“It was a clean race, it’s hard to ask for better when you do your personal best …”
On the phone, coach Gregor Jelonek spoke directly to Laurent Dubreuil an hour and a half after his bronze medal in the 500-meter World Cup in Salt Lake City on Friday afternoon.
The post-race return was done at a distance since the coach contracted COVID-19 in Norway two weeks ago, forcing him to self-isolate 10 days before returning to Quebec.
“When it’s happening on the ice, he’s more of the talking while I try to catch my breath!” », Laughed Dubreuil.
The long track speed skater was perfectly prepared to share this moment with his trainer in the company of the two journalists who questioned him by videoconference at the time of the call.
Despite a fifth medal in five races, a personal best and a consolidated lead at the top of the World Cup standings, Dubreuil was far from satisfied.
He noted “two small errors” in the curves which unsettled him a little: “In the second corner, I came in really tight. It meant that I was stuck at the entrance, but I was deported in the second half. So I was not close to the blocks. ”
“Down the stretch, do you think you could have taken more steps?” Jelonek asked him.
“Yes, I was wide in the second corner, but I didn’t go out that far. I took eight steps and maybe I should have taken nine. At the end, I let myself slip a bit. ”
“This is where you may have lost second position, the difference was not big. ”
Dubreuil noted some back concerns. Jelonek made sure he had received physiotherapy treatments. the coach Then told him that he had followed the race with his father in the VIP lounge of the new Intact Insurance Ice Center, which is hosting its first Canada Cup this weekend.
” It was very cool. It’s great, Laurent. You were able to finish on the podium. It’s a beautiful continuity. Five in five, it’s still strong, we continue on the same path. ”
Yamato Matsui, 24, and Wataru Morishige, 21, had the best of the Canadian with times of 34.04 s and 34.09 s respectively. Dubreuil also clocked a personal high of 34.09 seconds, but gave up eight thousandths to his Japanese opponent, which cost him a silver medal.
“I’m happy when I win, but I’m also happy when I finish second or third,” he responded.
So far, his personal best was 34.11s, set in Calgary in January 2019. “It’s fun, but honestly, I can’t wait to do 33 seconds. If I had to target an objective in the next three high altitude races [Salt Lake City, dimanche, et Calgary la semaine prochaine], that would be to make a 33. ”
Dubreuil did not fail to point out that the Chinese Tingyu Gao had stopped the clock at 33.96 sec to win in Group B in the morning. Winner of the first 500m of the season in Poland, he was relegated to the second division due to his absence in Norway a week later.
“I have five medals in five races, but I’m not the best in the world right now. Gao is really better than me. All the best world performances come from him this year. ”
If he performs without a hitch, Gao will win by “three tenths” in the second 500m on Sunday, predicted the 29-year-old Quebecer. However, he does not throw in the towel. “My goal is to go get him. He’s the best in the world right now, but that doesn’t mean he’s untouchable for the Games. He tends to make lots of mistakes. He did 33.9 and had a good imbalance in the first straight. His technique is not refined. ”
Dubreuil made a false start, which forced him to be a little more careful on the restart. This did not prevent him from achieving his second time in life in the 100m (9.54). “I probably would have been a little faster without a false start, but it was the best part of my race. ”
The most consistent sprinter since the start of the season, he doesn’t want to be satisfied with that.
Consistency isn’t the most exciting. I think people watch Gao more than me! He is lucky to have an incredible weather. I’m consistent, but the guy who always finishes second is boring. I have a special race in me, magical if you will, but I just have to get it out.
Laurent Dubreuil
Veteran Alex Boisvert-Lacroix continued his progress by posting the fifth fastest time in group B (34.47).
After a cautious start in the 3000m, the Canadian Isabelle Weidemann landed at the foot of the podium. Ivanie Blondin took sixth place, while Valérie Maltais broke the four-minute barrier for the first time (3 min 59.22 s), which earned her the 10e square.
In the 5,000m, the irresistible Swede Nils van der Poel set a world record in 6:01.56, knocking the mark of Canadian Ted-Jan Bloemen, who finished eighth in 6:14.47.