site.btaWorld MTB Orienteering Championships to Be Held in Shumen Sept. 9-15

The World MTB Orienteering Championships will be held from September 9 to 15 in Shumen, said on Monday Iliyan Todorov, General Secretary of the competition. 

The tournament will involve 177 participants with 32 coaches from a total of 22 countries, and will take place on and around the Shumen Plateau Nature Park. There will be categories for men and women, as well as 17-year-olds and 20-year-olds. A prize of EUR 1,000 will be awarded for first place in the general classification, EUR 600 for second place, and EUR 400 for third place.

On September 9, there will be a training run, before the first sprint races in the four categories start on September 10. "The mass start on September 11 is an extremely interesting discipline for spectators. In it, everyone starts at the same time, not running along the same route, but at certain places they separate and gather", noted Todorov.

He emphasised that in cycle orienteering you have to not only drive quickly along the route, but also memorise the map and choose the best option between the various points to the finish line as quickly as possible as well. With an electronic system, it is then checked whether participants have passed through all the checkpoints and a ranking is made according to times and age categories.

A gala dinner on September 15 will close the championship.

The Orienteering Sports Club NSA - SiVen and the Bulgarian Orienteering Federation are the organizers of the World MTB Orienteering Championships 2024.