Action begun today at the third and final round of the Mountain Bike Orienteering World Cup in Odemira in Portugal ©IOF/Twitter

Russia’s Ruslan Gritsan and Sweden’s Nadia Larsson won the respective men’s and women’s middle-distance events as action begun today at the third and final round of the Mountain Bike Orienteering (MTBO) World Cup in Odemira in Portugal.

Gritsan triumphed with a time of 1 hour 2min 16sec, beating nearest challenger Lauri Malsroos of Estonia by 21 seconds.

Finland’s Jussi Laurila finished a further 11 seconds back in third.

World Cup leader Anton Foliforov of Russia had to settle for a 14th-place finish.

Sweden's Nadia Larsson proved strongest in the women's middle-distance event ©MTBO 2018
Sweden's Nadia Larsson proved strongest in the women's middle-distance event ©MTBO 2018

In the women’s event, Larsson came out on top in 1:01:36 with Finland’s Antonia Haga second in 1:01:52 and Czech Republic’s Martina Tichovská, the World Cup leader, third in 1:01:54.

Tomorrow is due to see the long-distance events take centre stage.

Competition is then due to conclude on Sunday (September 23) with the sprint events.

The World Cup series, which this year also comprised the European Championships and World Championships, establishes the best riders over all mountain bike orienteering formats throughout the course of a season.