Bloemen finds silver lining in 5000m
Canadian speedskater earns yet another second place to Dutch ace Sven Kramer
It’s a position he’s been in three times now, during this 2017-18 World Cup season, so Ted-Jan Bloemen has perfected that look of resignation.
“It’s worth second place, and I was closer to Sven Kramer again so I’m happy with my race,” said Bloemen on Friday.
One of Canada’s top long track speedskaters, Bloemen added a third silver medal to his World Cup seasonal haul Friday by finishing second in the 5000m, bested once again by the dynamic Dutchman Sven Kramer. Bloemen’s time of 6:08.54 was a tad slower than Kramer’s 6:07.04 at the Olympic Oval, generally considered one of the fastest — if not THE fastest — speedskating venue in the world.
Later in the day, Canadians Vincent De Haitre, Laurent Dubreuil and Gilmore Junior set a world record in the men’s team sprint.
The 31-year-old Bloemen, originally from Leiderdorp, Netherlands, had expected faster times all across the board.
“Today was a race that was a big challenge to execute a fast race,” he said. “The first four laps, I was able to do that really well and they came really easy. Because I felt so good in those first four laps, I decided to attack him in the fifth lap. Obviously he came back at me and I kind of died off a little bit, but all in all I’m happy with my performance.
“He’s a really special one. He’s been so good for a decade now and he’s super consistent,’’ said Bloemen about Kramer. “It’s something we can all learn from and it’s something I highly respect. To beat him, you just need to be better than him, be a little bit faster. My training program is made in a way that I should be at my best in February, so I have a little bit in the bank still.”
Bloemen admitted he wasn’t physically at his best heading into this World Cup and that it took its toll in Friday’s race.
“I had a little bit difficult run-up to this weekend so I wasn’t sure how my performance was going to be,” he said. “I was mostly focused on making the best of what I had, the best that was in me today. I’m feeling well today and yesterday, but in the weeks before, if you’re not super fit, it costs you some confidence. It also costs me some feel with the ice. I wasn’t feeling my skates very well and the timing was a little bit off. For me it was key to find that back in this race and I did.”
Bloemen’s weekend ends on Saturday with his participation in team pursuit.
“After getting some confidence today, I’m really looking forward to getting a medal for the team,” he smiled. “In a season like this, these aren’t the races that really count, right? There’s only one race that really counts and that’s the race at the Olympics. I really hope to be on the top of the podium there.
“The way I look at it, it’s more of a perspective of what I can do. I can’t really control how good he (Kramer) is going to be at the Olympics. The most important thing is to be as good as I can be and that I throw down the best race that I have in me at that moment and may the best man win.”
Friday wasn’t the best of times for Ottawa’s Ivanie Blondin, whose own battle with illness manifested itself in a 10th place finish (4:04.15) in the ladies 3000m race. The winner was Japan’s Miho Takagi, in 3:57.09.
“It’s obviously not a very good representation of what I’ve been able to do this year,” said the 27-year-old, who came in ranked first in the combined 3k-5k standings. “Coming back from Norway, the first week, half of our team was sick with a sinus infection, including myself, so the first week was a bit of a writeoff. I think this past week was a bit better but I obviously didn’t have as much energy as I’d planned on having today, which is frustrating. Being sick and finishing 10th is not horrible, either.”
Blondin takes part in team pursuit and the mass start on Saturday. Her participation in the 1500m is dependant on how she’s feeling.
Canada’s record time in the men’s sprint was 1:17.31. The ladies’ sprint was won by Russia.
“Skating here is always really special and skating a world record with these guys makes it ever better,” said Junio, who will also compete in the 1000m on Saturday and the 500m on Sunday. “Ted getting silver is an amazing result and we’re just going to build on that as a team moving into the other distances and for sure into the Olympics.”