The American Challenge

Every great sport has its legendary rivalries: Ali vs Frazier, Prost vs Senna, Nadal vs Federer, Northug vs Hellner, Gueorgiou vs Hubmann, ... , mats-apan ("the food monkey" according to GoogleTranslate) vs lofas.

In addition to the star-studded lineup of orienteering heavyweights competing for the title of Tour de Linné Champion this week, another important prize will be up for grabs when the starting gun goes off in Ulleråker this evening: the right to call yourself The Best American Orienteer in Uppsala. On the women's side this seems to be a pretty one-sided contest. Barring any unforeseen last-minute entries, Samantha Saeger seems to be the overwhelming favorite to take home the crown.

But what about the men's side? There we have two unproven contenders who have crossed the ocean for a chance to live out their fantasies in an orienteering paradise, Ross Smith and Boris Granovskiy. Let's go to the numbers:

Orienteering age: Ross 29, Boris 32
US Club: Ross CSU, Boris CSU
WOCs run: Ross 4, Boris 4
Tours de Linné completed: Ross 0, Boris 1
North American Champion Titles: Ross 1, Boris 0
Last place finishes at Stora Våndan: Ross 0, Boris 1

Best expected events:
Ross - Stage 4 (road run), Stage 6 (backbana)
Boris - Stage 1 (sprint), Stage 5 (middle distance)

Who will take home the title and all the glory that goes with it? Feel free to leave your opinion in the comments! We will provide daily updates of standings right here on this blog so you can follow the exciting race from the comfort of your own living room.

Las Vegas has set the preliminary betting line at: Ross by 1.5 minutes.