part of a previous Uster map
The Senior International season finishes with sprint races in Switzerland at the end of September. It is the third round of the World Cup, and known as the World Cup Final. On Friday 26th there is a sprint race, which also serves as qualification for Sunday 28th's Knockout Sprint. In between the individual races, on Saturday 27th, is a Sprint Relay.
IOF Eventor for the Competition.
The GB Team of seven women and seven men has been announced. It is similar to the team that attended the recent European Champs in Belgium, with 11 of the team having run there. Additions are Mairi Eades and Jim Bailey, both of whom ran at the World Games in China in early August, and Rachel Duckworth, a second-year senior making her debut at this level. Mairi made her senior debut in 2023. In China she did better in the forest race than the sprint but just a couple of weeks ago she was second (behind Alice Leake who is now retired from internationals) at this year's British Sprint Championships, and in the winning Sprint Relay team. Jim is also a second-year senior; he was 12th at the World Games Sprint and 8th at the Junior World Champs Sprint in 2023.
Team Announcement at British Orienteering.
World of O - 2025 World Cup Final - All You Need to Know
GB Team
Mairi Eades at the World Games in China in August, photo: Erling Thisted / IOF
GB Women
- Cecilie Andersen
- Rachel Duckworth
- Mairi Eades
- Emily Gibbins
- Grace Molloy
- Chloe Potter
- Imogen Pieters
Jim Bailey at the World Games in China in August, photo: Erling Thisted / IOF
GB Men
- Jim Bailey
- Freddie Carcas
- Nathan Lawson
- Eddie Narbett
- Charlie Rennie
- Ralph Street
- Euan Tryner
Start Order
Start order for Friday's race will be reverse World Ranking, modified by some promotions into the televised final-40s for runners with high places in important races over the last few years. (Grace and Ralph are in this category, but their World Rankings are in the top-40 in any case.)
Of the other GB runners, Cecilie will likely be a final-40 - she qualified in both sprints in Belgium, and Nathan with his 15th in the individual sprint reinforced his top-40 world ranking. Freddie may make the final-40 and he and Eddie are both in the top-100. Freddie made the Knockout semi-finals in Belgium, and Eddie had a strong run in the GB Sprint Relay team that was 5th (he was also fast in the sprint qualification but mispunched.) Chloe and Mairi are just outside the top-100. Charlie, Euan, Jim, Imogen, and Emily are a bit further down the world rankings. And Rachel does not have enough races to count a full set, so is likely to be a pretty early starter.
World Cup
Races are scored 100-90-80-75-70-66 and so on down to 1 for 50th.
The home runner Simona Aebersold is s strong favourite for the win in the Women's Competition. She leads with 330 points, second Cecile Calandry with 258, third Pia Young Vik on 242, and fourth Natalia Gemperle with 237. If Simona wins on the Friday that will be enough, as the lowest points from the knockout finals is 20.
The men's competition is more open: Max Peter Bejmer leads with 250 (he scored 84 at the two races in Belgium), Kasper Fosser has 210, Martin Regborn 202, Tomas Krivda 183, Matthias Barros Vallet 158, Fabian Aebersold 153, Jonatan Gustafsson 142 and Tino Polsini 138. All are capable of taking at least one win. It will probably be decided in the knockout finals.
Leading GB runner is Grace Molloy, 17th with 114 points.
Test Races
The results from a World Ranking test race in Switzerland (in Spiez) on the 11th September.
Most of the runners were Swiss... and Daniel Hubmann took the men's win, by two seconds from Kasper Fosser, with Tino Polsini and Fabian Aebersold third and fourth.
In the women's race Simona Aebersold won by half a minute.