preview of all 5 stages and decide for yourself :) 

Stages: 

Stage 1: Bosbergen West 

It all starts in a hilly forest in Herentals. The result this stage will answer the following questions:

-Who can make the correct call if a tricky and dense path network is faster than straight through the forest with limited visibility?

-Who can push him/herself to not slow down in a physical terrain while keeping top focus?

-Who is the most ferocious orienteer?

The tone will be set on a course where the fastet route will probably differ person to person depending on your orienteering style. This guarantees an exciting start of five days of orienteering!

Stage 2: Sanicole

Situated in a Military airport this map offers two kinds of orienteering. A forested part with a combination of small relief  and a gradient of open to dense vegetation will test your orienteering skill. The other part is a very open area with heather vegetation which will for sure test your physical capabilities, but make no mistakes because a moment of bad compas work can cost you important time and effort. A great mixed terrain to show both your technical and physical capabilities.

Stage 3: Kattevenia

The middle stage of the competition will return to a typical forest in Flanders characterized by a series of different vegetation densities, zones with complicated mountainbike path networks and zones with detailed relief. Get ready to go full speed no mistakes, but be careful for what was mentioned above, you have been warned ;)

Stage 4: De Winner

The fourth stage will decide who is the most versatile orienteer in the competition. Why is that? Well decide for yourself by looking at the map fragments which all belong to the same map. Be ready to adapt to new forest circumstances as soon as you enter a new area during your course. Fun guaranteed as well!!

Stage 5: Galgenberg

Sylvester 2024 will end with a stage across the Belgian border in the Netherlands. I personally think that the organisation kept the best for last. This course will be without a doubt very fast due to the general flat terrain and open forest but this does not mean that there are not a lot contours. On the contrary, you can expect very detailed map reading to be the key of succes. Do this while keeping up the pace and the race will be over before you know it! Enjoy this last day in this beautiful terrain which is heaven for orienteers.

Final remarks

Hopefully this has given you a good overview of the stages. Now only one thing is left for you to do...

Registration

    Members of the Belgian federation can register via O-Punch using this link: 

    https://www.opunch.org/in/event/2507 

    International runners can register via Orienteeringonline using this link: 

    https://www.orienteeringonline.net/CompetitionBasicInfo.aspx?CompetitionID=13195

At this moment we sit at 260 Belgian orienteers and 170 international orienteers spread accross all age classes, so don't be shy and join us at one of the largest orienteering competitions in Belgium! All info can be found on: https://orienteering.vlaanderen/sylvester/#info

See you there!

TT4: VK Nachtaflossing 2015 aftermovie

 Aangezien we anderhalve week geleden het nachtseizoen geopend hebben met de opening avondaflossing, kijken we deze week terug naar een nacht aflossing uit 2015 mede mogelijk gemaakt door Desmond. Geniet van de spannende actiebeelden en laat het jezelf motiveren voor het nieuwe nachtseizoen!!

Video: Flemish nightrelay 2015

One week ago the Flemish nightrelay championships took place in Hechtel-Eksel (map: Sanicole). Below you can watch the video from the race:

Flemish Nightrelay 2015 from Desmond on Vimeo.

Results

Map (Desmond Franssen)

Onprofessionaliteit?

In het verleden zijn er (op deze blog) al verschillende hete discussies geweest over de fysieke test. En ik begrijp dat, het is een onderwerp dat in België al jaren lang discussies met verschillende kanten opheft. Ik zou willen beginnen met een deel van een artikel van Jeroen Hoekx (november 2009) en hierop verder bouwen.

