World Cup Final – Grindelwald Switzerland

Following 3 rounds of 8 individual and 4 team races (Finland, WOC in Estonia, Latvia) earlier in the year; the final 4th round of 3 races was held over the weekend (29th September – 1st October) in Grindelwald Switzerland. Set against the stunning backdrop of the Eiger and surrounding Alps this round certainly did not lack breathe-taking views. More information and results can be found here: http://www.o-worldcup.ch/en/

The first race of the weekend was a long race. Staged in steep alpine terrain the courses had a lot of climb (780/560m climb for men/women!) and tricky rocky areas to navigate. Congratulations to Graham Gristwood, he had a fantastic run to finish 8th, his best ever individual result in the forest. Saturday brought a Middle race, again in steep and technical Swiss terrain. Best result of the day once again went to Graham with another solid result, 19th. Particular congratulations must also go to Sasha Chepelin achieving 2 top 50 finishes in his first Senior international races despite still being an M20. The final race of the weekend was a Mixed Sprint Relay (MSR) around Grindelwald town itself. It was fast and furious with narrow alleyways, more hills and yet more amazing views with several mispunches and disqualifications in the top teams. Chris Smithard, Jonny Crickmore and Jo Shepherd were in the GB team and their result this weekend helped take Team GB to 6th overall in the world cup team standings.