Michel Mulder, former skating champion, coach of the Novus team

“I very consciously stepped away from the sport in 2022, having been active as a skater and coach for over sixteen years,” says Mulder, 37. “I wanted to broaden my horizons and do other fun things last year. But it started to tickle me again. I contacted Daniel, who I know well from the past. He started a great new initiative with Team Novus It’s good for the international development of skating.”

Greig is very pleased with the arrival of Mulder, who has also become a two-time world sprint champion in his career. “Michel is a great addition to our training staff, which is now comprehensive and at a very high standard.” Former marathon runner Michel Butter is also part of the technical staff.

Hectic season

The Novus team welcomes skaters from Great Britain, Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands, among others. Austria’s Vanessa Herzog won silver in the 500 meters at World Championship distances last season, while Britain’s Cornelius Kersten won World Cup bronze in the 1,000 metres.

“It’s been quite an eventful first season,” said team manager Lieuwe Krol. “In fact, we only started to set up the organization when the season was already underway. We managed the season as well as it went with few people and few resources. It nevertheless led to good results. All the participating skaters in the core group finished in the top 8 at the World Championship distances.”