“De fysieke test kan niet leiden tot een andere interpretatie van de visie van de Ploegencommissie dan dit: liever een snelle loper die kan aanpikken en volgen dan een serieuze oriëntatieloper. Dat is trouwens loodrecht op de visie van VVO zoals we die de afgelopen jaren beleefd hebben: we hebben een beperkt aantal oriëntatielopers, we begeleiden hen optimaal om er een zo goed mogelijk resultaat uit te halen.” ~ Jeroen

Kijk maar naar het indrukwekkende BeArrows project waarbij er veel tijd en moeite in de Vlaamse jeugd werd geïnvesteerd om hen optimaal op te leiden richting de junior- en senior jaren. Dit is naar mijn (en ik denk ook veel andere) mening ook gelukt. Het niveau is gestegen. Heeft het te maken met een goede lichting, ja misschien maar het heeft vooral te maken met een goede voorbereiding in de jongste jaren waar een goede lichting uitkomt. Lopers hebben een goede voorbereiding, goede technische en fysieke ondersteuning gekregen en daaruit komen de goede oriënteurs.

 

Ik geef het woord even terug aan Jeroen:
“Laat ons nog even vermelden dat de VVO-visie werkt. Er is een basis van "rond-de-kerktorenoriënteurs" en daaruit groeit een ploeg van lopers die gemotiveerd zijn om te trainen en zichzelf en hun ploeggenoten naar een hoger niveau te stuwen. Het is evident dat dat niet allemaal superatleten/talenten zijn. De kunst is nu daar de toppers uit te halen en optimaal te laten presteren, maar zonder roofbouw te plegen op de subtop. Een gezonde samenstelling basis, subtop, top is nodig, want de top is smal, heel smal. En wat is de motivatie nog voor de subtop om te trainen als er geen kans is op een internationale vergelijking. Mijn beste motivatie om meer te trainen kreeg ik altijd na een internationale wedstrijd waar de concurrentie mij naar huis gelopen heeft. “ ~ Jeroen

Een groot deel draait dan ook om geld. OV heeft tegenwoordig zeker niet de middelen om elke keer een volledige ploeg naar world cup te sturen en daarom proberen ze misschien enkel de echt sterke atleten te sturen. Maar je hebt echter mensen nodig om meer mensen te krijgen want dat is het probleem. We zijn te klein om de (media) aandacht te krijgen. Hopelijk kunnen we met een grote ploeg naar EOC in eigen land en krijgt oriëntatielopen in België zo een flinke boost.

 

De fysieke test

Beginnend met de fysieke test. Het lopen van de fysieke test in oktober/november geeft geen enkele goede indicatie of je fysiek in orde bent tijdens het kampioenschap zelf in juli/augustus een half jaar later. In het verleden en in de huidige groep atleten zijn er genoeg atleten die de fysieke test net wel of net niet halen. Om dan andere atleten die de fysieke test met gemak halen, van het kastje naar de muur lopen als er echt georiënteerd moet worden. Want daar draait het in onze sport nog altijd om. In sprint oriëntatie ligt dit wellicht wat anders. Maar wat voor nut is het als een atleet 3’45/km op de huidige versie van de fysieke test kan lopen, als die op WOC tegen 5’30/km door het terrein kan lopen. Echte toppers in Scandinavië trainen elke dag in het terrein. Je zou kunnen zeggen die halen die 3’45/km met gemakt, ja dat klopt. Maar dat is omdat ze 4’30 door het Scandinavisch terrein kunnen lopen en oriënteren tegelijk.

Ik ben wel akkoord met het hebben van een fysieke test want oriënteurs moeten een basissnelheid hebben maar het moet niet zo streng zijn dat onze stabielste lopers de tijden niet halen. Er werd ook pas op de laatste dag van het seizoen gecommuniceerd naar ons over de fysieke test waardoor voor veel atleten het seizoen opeens een maand langer duurde.

 

Onprofessionele selecties

Zowel voor EYOC als voor JWOC zouden er zeven selectiewedstrijden (4 bos & 3 sprint) moeten gelopen worden. Dit betekent dat de jeugdatleten zichzelf in 5 verschillende weekends in een tijdsspanne van 8 weken moeten bewijzen. Dit betekent dus 8 weken lang top zijn en geen enkel moment een dipje hebben.

