Kjeld Nuis (NED) and teammate Marcel Bosker (NED) completed a Dutch sweep of all four men’s and women’s events on the first day of the ISU World Cup in Stavanger on Friday. Nuis took gold in the 1000m with what he described himself as ‘a terrible race’, before Bosker won the Mass Start, finishing as the sole survivor of an early breakaway.
Nuis defies dynamite with stamina
“What a sloppy race,” Nuis said as he stepped of the podium with the gold medal around his neck. The Olympic 1000m champion clocked a time of 1 minute 8.76s to beat pair-mate Tatsuya Shinhama (JPN) by 0.12s in the second last pairing of the 1000m. Nuis and Shinhama eventually ended up ahead of the field, with Kazuya Yamada (JPN) finishing third to take his career first World Cup podium.
Kjeld Nuis (NED) held off Japan's Tatsuya Shinhama on the final corner to take gold in the 1000m © ISU
“This was the opposite of two weeks ago [when he won the 1000m at the Bejijng World Cup],” Nuis said. “Today I skated against a piece of dynamite, and the gap at the first cross-over was so big that I did not even have the idea that I was getting closer. That’s when I forced myself and the speed didn’t come easy.”
Nuis had drawn the outer lane start, which in the 1000m also means that you have to skate the final corner in the outside lane. He explained how he had felt like Shinhama’s prey in the final lap.
“I was still behind going into the final lap. I felt him coming along in the [penultimate outer] corner and he got the perfect cross-over in my back to finish it off in the final inner. But then it was on pure stamina that I could hold him off in that final outer corner.”
Shinhama, who prefers the 500m over the 1000m, just ran out of steam.
500m specialist Tatsuya Shinhama (JPN) was happy to win his first World Cup medal at the double distance © ISU
“I could take advantage of the crossover,” he said. “But Nuis is a very strong opponent. I’m happy to have taken my career first podium in a 1000m World Cup.”
Earlier on Friday, Jordan Stolz (USA) had clocked the fastest time (1:08.47) of the day in the B Division. The World Champion got relegated after skipping the Beijing World Cup two weeks ago.
Nuis was underwhelmed by the comparison. “You cannot compare A Division and B Division times. It’s a different race, at a different time of the day, with different conditions,” he said.
“But yes, Stolz’s time is impressive. Of course he shouldn’t compete in the B Division, but then again, why skip Beijing? If he had skated there, he would have competed with us in the A Division here in Stavanger. I think it’s a shame.”
Nuis also criticized the many Dutch skaters who decided to skip races in the World Cup series, because the World Cups are qualifying events for the ISU Championships later this season.
“This is all peanuts, but when it’s really getting serious later on, those Championships slots could be in jeopardy.
"As a speed skating nation we just can’t afford to take as many risks as we may think we can. When you’ve qualified for the World Cups, you just have to skate, period. You’ve trained for it all summer and it’s your job. You have to take responsibility.”
Bosker pays back trust in Mass Start
Nuis' teammate Marcel Bosker (NED) couldn’t agree more. The Dutchman had not been able to qualify for the World Cup in his favorite 5000m because of illness at the national trials, and seized the opportunity to compete in the Mass Start because other Dutch skaters did not want to compete in all the World Cup races.
Marcel Bosker (NED) celebrates Mass Start gold after going clear of his fellow escapees in the final two laps to win © ISU
He served the interest of Bart Hoolwerf (NED) in the first two Mass Start races this World Cup season, with his teammate winning in Obihiro, but in Stavanger the team had decided that Bosker would be allowed a shot at the podium with an early escape.
“The first few laps it was Bart [Hoolwerf] going easy up front,” Bosker explained. “And after the first intermediate sprint, when the pace drops, that’s the moment to strike. Some others had the same idea and we set up an attack.”
Peter Michael (NZL), Timothy Loubineaud (FRA), Felix Rijhnen (GER) and Artur Janicki (POL) all joined Bosker on the breakaway.
The escapees worked well together, but the bunch always kept them in striking distance. Going into the last two laps, Bosker got nervous because the gap was rapidly decreasing. He decided to up the pace and left the others behind. While his fellow escapees got caught on the final lap, Bosker managed to stay out of sight to take his career first Mass Start gold. Livio Wenger (SUI) won the bunch sprint to take silver and Bart Swings (BEL) seized bronze.
Livio Wenger (SUI, left) and Bart Swings (BEL, right) finished first and second in the sprint behind victorious Bosker © ISU
Bosker was grateful to have been given a chance to compete.
“I’m glad that [Dutch national coach] Rintje Ritsma gave me this opportunity, which I actually did not deserve. It’s an opportunity that others didn’t take because they don’t think the World Cups are that important, but that may give us [the Netherlands] a lot of problems later on [risking qualifying slots for the ISU Championships later in the season].”
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Where to watch
Viewers will be able to watch the World Cup sessions via their national broadcaster/channel.
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ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating Series events 2023/24:
Nov 10 - 12, 2023 Obihiro /JPN
Nov 17 - 19, 2023 Beijing /CHN
Dec 01 - 03, 2023 Stavanger /NOR
Dec 08 - 10, 2023 Tomaszów Mazowiecki /POL
Jan 26 - 28, 2024 Salt Lake City /USA
Feb 02 - 04, 2024 Québec /CAN
About ISU World Cup Speed Skating Series
The ISU World Cup Speed Skating is a Series of Speed Skating competitions which have taken place annually since 1984. The series comprises six events (four during an Olympic season), with A Division and B Division races. Skaters can earn points at each competition, and the Skater with the most points on a given distance at the end of the series is the World Cup winner in that distance. The four World Cup Competitions held from November to December serve as qualifying events for entry quotas at the ISU European Championships, and the ISU Four Continents Championships. The whole series of six events serves as qualifying events for the World Single Distances Championships, and/or the World Sprint and Allround Speed Skating Championships.
World Cup titles are awarded in 500m, 1000m, 1500m, combined 5000m/10,000m, and Mass Start for men, and 500m, 1000m, 1500m, the combined 3000m/5000m, and Mass Start for women. Both genders also compete for the World Cup titles in Team Pursuit and Team Sprint. New in the 2023/24 program is the Mixed Gender Relay over six laps, in which teams of one man and one woman compete.
(For full explanation of this season’s ISU World Cup (entry rules, formats, qualifying, and prizes: https://www.isu.org/speed-skating/rules/ssk-communications/31562-isu-communication-2587/file)
