The IOF Council has appointed the hosts of two international MTBO championships in the coming years following the recommendations from the MTBO Commission.
The 2026 CX80 European MTBO Championships and European Junior and Youth MTBO Championships will be held in Portugal.
The city of Ourém, north of the capital Lisbon, is the venue of the championships, which will feature four competitions: Sprint, Middle, Mass start and Mixed Relay in the end of May 2026.
Portugal and the Portuguese Orienteering Federation is no stranger to organising major MTBO events. Since 2010 seven IOF MTBO events have taken place in the country, and the EMTBOC 2027 will be the fourth of its kind held there.
World Championships in Latvia
The following year, the world’s best MTBO-athletes head to Latvia, which will host the 2027 CX80 World MTBO Championships and Junior World MTBO Championships.
The host city will be Madona, which as recently as 2023 hosted the European Ski Orienteering Championships. The event centre is the most modern skiing complex in the country and skiing tracks will be part of the extensive trail network available to the course setters.
Latvia made its debut as an international MTBO event host in 2024, where the CX80 MTBO World Cup and U23 World MTBO Championships were held.
Front page photo: EMTBOC 2022 – by Donatas Lazauskas