Essent Cup 5 in Utretch

Written by T Dobbin

Last night was the fifth race in the Essent Cup held for the first time in Utretch. The ice was good last night because the outside air temperature was cold and kept the ice from breaking up too much.

The ladies race was first in the schedule starting at 18:30. Elma de Vries from DSB Bank controlled the race and skated a very strong race for her team mate who is in the gold Maria Sterk. Maria Sterk (DSB Bank) had enough points during the race to keep the gold jersey and in the sprint finish it was Carla Zielman from Steenwijkerwold Hoolwerf Heiwerken who out sprinted Chris Witty Landjuweel for the race victory.

Ladies Marathon Results

1st Carla Zielman (Steenwijkerwold Hoolwerf Heiwerken)

2nd Chris Witty (Landjuweel)
3rd Andrea Sikkema (Van der Wiel)
4th Lucy Hutten-Witteman (Wittmeman Tuinen/Groenrijk)
5th Helen van Goozen (Frisia Financieringen)

The A grade men started at 19:30 and within the first 10 laps there were already approximately two to three breakaways. It was a very hard race with alot of attacking and with every 20 laps the sprint points. With approximately 40 laps to go Jan Maarten Heideman (DSB Bank) made a very strong attack with approximately eight other skaters including the sprinter Arjan Stroetinga (BAM). This breakaway tried to work to get away for the first 10 laps together but in the end there was only three skaters that stayed off the front and the rest of the skaters grouped back with the peleton. The three skaters out front working hard were Jan Maarten Heideman (DSB Bank), Karlo Timmerman (Equipe renault Eco2) and a skater from BCT Schaatsteam. It wasn't until the final sprint for elimination Jan Maarten Heideman (DSB Bank) was left out front solo to qualify for the final 20 and after this sprint re-grouped with the peleton.

In the peleton the sprint went on early for the final 20 sprint/elimination. DSB Bank grouped together at the front but BAM came around the outside to try to bring back Jan Maarten Heideman (DSB Bank) this boxed DSB Bank on the inside and they had to move quickly. Shane Dobbin (DSB Bank) racing like he knows how to from his inline career at the front held good position throughout the sprint. Ingmar Berga (DSB Bank) got caught up in approximately 15th to 20th position on the outside in a crash of 6 skaters and ended up under the barrier in the wall. Jens Zwitser (DSB Bank) stayed towards the front and three out of the four DSB Bank's skaters made it through to the final 20 laps.

It was very unlucky for DSB because as Shane Dobbin was off the front trying to attack his team mate Jan Maarten Heideman crashed going through a corner and DSB Bank had no one left for the sprint finish. In the final sprint BAM Schaatsteam lead out the sprint with Nefit in behind and it was once again Arjan Stroetinga (BAM Schaatsteam) that crossed the line just ahead of Sjoerd Huisman (Nefit) for the victory.

Men's A Grade Marathon Results

1st Arjan Stroetinga (BAM)
2nd Sjoerd Huisman (Nefit)
3rd Cedric Michaud (Nefit)
4th Jan van Loon (Equipe Renault Eco2)
5th Roy Boeve (Safan)
6th Bob de Vried (BAM)
7th Douwe de Vries (Adformatie)
8th Pieter Jan van Eck (Safan)
9th Bart de Vries (Schuurman Schoenen)
10th Jochem Uithoven (BCT)
11th Joost Juffermans (TNT Express)
12th Jens Zwitser (DSB Bank)
13th Miel Rozendaal (PE People)
14th Shane Dobbin (DSB Bank)
15th Sandor Stuut (Vlasman)

To View the full A grade marathon go to http://www.sbs6.nl/web/show/id=258689/langid=43

The final event of the night was the first division marathon. It was a spectacular event for the 19 year old New Zealander Dj Nation who was patient through the race waiting for the right move.

Throughout the race it was fast and hard. In the first division the race is always hard because everyone wants to try to breakaway and when there is no breakaway there is the sprint for the sprint point classment. Rob Hadders from BAM raced in the first division in Utretch where he skated the race at the front controlling the breakaways with the other A grade skater Lars Hoogenboom from TNT Express.

