Charles Hamelin teased his former teammates by taking a seat on the edge of the Maurice-Richard arena rink on Tuesday morning. “Yeah, like that, you’re doing seven rounds of three now that I’m gone…”
Posted at 5:00 a.m.
When he was a skater, this speed exercise in training was done in pairs. It was not a powerful enough incentive to make the new retiree want to jump on the ice.
Either way, the greatest male Olympic medalist in Canadian history, tied with sprinter Andre De Grasse, had another job to do. Chic pink jacket and cap to match, he presented the 12 skaters of the Canadian team who will participate in the first short track speed skating World Cup of the season, from Friday to Sunday, in Montreal.
In addition to Olympic relay champions Steven Dubois, Pascal Dion, Jordan Pierre-Gilles and Maxime Laoun, two newcomers will make their debut on the circuit: Félix Roussel, 21, and Mathieu Pelletier, 16 and Canada’s youngest male skater at make the leap from Steve Robillard, who was 15 in 1999.
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
Felix Roussel
Crowned Canadian champion for the third consecutive year during the Quebec selections two weeks ago, Dubois begins this next Olympic cycle with a certain confidence… but not too much.
The triple medalist from Beijing, the only male Canadian athlete to achieve the feat in China, is one to doubt. From his form, his legs, his sensations, his ability to skate at the front of the peloton, etc.
“I wanted to break everything”
After Canada’s disqualification in the mixed relay at the start of the Games, Dubois was confident he would leave China without a medal. “It completely destroyed me,” recalled the athlete from Terrebonne in an interview after the press conference. “I wanted to smash everything. »
” We wanted to break everything, ”repeated Pierre-Gilles, who was passing by. The Sherbrooke resident had reassured his teammate: “I told him: ‘Calm down, wait a bit, you have three races left.’ But I felt the same…”
A few days later, on the eve of the 1500m, Dubois was convinced that his bad omen would come true because he was feeling all out of shape in training. “I was on tab… I was angry. »
After a difficult quarter-final, he went to find Laoun to tell him that he should have given up his place in the 1500m… Two rounds later, Dubois won silver after a rather crazy final. contested with 10 skaters.
This first medal was the prelude to two others: bronze in the 500m and gold in the relay for the Hamelin Olympic swan song. As if something clicked.
“Yeah, the confidence…” Dubois commented, as if that aspect of his personality wasn’t quite up to scratch yet for an athlete of his caliber.
I’m going to get into any round, whether it’s the first or the last, and I’m still going to be afraid of the others beating me. It seems like I never know my true strength.
Steven Dubois
However, this reserve is not just a fault, noted the skater from Terrebonne: “Maybe that’s why I’m rarely disqualified or always pay attention [à tout]. »
Sébastien Cros is not surprised when he is told the Beijing anecdote. “We saw him last year or even the year before in World Cups: he was able to do different races between a semi-final and a final, raised the head coach. From very good to very bad. It really is a story of trust. »
Very explosive, Dubois tended to rely on this quality over longer distances such as the 1000m and 1500m. His plan was to wait for the opening at the back before placing a huge acceleration. Exactly the opposite of Hamelin.
Sensitivity
Cros wants to see him break this pattern which doesn’t always work at the highest level. “Those are things he has to work on. He manages to do it better at the national level. At the Olympic trials last year, he had been very active in directing the races. He did it even more this year in Quebec. But he still has to come and get that at the international level, to do it more consistently. »
His perceptions in training can also play tricks on him. “Steven is going to feel things a lot,” Cros noted. His blades, his physique, his feelings. There are athletes who are less sensitive than that. But he is very sensitive. It is sure that it comes to play a little in his confidence. »
Over time, the 25-year-old skater has learned to put these sometimes misleading signals into perspective. Running in the 500m and 1500m in Montreal, his eyes are on the crystal globe that will be awarded for the first time to the overall winner at the end of the World Cup season.
He can count on Hamelin among his most ardent supporters.
“He has great potential like the world,” praised the six-time Olympic medalist. He has exceptional athletic and skating qualities that I myself have never had in my life. If you combine these qualities with a certain confidence, forget it, the rest of the world will not find it funny! When confidence kicks in and he goes for it fearlessly, he’s going to be tough to beat. »
Schulting’s Return
Kim Boutin and Courtney Sarault will lead the women’s team to this first World Cup of the season. They will reconnect with the quadruple medalist of the Beijing Olympics, the Dutch Suzanne Schulting, who had withdrawn from the Worlds in Montreal due to a COVID-19 infection. “The more opponents there are, the more interesting and fun the competition is,” rejoiced Boutin, limited to a bronze medal in China (500m) after her three in PyeongChang. “This is where we can progress. Having Suzanne on the ice this weekend will allow us to see where we are with our training plan. The surprising Renée Steenge, Claudia Gagnon, Rikki Doak and Olympian Danaé Blais complete the women’s group.
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
Maxime Laoun, Kim Boutin and Rikki Doak
Exceedances and strategies
Boutin defined what she wanted to improve between now and the 2026 Olympic Games in Milan: overtaking and race strategies. The native of Sherbrooke gave a glimpse of this by executing a superb maneuver inside at the expense of Doak to regain the lead in extremis in the first 500m at the Quebec selections. “At the end of the race, I’m still quite vulnerable when I want to get up to speed again,” admitted the 27-year-old athlete. This will be my goal for the next few years. I really have a lot of challenges in training. The girls really upped their game from that. »
A scarred warrior
Rookie Félix Roussel sported an impressive black eye accompanied by a scar on his right cheekbone during the meeting with the journalists. The skater from Sherbrooke was the victim of a violent collision during a relay practice on Friday. Fortunately, he avoided a concussion. “I think my glasses caused it,” Roussel said of the gash that required 10 stitches. Head coach Sébastien Cros seemed particularly excited about the selection of the 21-year-old athlete, who has mainly served as a training partner for the women’s group in the past year. “We knew his qualities as a sprinter and explosiveness, but it is not in the 500m that he owes his qualification, but rather in the 1500m. It’s a good surprise and I can’t wait to see it evolve. »
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
Mathieu Pelletier (center) and Félix Roussel (right)
A teenager in the team
Mathieu Pelletier, only 16 years old, is the other nice surprise of the selections. Until April, the teenager from Laval skated with the Canadian Regional Training Center, the level before the national team. “Yes, it’s young, but I knew I had good legs,” said the Secondary V student. I did not expect to qualify. I just wanted to do my best, enjoy the moment and learn from my mistakes. It’s a plus that I can do the World Cups, but that wasn’t necessarily my goal. “Cros will obviously not impose undue pressure on him:” He is young, but he has good qualities, he is explosive and he seems to learn quickly too. It will be really interesting to see him evolve at this level. »