Ruska Saarela, Finland and Krystof Bogar, Czechia won the Sprints on challenging courses in Poland today; the lead changed several times in both races. Saarela finished fastest by 0.25, whilst Bogar’s win was by an impressive 1.14.
Saarela, second in the World Cup standings, had a difficult start – 27th at the first TV timing point – but rode strongly and picked up places steadily after that. She led the race only from the last control. Swiss rider Celine Wellenreiter was a surprise silver medalist; 16th in the World Cup before this race, and 16th in the IOF World Rankings, this is her best-ever result to date. She was pushed closely by Tilda Palm, Sweden, who finished strongly and was just 1 second slower after a very steady race where she never dropped below fifth. The top 6 in the race are all from different nations.
Women’s podium: six different nations! Photos: WMTBOC 2025
It was not a good day for Nikoline Splittorff, Denmark, who won all three individual races at the European Championships three months ago. She finished seventh today, 55 seconds down on the winning time.
In the men’s race, Hannes Hnilica AUT, Noah Rieder SUI and Miika Nurmi FIN all had timing points where they were in the lead, but in the last half of the race it was the very experienced Krystof Bogar with the fastest time, which he gradually extended to get a comfortable win. He won both the Sprint and Middle races at WMTBOC 2023 on home ground.
Men’s podium, including three athletes from Finland
Nurmi took silver and his compatriot Andre Haga took bronze. Finland packed well in the results, taking fourth place as well. The races were held on a mainly flat army exercise area with a dense network of tracks, where constant map contact was essential for success.
In the Junior World MTBO Championships, the Sprint gold medalists were Adela Ryglova CZE, who won by just 3 seconds, and Augustin LeClère FRA by 48 seconds.
Tomorrow is Middle Distance day, starting at 11.00 CEST (UTC + 2). Follow the action live for free on IOF TV!
Leading results, Sprint
Women, 5.8 km, 28 controls
- Ruska Saarela FIN 24:01
- Celine Wellenreiter SUI 24:26
- Tilda Palm SWE 24:27
- Jana Hnilica AUT 24:34
- Lucie Nedomlelova CZE 24:40
- Constance Devillers FRA 24:42
Men, 6.6 km, 34 controls
- Krystof Bogar CZE 22:55
- Miika Nurmi FIN 24:09
- Andre Haga FIN 24:18
- Teemu Kaksonen FIN 24:35
- Noah Rieder SUI 24:46
- Fabiano Bettega ITA 24:50
JWMTBOC Women
Gold: Adela Ryglova CZE
Silver: Kaisla Hakkinen FIN + 0.03
Bronze: Malin Lara Roehrl SUI + 0.17
JWMTBOC Men
Gold: Augustin LeClère FRA
Silver: Akseli Pesu FIN + 0.48
Bronze: Antoine Lesquer FRA + 0.52