Zo’n programma gaat weliswaar ten koste van een goede voorbereiding/trainingsblok richting die selectiewedstrijden en uiteindelijk de kampioenschappen. Hierbij is er dan geen echt goed moment meer om op (een zelf geregelde) stage te gaan naar het terrein van het kampioenschap zelf. Het is ook niet dat er tussen 20 verschillende atleten “gekozen” moet worden. Na 3 of 4 wedstrijden, gebundeld in 1 of 2 weekends zal de selectie ook al wel duidelijk worden. Het deelnemen aan een selectiewedstrijd zorgt elke keer weer voor een nieuwe mentale en fysieke voorbereiding, wat veel inspanningen vraagt.

2 selectiewedstrijden bevinden zich in Frankrijk, de rest gewoon in België dus niet echt op relevant terrein. Atleten die tegen dan al 2 keer naar het wedstrijdgebied zijn geweest om zich voor te bereiden, hebben dan alsnog “gelijke” (of misschien zelfs mindere) kansen om zich te selecteren dan atleten die enkel in België hebben georiënteerd.

Bij zo’n groot aantal selectiewedstrijden vergroot je de kans ook om de iets minder stabiele lopers (en meer lucky-lopers en vaak fysiek betere en dan komen we weer uit op de fysieke test) te selecteren die 3 van de 7 wedstrijden sterk hebben gelopen. Op de kampioenschappen zelf moeten die atleten er staan en speelt de factor lucky geen rol want de wedstrijden op deze kampioenschappen zijn veel moeilijker. Hier komt er weer naar boven dat we liever een snelle loper hebben die kan aanpikken dan een tragere stabiele loper.

 

Samenvattend: een verplichte, maar niet bindende fysieke test is goed, maar niet in het huidige format en niet op het huidige tijdstip. Het aantal selectiewedstrijden zorgt voor roofbouw op de atleten en bevoordeelt minder stabiele lopers.

Preview ULD

 This Sunday, the yearly ultra long distances races in Forêt de Soignes will take place. This race is special because it is in teams of 2, started in a mass start and the course is ultra long. Last year in the longest class, it came down to a sprint between the team of Willem Bakelants & Liam Thiels against the team of Gilles De Neyer & Thibaut Robinson. In the end, the team of Omega (Willem & Liam) got the win, only 19 seconds before Gilles & Thibaut. A foreign team of 2 Danish runners, Giacomo Schmidt Frattari & Simon Thrane Hansen completed the podium (only 1’02” behind). In the moyen class, the victory went to 2 Belgian junior orienteers, Mathis Brouwier & Arnaud Mazy. On second place we had the veterans Kim Jansen & Jan Oeyen and third the youngsters Pjotr Mertens & Bob de Cleene. The shortest class was won by Olivier de Smul & Ems de Smul, Béatrice De Longueville & Christophe Amerijckx got second place and on third spot were Peter & Bart Van De Moortel.

This year the distances are: 19.1km – 13.4km – 8.3km. The winners of this competition will be physically strong athletes for sure. But the terrain has also some technical parts in case of  fine orienteering. The terrain consists of a dense network of paths with some bigger hills in it. The vegetation is often very detailed with small green parts. More information on O'Punch.

 

Old map (2016) - Mathias Blaise

ULD Long stars:

3 stars - ***
- Wouter Leeuws & Evert Leeuws: won in 2021, 2019 and didn’t participate after. Evert has showed he’s already in great shape at the physical test. Wouter ran the 2th fastest time at the avondaflossing last week. They can certainly run the distance and have the experience which will give them an adventage over the younger teams.
- Mathis Brouwier & Arnaud Mazy: are still juniors. But they have showed that they can do some great things (physically and technically). They won the moyen distance last year (their km-time was only 4”/km slower than last year’s winner in the longest category)

2 stars - **
- Nico Ceunen & Lennert Lens: technically not the best runners in Belgium but physically they will be there and they both have a really good fighting spirit. They won the avondaflossing (together with Greet Oeyen) and have been running together for quite some races, so they really have the bromance.
- Corneel Casier & Rune de Clercq: have the right combination of technical and physical capabilities. The question is, if they can hold on in the lead for 20km (±2h). Both are in good shape after completing physical test.
- Ken Peeters & Dries van Gestel: an outsider for podium but when a halftime Swedish orienteer comes to run, you always have to look out.

