World Cup Round 1 2026: Knock-Out Sprint Results

It was another hot, sunny day in Locarno for the Knock Out Sprints. GB's hopes rested on the Molloy siblings.

Grace was up first in the 1st quarter final. The pressure was immediately on with 3 butterfly loops through the cloisters of the castle. Grace kept calm under pressure and executed her race smoothly emerging from the loops in 3rd. She extended the gap to 4th over the remainder race, qualifying comfortably.

Quarter finals completed, it was time to cheer on Grace in the first of the semi finals. This time the athletes faced the challenge of "runners choice"; Grace successfully picking the shortest of the 3 options on offer. An exciting race followed, including an intricate section through a school. Grace ran well to finish 5th.

In the men's race, Pete also chose the first heat - (athletes choose which heat they want to run in). Racing was very tight through the butterfly loops, with Pete emerging into the old town section in 5th place. Deliberately taking a different route to the 4 front athletes, unfortunately didn't pay off with Pete finishing 6th in a sprint finish.

Results

Peter said: "[I was] Disappointed to go out in the quarters but I can take lots of positives away from today’s performance. The butterfly loops around the castle meant that you were doing technical orienteering on your own from the start and some small hesitations and misses meant that I couldn’t stay with the leaders despite a strong final few controls. Still, it was brilliant fun to compete at this level and hopefully I’ll have more chances to improve in the knock-out discipline!"

Grace commented: "I was pleased to run a composed quarter final through some technical loops. In the semi-final, I knew I would have to be perfect to get top 2 in such a strong heat. I made a few small mistakes at the end of the course and that was enough to put me out of the fight. It was great to get more quality knock out experience in the build to WOC."

Images: Grace Molloy pictured in the Knock-Out Sprint. Credit: Silvan Schletti.