(Quebec) Quebecer Valérie Maltais was crowned Canadian champion in the mass start of the National Long Track Speed Skating Championships on Sunday. Toronto’s Hayden Mayeur imitated her among the men.
Posted at 6:53 p.m.
Reigning World Cup mass start champion, Maltais completed the 16 laps in 9 minutes 34,163 seconds. She narrowly beat Quebecer Gabrielle Jelonek (+0.109 s) and Alberta’s Darby Beeson (+0.278) at the finish line.
Long-distance specialist Laura Hall tried to confuse the issue with a breakaway early in the race, but the peloton caught up with her with three loops remaining. Maltais and Jelonek finally overtook Beeson in the final sprint.
“I am happy with my victory, it was important to guarantee me a place in the World Cup,” said Maltais, according to a press release from Speed Skating Canada. It’s always a very different race in Canada from what we find in the World Cup. I therefore have to manage several aspects well, without necessarily having to seek maximum effort. »
Among the men, Mayeur beat Max Halyk (+0.261) and Jack Deibert (+0.290) during the final sprint at the end of an eventful race.
“For most of my career, I paid a lot of attention to the mass start,” Mayeur revealed. It carries some risks because all kinds of things can happen during those 16 laps and the best skater can either win or finish last.
« [Dimanche]I showed up at the starting line without having a race plan. I’ve been racing my whole life, so I was just trying to skate on instinct. During the race I tried to place myself in a good position to save energy and I set off on the last lap just at the right time to be able to cross the finish line first. It was an incredible feeling and I’m so happy to be on the top step of the podium again at the Canadian Championships. »
The event also put the last place in the Canadian lineup for this discipline at stake for the World Cup season, for both men and women. By virtue of their medals at the Worlds last year, Ivanie Blondin and Antoine Gélinas-Beaulieu were already assured of their place.
Speed Skating Canada will use the results from Nationals to determine the other skaters who will represent the country on the international stage during the first half of the season.
The international season gets underway next month with the ISU Four Continents Speed Skating Championships, taking place November 15-17 in Hachinohe, Japan.
