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It was do or die for Bart Hoolwerf (NED) in the Men’s Mass Start at the Calgary Olympic Oval on Saturday. With the second Dutch Olympic slot in the distance at risk, the 23-year-old gloriously took his career first World Cup win, securing the Beijing ticket for his country. Earlier on Saturday, Joey Mantia (USA) overcame his fatigue after Salt Lake City last week to win his second consecutive 1500m gold.
Hoolwerf thrives under pressure
After missing out on the final at the first two World Cup Mass Start competitions this season, Hoolwerf was 24th on the World Cup ranking, just inside the criteria for a slot at the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing.
With the World Cup event in Calgary a final Olympic qualification event, Hoolwerf knew what he had to do.
“If you don’t make it to the final, you’ll lose the Olympic slot, so the pressure was on,” he said.
Hoolwerf managed to get into the final with a strong semi performance, coming in fifth.
Bart Swings (BEL), Albertus Hoolwerf (NED) and Felix Rijhnen (GER) © International Skating Union (ISU)
“The semi-final was super fast, maybe the fastest Mass Start race I’ve ever done. That cost a lot of energy but I felt good heading into the final,” he said.
In the final he followed Felix Rijhnen (GER) in an escape straight from the start.
“The plan actually was to hold back in the beginning but a Mass Start is unpredictable.
“I was behind Rijhnen and saw that he accelerated. I could decide to sit back or follow suit straightaway. I did the latter.
“I did not intend to escape the pack but when we got a gap I tried to keep the pace steady and cooperate.”
Teamwork
Hoolwerf was happy to have teammate Kars Jansman (NED) with him in the final.
“Every time anyone in the pack tried to make pace, Kars was getting to the front to hold it off. That was superb.
“With five or six laps to go I noticed that Rijhnen’s tank was emptied and I decided to go on my own.
“It’s difficult because you have to stay calm and keep the pace up as long as you can, without emptying the tank too soon. If the pack makes pace and starts skating 23-second laps, it’s over in no time.”
The pack did not make pace, however, explained Bart Swings, who eventually took silver, reeling in Rijhnen.
“There are teams with two skaters and I haven’t (a teammate in the final). So it’s not up to me to chase the escape. I won last week and felt ok, so I was going to sit it out for a final sprint. It’s a pity that none of the others take the initiative for a chase.”
Defying the critics
Hoolwerf finished way ahead of the pack, which sped up only in the final lap. He crossed the line with a finger on his lips, silencing his critics, among them Jorrit Bergsma (NED), who had doubted whether his young compatriot was able to keep up with the international pace after missing out on the final twice.
Albertus Hoolwerf (NED), right, © International Skating Union (ISU)
Bergsma himself was absent in Calgary, already having secured the first Dutch Mass Start slot in Tomaszów Mazowiecki (POL) and Salt Lake City (USA).
“It was a big relief,” Hoolwerf said, explaining his gesture at the finish line.
“Of course I understand Jorrit’s criticism. He saw a teammate missing out on the final twice. The only thing I could do was speak with my legs. I knew I could do better. I’ve shown good things and I’m convinced there’s still a lot more in store.”
Pipping Rijhnen to the line, Swings held on to the lead in the Mass Start World Cup ranking but the 21-year-old German managed to hang on to third place for his career first World Cup medal.
Mantia takes World Cup lead in 1500m
Joey Mantia (USA) grabbed the lead in the 1500m World Cup over Ning Zhongyan (CHN), who decided to skip the 1500m in order to secure an Olympic ticket for China in the Mass Start, which he managed to do by the skin of his teeth.
Mantia’s back-to-back gold after last week’s victory in Salt Lake City did not come easy. The 35-year-old American finished in one minute and 41.86 seconds, half a second off the track record and more than a second-and-a-half behind the world record.
Joey Mantia (USA) © International Skating Union (ISU)
“I was just tired. I had a big weekend last weekend and I thought I would be ready again this week, but I'm not.
“I flew in Wednesday, had a hard workout Thursday and I was pretty tired after that workout. I was questioning whether or not I'd be able to do anything this weekend. So it's nice to know that even not prepared, or not what I think I should be to win, I'm able to hit the podium at least.
“The only thing I care about this year at all is winning a gold medal at the Olympics - multiple hopefully. So anything before that, the world record would have been icing on the cake.
“Maybe I could try again after the season or something, I don't know. It's always gonna be something that I want. I don't think I'm not capable of it still.”
Behind veteran Mantia Connor Howe (CAN) took his career first World Cup podium, coming in second in 1:42.42.
Asked whether his good performance put more pressure on his future races, the Canadian youngster said: “A little pressure but confidence too because I've seen that I'm getting closer. Obviously a few guys are missing this weekend (apart from Ning, Dutchmen Thomas Krol and Kjeld Nuis were absent too), but it's a good time.”
Norway’s Allan Dahl Johansson (NOR) took bronze and his first individual World Cup medal since a 1500m bronze in Minsk four years ago.
“It wasn't that good of a race actually,” Johansson said. “I'm starting to train a little bit again. So we can be in good shape at the Olympics. I'm happy I can skate that well, even though I'm tired.”
1500m Men
ISU World Cup Speed Skating Standings 1500m Men
Mass Start Men
ISU World Cup Speed Skating Standings Mass Start Men
The event entry quotas for the individual distances will be determined by the Special Olympic Qualification Classification (SOQC) based on results from the different ISU World Cup Speed Skating Competitions and the full details are available in ISU Communication 2405.
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For further information on ISU Speed Skating visit https://www.isu.org/speed-skating
ISU World Cup Speed Skating Series 2021/22:
Tomaszów Mazowiecki (POL) – Nov 12 – 14, 2021
Stavanger (NOR) - Nov 19 - Nov 21, 2021
Salt Lake City (USA) - Dec 03 - Dec 05, 2021
Calgary (CAN) – Dec 10 - Dec 12, 2021
Final – Heerenveen (NED) – Mar 12 - Mar 13, 2022
About ISU World Cup Speed Skating Series
The ISU World Cup Speed Skating is a Series of international Speed Skating competitions which takes place annually. The Series started in 1984 and usually consists of six or seven Events including the ISU World Cup Speed Skating Final. However during the Olympic season the Series consists of five Events.
Skaters can earn points at each competition, and the Skater who has the most points on a given distance at the end of the Series is the World Cup winner of that distance. The World Cup Competitions held from November to December serve as qualifying events for entry quotas at the ISU European, World Single Distances, World Sprint and World Allround Speed Skating Championships and during the Olympic season they are Olympic Qualifying Events. A number of World Cup titles are awarded every season; For Men: 500m, 1000m, 1500m, combined 5000m / 10,000m, Mass Start, Team Pursuit and Team Sprint. For Women 500m, 1000m, 1500m, the combined 3000m / 5000m, Mass Start, Team Pursuit and Team Sprint. For further information please visit isu.org/WorldCupSpeedSkating.
