Fatigue has started to be felt among Quebecers in action at the long track speed skating World Cup in Calgary, Alberta.
Sunday, Antoine Gélinas-Beaulieu was the only athlete from the Belle Province to make his way into the top 10 of a Division A event, with his ninth place (+1.13 seconds) in the 1000 m.
The 30-year-old didn’t have the best start, but he was able to pull himself together on the final lap where he opened up the machine to cement his place in the top 10.
I didn’t really have any expectations for this race, I’m very happy to have managed to end up with a ninth place. Even though I finished well, I lacked a bit of juice to finish as strong as I would have liked. I am still very satisfied with my weekend of competition.
Antoine Gelinas-Beaulieu
“The fatigue is very present! By dint of competing so often, we spend less time in training, and we feel that the form is less there in these circumstances, ”he added.
For his part, Laurent Dubreuil could not do better than the 11e rank in 1000 m. Unlike Gélinas-Beaulieu, Dubreuil was the fastest from the start of the race, but he struggled on his last lap. He finally fell 1.21s behind the winner of the event.
“I felt very tired on Saturday in the 500m, but it wasn’t long enough for me to break that much. In the 1000m, I was a bit lacking in energy and it was no longer a realistic option to finish strong. I knew what was in my legs even before the start of the race, I was hoping for a miracle, but it didn’t happen, ”said Dubreuil by videoconference.
“I don’t think I could have used any other strategy to compensate for my lack of energy. My strength in the 1000m is my start, if I start slower I risk breaking anyway and being even slower to finish. »
Young American Jordan Stolz emerged victorious in the 1000m for the second time this campaign following his success in Stavanger at the very start of the season. Stolz was joined on the podium by Dutchman Thomas Krol (+0.44 seconds) and Italian David Bosa (+0.52 seconds).
Despite his 11e place of the day, Laurent Dubreuil is provisionally second in the World Cup standings in the 1000m, six points behind the leader, the Dutchman Hein Otterspeer. Antoine Gélinas-Beaulieu finds himself in the seventh rung.
“I have four World Cup 1000m medals in my career and I won half of them this year, it’s pretty incredible. I would have liked a good last race before the holiday break, but I can’t complain about my start to the season,” analyzed Dubreuil.
On the women’s side in the mass start, Valérie Maltais also took 11e rank to conclude the World Cup in Calgary. Maltais completed the race in 8 min 21.23 s.
“I feel pretty tired right now. There was a breakaway quite early in the race and it was super fast afterwards. I often found myself at the front and perhaps I should have taken more stints to try to rest. I would have liked to finish with the peloton, but I remain positive all the same”, mentioned Maltais.
Dutchman Irene Schouten emerged victorious ahead of Ottawa’s Ivanie Blondin. Marijke Groenewoud, Schouten’s compatriot is on the third step of the podium.
Earlier in the day, Béatrice Lamarche finished seventh in the 1,000m in Division B with her time of 1:17.12, 2.96 seconds behind the winner, American Brittany Bowe.
The next Long Track Speed Skating World Cup will take place February 10-12, in Poland.