Thursday saw the start of the 2023 International Season with the first World Cup of the year being held in Østfold, the South East of Norway. 

Ten of the twelve team members lined up on the start line for the Long event, where the terrain was very similar to the WOC 2019 races. 

It was Megan who finished top of the British placings, just inside the top 20, in 17th place after a strong and consistent run. Ralph Street finished the highest place of the British Men's Team, and after a strong run looked that he would be close to finishing inside the top 20 until the very end; his final position was 27th.

Joshua Dudley kicked off the season with his first World Cup point with a run which kept him near the top end of the field until the latter stages-

“The Race went to plan and I am really happy with my results. The course was quite tough and technical but I managed to hold it together quite well- just nice when a plan works out.

My World Cup results are progressive and getting better and I’m very happy to earn my first World Cup Point.”

On the day however, it was defending World Cup Champions, Tove Alexandersson (SWE) and Kasper Fosser (NOR) who took an important step in their title defence. Apart from the first two controls Tove led the Women’s class throughout the race.

The men’s class turned out to be a nail biter, with Martin Regborn (SWE) finishing with a clear lead, but minutes later Emil Svensk beat him by just 6 seconds after nearly 90 minutes in the forest. The final starter Kasper Forsser was half a minute behind on most of the course but managed to take victory over the last few controls, winning by just 3 seconds.

After a well-deserved rest tomorrow, Saturday will host the Middle Distance from the same arena with the relays to close the event on Sunday.

World Cup Round 1: Long Distance Results