1 star - *
Some other outsiders for the podium are: Coen Claassen & Bert Mariën, Johannes Heinsoo & Benjamin Hofmans.

There probably will be 4 teams in contention for the win, but they lay really close together and then you have some outsiders who have to work really hard to get in the fight for the podium.

 

ULD Moyen stars:

3 stars - ***
- Louis Bourgeois & Oscar Bourgeois: are also still juniors. For me they are favourite for this race. Have certainly the physical demands (are one of the fastest junior runners in Belgium), question is if they have the technical capabilities but both have been shown to run good races with little preparation.
-Liam Thiels & Willem Bakelants: won the longest course last year. They decided to run the moyen distance for injury prevention. They’ll have to try to run away in the forest from the brothers because if it comes down to a sprint, they won’t have any chance.

2 stars - **
- Lucie Arno & Marine Sillien: are 2 of Belgians best female orienteers, question is if they can follow the fastest men teams in the forest? If they are alone in front, it will be hard to catch up in the technical parts.
- Ems de Smul & Olivier de Smul: winners of last year’s short distance. Know each other for quite some time. Ems is one Belgians best senior runners, and Olivier is one Belgians best master runners.

1 star - *
Also in the moyen distance, there are quite some outsiders for the podium: Christophe Amerijckx & Cedric Amerijckx, Aline Hermans & Alain Mazy, Matijs Loeckx & Frederik Loeckx, Kim Jansen & Jan Oeyen.

The fight for the podium will be quite intense and the fight for victory as well with quite some teams that can be in contention but it will be hard for them to beat the brothers Bourgeois and Liam & Willem.

Do I have to visit the start flag or not?

 Welkom bij een nieuwe TT,

Hierbij een artikel uit 2007 van Walter V. K. over het al dan niet verplicht passeren van de startbalise. Ik ging zelf al eens speuren in de huidige IOF regelementen maar kon niets vinden over een eventuele wijziging van deze regel. Indien iemand anders dit wel kan vinden aangezien ik geen heel goede speurneus ben, mag die dat zeker laten weten in de reacties:). 

Do I have to visit the start flag or not?

In short: no.

Thanks to our guest author Walter Van Krunckelsven we know the slightly longer explanation by David Rosen, chairman of the IOF rules commission:

"The fact is that once the runner has crossed the start line, he/she is only concerned with getting to control 1 as quickly as possible.

If the organiser wishes the runner to visit the start flag which is some way off, then the organiser must make it completely clear e.g. by making a taped corridor with "uncrossable" ribbons on both side.

I don't believe that you can penalize a runner for going directly to the first control and (as you say) there is nothing in the rules to say clearly that a runner must visit the start banner. It is simply up to the organiser/planner to arrange the start (and the direction of the first control) so that the runners will naturally visit the start flag."

Full article in Dutch

Naar de startbalise of niet?

Als gevolg van de discussies na het Vlaams Kampioenschap Aflossing en het Belgisch Kampioenschap lange afstand rond het feit of men nu al dan niet tot aan de startbalise moet gaan ben ik eens gaan rondneuzen naar een duidelijk antwoord. In de IOF rules vond ik niet direct iets terug dus heb ik maar David Rosen (voorzitter van de IOF reglementen commissie) aangeschreven.

Hierbij zijn antwoord:

"The fact is that once the runner has crossed the start line, he/she is only concerned with getting to control 1 as quickly as possible.

If the organiser wishes the runner to visit the start flag which is some way off, then the organiser must make it completely clear e.g. by making a taped corridor with "uncrossable" ribbons on both side.

I don't believe that you can penalize a runner for going directly to the first control and (as you say) there is nothing in the rules to say clearly that a runner must visit the start banner. It is simply up to the organiser/planner to arrange the start (and the direction of the first control) so that the runners will naturally visit the start flag."

