(Montreal) Sixth in the 500m, Laurent Dubreuil (35.06s) obtained the best Canadian result of the day at the Beijing Speed Skating World Cup on Friday in China. A result below his expectations, unlike David La Rue, who took eighth place in the 1500m.
Last week, at the Obihiro stage in Japan, Dubreuil obtained sixth and seventh places in the 500m.
“It’s a bit like last week… a race that leaves me wanting more. It’s not dramatic. I’m 6 hundredths of a second off the podium, but I’d rather be on the podium. My back was fine this week and I am no longer injured. It is still stiff, but that does not limit my movements and my explosiveness, but it is technically that I did not execute things well,” commented the Lévisien, adding that his execution is usually his strength.
The 31-year-old athlete specifies that he got up too early in his opening where he was paired with the Japanese Yuma Murakami (34.82 s), eventual second and fastest of the day in this first 100 m. Gold went to his compatriot Wataru Morishige (34.72 s) and bronze to Korean Junho Kim (35.00 s).
Dubreuil admits that he had difficulty staying focused when he saw the gap that separated him from Murakami in the first straight.
“In the general classification (of the 500m), I am fourth. This is not the end of the world. It’s not embarrassing and it shows how good I have been in recent years and that I have had exceptional results. That’s why I find it bad to be fourth. My daughter Rose says to me: “Dad, you never win medals, it’s not going well. » But I tell him that high-level sport is not easy and that you have to start again every year. I’m just missing a little,” concluded the man who will be aiming for a time in the 34-second range in Saturday’s 500m.
David La Rue (1 min 46.29 s) for his part had a good outing in the 1500 m, finishing in eighth place, 1.49 s behind the winner, the reigning Olympic champion, the Dutchman Kjeld Nuis (1 min 44 .80s). Little by little, he continues to get closer to the top 5.
“I’m happy with the race I did today. I am working with my trainer Muncef Ouardi to improve the tactical aspect of my race and I really see a big improvement from race to race. It’s one of my best results and I don’t feel at my peak yet, so it bodes well for the rest of the season,” said the man who was 14th at this distance a week ago. earlier, in Japan.
Antoine Gélinas-Beaulieu (1 min 47.27 s) finished in 14th place.
Also in action on Friday, Valérie Maltais (1 min 58.18 s) ranked 12th in the 1500 m, one place and 4 hundredths of a second behind her compatriot Ivanie Blondin.
“I’m still happy with my race. I’m working on a lot of things to improve in the 1500m, so that’s really positive. I made a few mistakes, especially at the start and my layout at the end which was not very effective in my last corner entry. […] I feel like I have things to work on and I see the possibility of doing better races, so I’m just looking forward to the next one,” analyzed the skater from La Baie.
In group B of this same distance, Béatrice Lamarche (2 min 2.95 s) took 13th place.
Action resumes Saturday at the Beijing National Speed Skating Oval.