Coming off the fast ice of the Salt Lake City and Calgary Olympic Ovals, the international speed skating elite crossed the Atlantic for their next stop at sea-level Heerenveen. The ice may be a bit slower, but the famous Thialf rink is the skaters’ favorite with its always happy orange crowd.

The Dutch leg of the ISU Speed Skating World Cup marks the only time before the Milan Cortina Olympic Games that the women’s 5000m and the men’s 10,000m are featured in the program.

Ghiotto takes on new kids in double-distance

The men’s long distance seems to be more competitive than ever this season. Timothy Loubineaud (FRA) added his name to the contenders when he blitzed to the top in a 5000m World Record time at the first ISU World Cup event of the season in Salt Lake City. 

Timothy Loubineaud (FRA) announced himself as a long-distance contender when he broke the 5000m World Record in Salt Lake City. © ISU

A week later in Calgary, Casey Dawson (USA) took his first individual World Cup podium, breaking the track record of the legendary 2007 Sven Kramer (NED) with a blistering 27.5s final lap.

Loubineaud and Dawson are joint first in the long distance ranking, with World 5000m Champion Sander Eitrem (NOR) in third place. Czech youngster Metoděj Jílek is fourth and 39-year-old Ted-Jan Bloemen (CAN) fifth.

Davide Ghiotto (ITA), last season’s World 10,000m champion and World Record holder in the longest distance, has not been on the long-distance podium yet this season, but he’ll look forward to the Heerenveen battle, because the double-distance is his favorite.

In Heerenveen, he will be joined by his younger brother Manuel Ghiotto (ITA), who took second place in the men’s neo-senior 3000m at the ISU Junior World Cup in Milano last week.  

Davide Ghiotto (ITA) has yet to step onto the long-distance podium this season but will relish the 10,000m battle in Heerenveen. © ISU

With only 12 slots available at the Milano Cortina Olympic Games, the Heerenveen 10,000m is important. To make up the Milano qualification ranking, the three fastest 10,000m times this season are added to the top nine of the long-distance World Cup ranking.

Beune takes up distance challenge from specialists

Joy Beune (NED) leads the women’s long-distance World Cup ahead of Valérie Maltais (CAN), Ragne Wiklund (NOR) and Isabelle Weidemann (CAN).

Calgary medalists (l to r) Ragne Wiklund, Joy Beune and Valérie Maltais also lead the long-distance World Cup standings ahead of this weekend. © ISU

Last year’s 5000m World Champion Francesca Lollobrigida (ITA) is ranked fifth, and she’ll be hoping to secure a ticket to an Olympic Games on home soil. Both Lollobrigida and Weidemann feel more at home in the 5000m than in the 3000m.

Dutch Merel Conijn (NED), last year’s bronze medalist in the 3000m and 5000m at the World Championships, decided to skip the North American legs of the World Cup, but she will be present at the 5000m in Heerenveen.

Stolz against the rest

As well as the long distances, the Heerenveen World Cup also features the 1000m, 1500m, Mass Start and Team Sprint events for both genders. Contrary to the North American World Cup, the program only comprises one running of the 500m for each gender.

In Salt Lake City and Calgary, Jordan Stolz (USA) dominated the men’s short and middle distances, and the American leads the 500m, 1000m and 1500m World Cup rankings.

Jordan Stolz (USA) is unbeaten in the 1000m and 1500m this season but defeats in the 500m have given his rivals hope. © ISU

Stolz wasn’t invincible, however. Jenning de Boo (NED) and Kim Jun-Ho (KOR) both managed to win a 500m race, and German junior Finn Sonnekalb (GER) stripped the American of his junior World Record in the 1500m in Salt Lake City.

Stolz struck back in a head-to-head-battle with Sonnekalb in the Calgary 1500m. The German youngster thought he was winning when Stolz ignited his famous last-lap jet engine to maintain his undefeated record in this season’s 1000m and 1500m.

All eyes on Kok

In the women’s short distances, all eyes in Heerenveen will be on Femke Kok (NED). The three-time 500m World Champion seems unstoppable with a sixth-race unbeaten streak in the 500m World Cup, breaking the famous 2013 World Record of Sang-Hwa Lee (KOR) along the way in Salt Lake City.

The Orange-clad Thialf crowd will be behind Femke Kok (NED) as she goes for a seventh successive 500m World Cup win. © ISU

Erin Jackson (USA) is Kok’s main rival in the 500m. The Olympic Champion is ranked second in the World Cup after two silver medals and a bronze in Salt Lake City and Calgary.

Apart from the 500m, Kok also won the 1000m in Calgary, with 1000m specialist Jutta Leerdam (NED) coming in fourth. Leerdam was hit by a car in a road accident during bike training in the Netherlands last week. She announced that she was fine except for some cuts and bruises, but her preparation for the Thialf World Cup has been far from perfect.

The women’s 1500m is strictly Joy Beune territory, but Miho Takagi (JPN) is closing in. After finishing fifth in 1.40s in Salt Lake City, the Japanese skater took silver, just 0.51s behind Beune in Calgary.

Olympic qualification

The first four World Cups serve as Olympic qualification events. Speed skaters will earn quotas for their National Olympic Committees through the Special Olympic Qualification Classifications (SOQCS). Quotas will be allocated based on the SOQC Points ranking (based on points achieved at specific World Cup events) and the SOQC Times ranking (based on the best times per athlete achieved at specific World Cup events).

The maximum amount of quota places per NOC is nine skaters per gender. The quota places are determined by the SOQCS, and allocated to NOCs, not to individual skaters. There’s also a maximum amount of quota places per NOC in each distance at the Olympic Games.

For details of Olympic Qualification, click here