Vertaling:

"Het is een feit dat de loper na zijn vertrek zo snel mogelijk zijn/haar eerste post wil bereiken.

Als de baanlegger wil dat men tot aan de startbalise loopt moet dit door de baanlegger duidelijk aangegeven worden door bijvoorbeeld een corridor te maken door een "volledig" lint te spannen aan beide zijden.

Ik denk niet dat een loper gestraft kan worden om direct naar het eerste controlepunt te lopen en er staat niets in de reglementen geschreven dat de loper verplicht is om eerst tot aan de startbalise te gaan. Het is aan de baanlegger om de start en de richting naar de eerste post zo te leggen dat het vanzelfsprekend is dat de lopers langs de startbalise passeren."

Ik hoop dat deze bijdrage een einde kan maken aan deze discussie.

Walter Van Krunckelsven

Throwback tuesday pt. 2

 Hier zijn we weer met een nieuwe throwback naar eerder geplaatste berichten op deze blog. Deze keer gaan we terug naar december 2006 waarin Dries een zeer interessant interview had met de GOAT Thierry. Veel nostalgie plezier!

interview with Thierry GUEORGIOU

Interview with Thierry Gueorgiou: Interesting answers on the world cup season 2007, goals, training program, ...

1. Do you know "De laatste post", and do you have any idea what it means?

Yes, I know this web-site and I have already been looking some news on it. I am not really sure about the exact meaning of “De laatste post”. Maybe, “the latest news” or even “the last control”, isn’t it?!

that's correct. De laatste post means both "the latest news" and "the last control"

2. What do you know about orienteering in Belgium?

I have been several times orienteering in Belgium, mostly for international competitions. I was there for JWOC in '97, World-Cup 2002 opening round and also for a junior match previously. Of course, I also know a couple of national team runners since they are taking part to most of the main French competitions. I would say that Belgian terrains are quite interesting especially if we take in consideration the size of Belgium. Sand terrains in the north part of Belgium are very nice.

3. How did you experience the orient-show?

I loved it! It was more than only a show. I expected a quite simple orienteering there, but finally it was a really challenging competition, with all the things that I like in our sport: mentally demanding, opponents’ pressure, and technical challenges. I also think that this type of format can be a sort of revolution for areas where “natural” orienteering is not possible or not that interesting.

4. What do you think about the Olympic dream of IOF, what do you think is the best format for orienteering to make it an Olympic discipline?

If we consider that Olympic Games is not there to declare who is the very best in the World, but to sell even more Coca-cola bottles. Then, the Orient’Show would definitively be the most attractive event for Medias, Sponsors and so on. I simply hope that I will still like to be an orienteer in ten years and that all the concessions that we have to do to be more attractive would not make me lost my passion for this sport.Of course, it would be fun to go to Olympic Games as an orienteer instead of as a spectator. But I definitively know that if orienteering would become an Olympic sport, which I doubt, it would not be for my generation of runners.

5. What is your opinion about the new WC-rules 2007?

Honestly, I have not been looking carefully the World-Cup 2007 rules and program, mainly because I don’t like the new system. Since 2002, the value of World-Cups, in my opinion, decreases year after year. Hopefully I have been able to win the overall World-Cup this year and therefore I don’t have to go again and again to catch this first place. Thus, I have no special ambition for next year and will probably skip most of these competitions.
I have also been following the debate for the places allocation per nations. It is not an easy task, because if we want to be “media-attractive”, we need the bests at our best events. That’s for sure. But we also need a World wide spread sport. Honestly, I like to be in tight battle of the Finnish national championships where the amounts of good runners is amazing, and where qualification races are already a big threat. But, I also liked to see the smiles of the Uruguayan, Argentinean, Ecuadorian as well as the Angolan in the last CISM.

