The Asikkalan Raikas foursome snatched the first ever Venla Relay victory for the club. The victory was preceded by exciting moments during the anchor leg when Minna Kauppi who had been the first to start for the leg was left up to a minute behind Swedish teams OK Skogsalken and IF Thor.

Orienteering fast and precise, Kauppi was able to rise to victory with a mere 7 second difference to OK Skogsfalken. IF Thor lost to the winner by 31 seconds. Tampereen KooVee came 4th with more than 5 minutes to Asikkala.

The entire Asikkalan Raikas team - Hannele Valkonen, Kirsi Vanhalakka, Sirkka-Liisa Huusari and Mina Kauppi - were confident in their orienteering and made no major mistakes. Due to her own mistakes, Kauppi considered herself to have been the weakest link of the team today.

At 5.5 kilometres Kauppi was a minute behind the Swedes. She was able to speed up after her mistake and ended up being the most precise at the last two controls which were tricky and positioned on slopes but allowed her to overtake her worst competition.

"I highly value the VenlaRelay victory, especially since we gained it together with good friends", says Kauppi.