(Obihiro) Canadians won the silver medal in the team pursuit at the first stop of the ISU Long Track Speed Skating World Cup season this weekend in Obihiro.
After concluding last season by winning a long-awaited World Championship title, the trio composed of Isabelle Weidemann, Valérie Maltais and Ivanie Blondin got their hands on silver on Saturday, after finishing 1, 22 seconds of the gold medalists from Japan, who played in front of their fans.
Paired with their Dutch rivals in the last pair, the Canadians returned to the charge after a slow start by displaying good consistency in terms of their lap times, completing the distance in 2:59.25.
The Japanese took gold (2:58.03), while the Dutch took bronze (3:01.29).
This is the first time since the Nagano stage in 2019 that Canada has had to settle for silver in this World Cup event.
The reigning Olympic champions had previously won eight World Cup gold medals in a row and four consecutive World Cup titles since the start of the 2020-21 season.
Reaching the podium at the first World Cup of this season was even more special given that the Canadian team adopted a new, unique strategy and applied it for the very first time in an international competition.
The Canadians chose to abandon the traditional exchanges during the race, opting instead for the strategy of having a single skater – Maltese in this case – lead the group from start to finish.
After the race, Maltais spoke of a positive result in a context where the three Canadians were launching into the unknown.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Valérie Maltais
“We finished the race, and it was like we have to find our level, where we put our intensity. Even me, at the front, do I give everything at the beginning? Do I keep the pedal a little easier because I have to adjust with the start? Clearly, I have to give more because at the end, for my part, when I finished the race, I was still OK. There was no worries about that. It sure gives you confidence to say that you can do better,” said Maltais.
The athlete from La Baie recognizes that the gap that separated the Japanese from the Canadians on Saturday is large. However, Maltais and her teammates believe they can make up the difference.
“The feeling we have, after the race, is that it doesn’t matter if it’s a second or half a second, or less than that, we are capable of getting that gap without any problem,” Maltais said.
A dozen other Canadian skaters were also competing in the races held on Saturday.
The Canadian men’s team of Connor Howe, David La Rue and Antoine Gélinas-Beaulieu finished sixth in the men’s team pursuit with a time of 3:45.29, while Maltais had the best result in the individual distances. , finishing 10e in the women’s 1500 meters (1:57.76).
“Last year, I didn’t do a 1500 meter, I didn’t qualify. I really worked on the 1500 meters during the summer and I’m really happy with the way I’m doing it currently,” analyzed Maltais.
“The way I skated today, I just feel like it can get better and better. I feel like I still have some technically, physically in the tank. I’m very happy with my race today because I feel like I can do even better. It’s just making small adjustments, technically and also tactically,” she added about this specific event.
The ISU Speed Skating World Cup in Obihiro concludes Sunday with the women’s 3000 meters, and events in the men’s 500 meters and 5000 meters.