Strides made, but not enough for podium

Quebec skater finishes 11th

GANGNEUNG, SOUTH KOREA

Alex Boisvert-Lacroix of Sherbrooke, Que., knew he was in trouble as he counted strides down the back-stretch.

“My strides were not long enough. I needed 12 strides instead of 10. But I did 10 and I stuck to 10.”

At that point of the 500 metres, which is essentially a one-lap race, if a skater throws in the extra strides, he chances going too deep into the entry and screwing up the corner entirely.

“Looking back, I needed those two strides,” said the 30-year-old Boisvert-Lacroix.

He has to live with that decision after he finished 11th in 34.934, nowhere near the podium he was stalking all year on the World Cup trail. He won back-to-back 500-metre races in Calgary and Salt Lake City and came here ready to win.

But Havard Lorentzen of Norway took gold in 34.41, South Korea’s Min Kyu Cha was second in 34.42 and China’s Tingyu Gao claimed bronze in 34.65.

“It wasn’t a really bad race. I’m still under 35.0 at sea level. It’s a decent race,” said Boisvert-Lacroix. “Just tonight the guys who won were so strong. I mean 34.4, oh my God. That’s crazy.”

He started well down the front straight but that mess in the corner sapped him of momentum and he couldn’t get it back. “When you lose some speed in the 500 metres, it’s hard to catch up. My second corner I was trying really hard but the damage was done.”

Calgary’s Gilmore Junio and Laurent Dubreuil of Levis, Que., were 17th and 18th, respectively.

Meanwhile the Canadian women’s pursuit team went out conservatively but cranked it up to finish third and qualify for a semifinal against Japan on Wednesday. Ottawa’s Ivanie Blondin, Isabelle Weidemann and Josie Morrison of Kamloops, B.C., crossed in 2:59.02, almost three seconds slower than Japan. The Netherlands was in top spot at 2:55.61, and the U.S. was an eyeblink behind Canada at 2:59.75.

The two semifinal losers will skate against one another for the bronze.