News
TEAM SCANDINAVIA EDGE GERMANY IN THRILLING CONTEST TO WIN EUROPEAN NATIONS CUP
A combined Scandinavian team of Sweden’s Emil Hansson, Ferry Svan Edvin Karlsson and Denmark’s Esben Pedersen claimed the 2022 STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® European Nations Cup in dramatic fashion, finishing ahead of Germany in second and defending champions Poland in third. The event returned following its inaugural year in 2021 and played out in front of an excited crowd in Weiach, Switzerland.
Swedish sensation Edvin Karlsson sawed his way to victory in the Rookie competition before compatriots Ferry Svan and Emil Hansson both secured top five finishes in the Pro competition to steer Team Scandinavia to the overall title ahead of Germany, despite Danny Martin’s impressive display to win the Pro competition.
Swedish sensation Karlsson gets Scandinavia off to flyer in Rookie competition
Edvin Karlsson was consistent throughout the Rookie competition, finishing in the top three in each of the four disciplines on his way to a total of 43 points to see off the challenge of reigning European Nations Cup champion Szymon Groenwald. He made a strong start in the Stock Saw, finishing second behind the early leader, France’s Loic Voinson, who completed his cut in a mind-blowing 11.01 seconds. There were also strong early showings from fellow Frenchman Vincent Rousselle and Italian duo Nicola Trecarichi and Michel Perrin.
Karlsson established himself at the top of the leader board with two further runner-up finishes in the Standing Block Chop and Single Buck, with the Polish brothers Mikolaj and Szymon Groenwald winning each discipline to set up a tense finale in the Underhand Chop. Italian Perrin won the final event, with Karlsson sealing overall victory with a third-place finish behind Szymon Groenwald, who secured the overall runner-up spot. France’s Voinson finished fifth in the discipline to ensure he pipped Perrin to third place in the overall result.
German Martin bests home favourite Geissler and Swede Svan in Pro competition
The evening saw the start of the Pro competition and German Martin got off to a slow start, finishing in just seventh place in the Underhand Chop with France’s Pierre Puybaret taking an early lead with the Swedish pair of Emil Hansson and Ferry Svan in third and fourth. Home favourite Christophe Geissler then laid down his marker with a thrilling performance in Stock Saw, finishing with a time of 10.72 seconds before Sweden’s Svan showed his prowess in the Standing Block Chop, posting a time of 20.91 seconds to win the discipline.
The field was cut down to the top eight athletes for the next two events and Svan continued to impress, winning the Single Buck ahead of Puybaret and Martin. In the Springboard, Switzerland’s Geissler was back at it pipping Martin to the best time. Martin’s consistent performances ensured he was level on points with Geissler and just three behind leader Svan heading into the final event, the Hot Saw. Martin produced an outstanding time of 4.84 seconds to set a new European record, putting him into first ahead of Geissler. With Svan only able to finish fourth, both Martin and Geissler leap-frogged him in the overall standings.
Svan and Hansson seal Scandinavian glory
However, Svan’s third and Hansson’s fifth place finishes were enough to hand Team Scandinavia the overall European Nations Cup title following Karlsson’s earlier triumph. Martin’s victory in the Pro competition guided Germany to second ahead of reigning champions Poland in the dynamic Nations Cup format.
The European Nations Cup saw two electric contests on the same day with 12 athletes representing six teams battling it out for glory in a Rookie competition followed by the same number of athletes in the Pro competition. The overall winners were determined by a combined nations ranking from both competitions at the end of the day, with each nation’s total score divided by the number of athletes they sent, to ensure fair competition. Athletes in both categories took on four iconic TIMBERSPORTS® disciplines – Stock Saw, Standing Block Chop, Single Buck and Underhand Chop, while the Pros also tackled the heart-racing Springboard and Hot Saw.
Ferry Svan, 2022 European Nations Cup Champion, commented: “It feels amazing to do it with the team. For me I had a pretty good competition, I think I let myself down with the Springboard, but I was thrilled to break the Nordic record in the Hot Saw. As a team we are thrilled.”
Marcel Steinkämper, who was part of the German team that finished second, added: “It was a great team effort. We all had good disciplines and bad ones. Danny was superb in the Hot Saw, he made a great cut. Overall, it is great to work on the team and get on the podium together.”
Full results:
1) Scandinavia
2) Germany
3) Poland
4) France
5) Switzerland
6) Italy
Full results and final standings for the 2022 European Nations Cup can be found on the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® database.
