Orienteers compete at City Legends in Ādaži after the World and European Championships

Original publication date: 18.09.2023

“Pilsētas leģendu” for the rogaining series organized by the Adventure Competition Agency in cooperation with Intervals.lv, Isostar, Garmin, Kokmuiža, Magnesia, Red Bull, Merrild, Orthomol, Wellmann. Đaži was a new discovery on the map of Latvia, the Rogaininga area, which was enjoyed by around 600 participants, covered the penultimate bends of the Gauja river and the vecupes before it flows into the sea. The territory was stretched in the north-south direction and was squeezed between the Ādaži military training ground, between the Riga watershed reserve and Baltezeri.

In the prestigious GARMIN 6h course, there was little doubt that Zigmunds Bībers and Alberts Jasāns (“Laid mums tur laimē diet”) would win among more than 80 teams. The European 24-hour rogaining veteran champions, who placed fourth overall at those championships, admitted before the start that collecting the maximum 200 points would be difficult. They were right, as fatigue from the European Championships in Finland a week earlier also took its toll. Nevertheless, Zigmunds and Alberts won convincingly with 194 points and extended their overall lead. Valdis Čunka and Jānis Ķemers (“Riga Adventure team”) were solidly second with 170.

However, there was a very intense battle for the third place in the absolute rating, which involved four teams, all of which were separated by only two points. Ahead of the closest competitors Edgaru Jurjānu/Eviju Abiļevu (Two people) and Guntaru Žilinski/Rihardu Žilinski (Brunavians) who exceeded the time limit by less than two minutes by one point, the third place with 156 points was won by the best mixed or Mix team “PL” with Sandi Pētersonu and Zani Gruberti in the composition. The battle for the best women's team title was just as intense, where the same amount - 141 points - was collected by both Anete Geduševa-Bērziņa/Dace Gaigala (ZVOC ladies) and “Vidzemnieces” Nora Baranovska and Marta Liepiņa, but Anete and Daci spent less time in the distance, so they got a higher place with the same amount of points. Right in front of the ZVOC ladies, Kristīne Kadaša, who won silver in the overall standings and gold in her age group, who competed in Đadaži together with Uģi Inku, ranked in 9th place. Aigaram and Tomasam Čeksteriem (All in balls) with 96 points first place in the family competition.

In the Vidējā Kokmuižas 4h distance, where more than 80 teams also competed, four teams - the two best men's and mixed teams - managed to collect a hundred or more points. An interesting number, or the sum of three singles - 111 points - was obtained by Valteram Veisam/Artūram Kančam (Do not pig in the forest), to whom Mārtiņš Treijs/Uldis Cīrulis (Dust devourers) conceded eight points. Maksims and Ilze Leščinski (Schweerpunkt) overspent a little over ten minutes, but the 11 points deducted did not prevent them from taking third place in the absolute rating and winning the MIX competition. The hosts Eduards Pāķis and Sniedze Brakovska (Adaži city) showed hospitality to the guests, who have a round hundred and who still maintain a convincing lead in the overall standings.

The Precinieku family (Liedags-35) recorded two eighth placers in their account - Fadejs, Zelma, Everts, who took a convincing first place in the family ranking. On the other hand, in the women's competition, there was a very equal battle between five teams, which fit within a distance of four points. Apsteidzot Ludmilu Kozačenko/Daci Ahiļčenoku (Cloudwalkers) with a minimal advantage, Liene Buldure/Elīna Andersone (Legends of Dambish) celebrated the victory with 85 points.

As befits the shortest distance, the fiercest fight for the victory in the absolute rating took place in the ISOSTAR 2h distance, but also only between the first two teams, who were separated by two points. With 59 points, Kārlis and Daina Stonkas (A team) were the winners in the competition of 41 teams, who were two points ahead of the winner of the previous stage and the best men's team “LV Bārdas” – Uldis Pormeistars and Gunārs Ozoliņš, who initially had 62 points, but four and a half minutes of wasted time and thus 57 points in the end.

With 48 points at the end, however, Alisei Čurkstei/Gustavam Venteram (Susliki) was enough for the third place in the overall standings and the second place in the MIX group, because the pair of Zabers who collected 49 points - Reinis and Anete (Shurpu-turpu) - finished one minute and five seconds after the time limit (4h) and separated by two points, occupying the fourth place and being third in the mixed in team competition. The fourth victory this season in the women's competition was won by Ilze Vilciņa/Inese Vilciņa (Milk is in the fridge), who were the only ones to score over forty - 44 points. In the family competition, Miķelis Zumbergs with his daughter Anci on his back collected 37 points, not letting anyone else get close.

3h MTB-O first two places “rezervēja” Mārtiņš Linde and Andris Sarksņa who started three weeks ago in the Czech Republic at the MTBO world championship. As in the last stage in Strenchos, European Championship 19th place winner Linde (172 points) prevailed, celebrating his third victory this season, but this time he has a bigger advantage, because Sarksnia, the World Championship 14th place winner in the sprint, made a mistake (160 points). The next 60 men in the competition with the same number of points (157) were followed by Jānis Lācis and Raitis Muižnieks, who spent a few minutes less on the track in the duel than Jānis, who also took 3rd place. In the women's 16-member competition, after many second places, Aiga Strazdiņa (117 points) finally won, six points more than overall leader and runner-up Inese Kauķe. The top three was completed by Algirda Mickuviene, a Lithuanian woman who competed in bicycle orienteering or MTBO in August and won 22nd and 23rd place.

In the 2h rogaining run, or O-Run, the top scorer (64) was Gatis Lagzdiňš, who was the only one who managed to accumulate more than 60 points. The winner of the women's competition, Anitas Užules's brother Jānis, initially had 61 points on his account, but wasted a minute and a half and ended up with 59 points, which allowed him to overtake overall leader Jānis dūkus, who took 3rd place. Anita Užule, who won another victory, earned 59 points, while Līgai Celiņai and Elvitai Alksnei got 50 and 47 points, respectively.