DodoFinance Breaking News Made For You!
The Dutch skaters finished fourth in the team pursuit at the World Cup in Calgary. The occasional trio of Reina Anema, Marijke Groenewoud and Irene Schouten were well beaten by the Canadian Olympic champion. Japan came second, the United States third.
The Netherlands were immediately slightly behind the Canadian; Ivanie Blondin, Valérie Maltais and Isabelle Weidemann. The skaters could no longer make up this margin in the race. Canada’s regular line ran further and won in 2:54.57. The Netherlands, where Antoinette Rijpma-De Jong had previously retired and Joy Beune couldn’t pilot either, conceded heavily and came in at 3:00.53.
At the first World Cup in Stavanger, the Netherlands finished second behind Canada with Rijpma-De Jong, Groenewoud and Schouten. Then the trio was just 0.48 seconds away.
The skaters had gone no further than sixth place the day before with an inexperienced line.
National coach Rintje Ritsma has faced sick skaters and cancellations. “We were originally going to ride with Joy, but she called in sick. I find it hard to explain if you drive another 1,500 meters or so, but the doctor has checked and he will make the decision,” Ritsma told NOS. “Now we were lacking the power we had in Stavanger. It’s still tough games. If the skaters give up, it will go down immediately.”
Ritsma also saw in Calgary how individual interests trump participation in the team pursuit. “You have to deal with individual trajectories and if the skaters have other plans, I can hardly say anything. In the end, they are judged on what they show individually. But we had already anticipated that this competition would be difficult for the team games. At the World Cup in Poland, the noses will point in the same direction again.”
“Introvert. Avid gamer. Wannabe beer advocate. Subtly charming zombie junkie. Social media trailblazer. Web scholar.”