6. What is your winter training program?

I am slowly starting to increase my training amount since my two weeks of break after the season. I will keep the basis of my last winters. It means about half of my trainings hours will be orienteering. My results in WOC made me inspired too. The theory is always the same, you have to be prepared when the season will begin. And the key, is to prepare yourself in a way that no one will understand, because you don’t think too many people are willing to pay that price. The tougher you are on yourself, the easier life will be on you…"

Foto: WOC 2006

7. How do you combine orienteering with study/work?

At the moment, I am almost a full time orienteer. I have still to do a six months long training-course to get my Master of Ecology and Biology. But at the moment, I have another project which will take the next five months in my schedule. \nAnyway, the priority is always my next training. When I wake-up in the morning, the first question of the day is: ”which training I have planned?”

8. What are your goals for 2007?

In general: to continue my dream of life… Keep doing my deep passion, on the pursuit of the “even better”. Never stop learning. But at the moment, I have only one thought which excites my neurons: the middle distance of the next WOC. I want to show a better style than this year in this special race. I think that I will also be specially prepared for two others races in the season, the Tiomila and the Jukola.

9. Who is for you the O-man and O-woman of the year? And what is your O-race of the year?

Hummm, for the man, it is difficult to say, since I never try to compare me and the others. But I have been impressed by several runners this year, among them: Jani Lakanen, Emil Wingstedt, Jarkko Huovila and Daniel Hubmann. For the O-woman, it is, of course, Simone Niggli the superwoman of the year. But I have to say, that we really don’t have to trivialize her performances year after year. I am sure that it is not as easy as it seems. She is just unbelievable to keep her motivation at this level and set new limits after each race. But I have also been impressed, this year, by the skillful Minna Kauppi as well as the talented Hanny Allston. My best race this year was, maybe, the long distance in the World-Cup finals. I had the right strategy and feeling for the terrain from the start to the end. My Tiomila run wasn’t bad either."


10. What was your best (J)WOC-party ever? And why was it the best?

That’s a good question… I'm sure that it was not in Belgium for JWOC 1997; the only thing that I remember from this party was that the music volume was higher than ever. I would have been deaf if I would have stayed ten minutes in the dancing room. I have good memories from 1997, in the World Championships in Grimstad. I was only 18 year’s old, and I spend lot of time looking at my past idols!"

11. What do you want for Christmas?

Nothing special. Keep on dreaming and trying to achieve them is surely what I would like the most. But who could offer this to me? The world is full of people who are waiting for someone to come along and motivate them to be the kind of people they wish they could be…These people are waiting for a bus on a street where no busses pass. But hopefully I can find one person who can define success in my life – and that’s me!

12. What's your favorite O-website besides "delaatstepost.blogspot.com"?

My start page is tero.fr, of course! But it seems that the webmaster is a really lazy person. Updates aren’t made that often. More seriously, World of O’ is definitively the best starting page for every orienteer.

Thierry, Thanks for the interview. Best wishes for 2007, and may the best man win.

Throwback Tuesday: Never run straight

De koude wintermaanden beginnen er aan te komen en dan zijn er steevast iets minder wedstrijden en O-nieuws te bespeuren in binnen- en buitenland (buiten De Sylvester natuurlijk). Om deze ietwat kale maanden te overbruggen op de laatste post, wordt er een nieuwe categorie in het leven geroepen.

Throwback Tuesday zal voor u het vuile werk en doen en op zoek gaan naar de oude parels van De Laatste Post. TT zal elke week een oud artikel opgraven uit de diepe gekrochten van De Laatste Post en deze 'reposten' met een eervolle vermelding en correcte bronvermelding naar de oorspronkelijke auteur.

Voor deze eerste editie beginnen we met een wiskundig artikel van Dries vanuit november 2006. 

Never run straight

Imagine a leg through 2 types of forest, first forest is slower than the second one. The straight line has an angle of 45° to the contour line. But is running straight the fastest way? You can imagine that it depends on how much slower the first forest is in comparison to the second.

I give the results of some easy calculations.














Conclusion: NEVER RUN STRAIGHT if the speed in the two forests is different. It's easy to calculate in a fast way while running. If you think the speed in first forest (50%) is 2 times slower than second forest (100%) you should aim at about 50% of the angle between red line and contour line.

Run fast but think even faster.