The sprint for the top 20 started and Dj Nation from New Zealand put himself into good position at the front on the right skaters. Dj made the 20 skaters with ease and after this sprint finished there was an attack from another first division skater and no one would commit to chase. At the 15 to go mark, Dj Nation from New Zealand made his move right at the right time and went off the front to chase solo while the rest of the peleton would not to commit to chase. Dj Nation skated a hard race catching Nick Uithoven who was off the front working together to take a lap on the peleton and confirm their final sprint with just 2 skaters.

The A grade skaters in the race left the chase to late to catch the two escapees and ended up getting the bell for their final sprint with six laps remaining. Crossing the line for third was erwin Mesu from Gibo Beka and still the final two skaters had to race the last 5 laps for victory.

Dj Nation took advantage of the peleton sprint and got on the back of the peleton to break away from his escapee Nick Uithoven and ended up crossing the line solo for the race victory and his first podium for the season.

First Division Marathon
1st Dj Nation
2nd Nick Uithoven
3rd Erwin Mesu (Gibo Beka)
4th Andre Withaar (Vlasman)
5th Rob Hadders (BAM)

For full results go to http://www.knsb.nl/content/marathon/wedkal_detail.asp?ID=305
For more photos go to http://www.fotohdeboer.nl/

Youtube Video from Sunday night

Finally the video from Sunday nights race in Thialf has been uploaded to youtube. To view the four part video (MAKE SURE THE VOLUME IS TURNED DOWN) click on the below links:

Part 1 of 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D98XGIUNE7k

Part 2 of 4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_zhFk84gZs

Part 3 of 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXTM9ZPzR6k

Part 4 of 4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVgHdc1jX3M

Don't forget that tomorrow night is the Essent Cup 5 in Utretch. Shane Dobbin will be racing in the A grade in which there has been a change to the DSB Bank's starters. The final four that will be starting in Utretch is Shane Dobbin, Ingmar Berga, Jan Maarten Heideman & Jens Zwitser as Arjan Smit has been sick all week and decided he needs the rest. Dj Nation will be starting in the first divison which starts at 20:45. Keep posted for results.

Written by T Dobbin

News Update

Written by T Dobbin

Tonight at the DSB Bank team training in Thialf Shane Dobbin was told from his coach that he will be racing in the A grade this weekend. Saturday night in Utretch the women's race starts at 18:30 followed by the A Grade starting at 19:30 and finally starting in the first division with Dj Nation from New Zealand at 20:45.

It will be a big weekend for Shane having been out of racing in the A grade for a month. After this race on Monday night with a time of 6 minutes 37 seconds for his first attempt at the 5km his team knows he is in good shape and will be able to show it Saturday night.

Starting in the DSB team is Shane Dobbin, Ingmar Berga, Arjan Smit & Jan Maarten Heideman.

Last weekend's races in Enschede had to be put on hold for New Zealander Wayne Begg & Aussie Sophie Muir. They will be taking part in this weekend's races on Saturday night in Enschese which is on some of the fastest ice in Holland. Wayne & Sophie will be racing both the 500 meter and the 1500 meter and Josh Lose will be racing the 3 kilometer.

Keep posted for more updates over the weekend.

New youtube video uploaded from Sunday's 5km

Finally after four days of preparation the first part from Sunday nights race in Thialf, Heerenveen has been uploaded. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D98XGIUNE7k There are more parts to this race that will be online soon so be sure to check it out.

This weekend Shane Dobbin will be racing in the first division marathon in Utretch on Saturday night. The start of the marathon will be at 20:45 and results will be online soon after the race.

Written by T Dobbin

New time set for New Zealand 5km Record

Written by T Dobbin

Tonight in Thialf, Heerenveen both Shane Dobbin & Dj Nation skated the 5 kilometer race that was specifically put on just for them. Usually the 5km was not on the events calendar but thanks to Mr De Vries it was added in for tonight. Shane Dobbin skated a spectacular race & broke the New Zealand National record in the 5km event. It's his first ever 5 kilometer and second ever time set for long track. An online video will be uploaded soon so be sure to stay tuned for the link as well as photos from tonights race.

Shanes 5km lap times:
200m - 19.79
600m - 50.60 (30.8)
1000m - 1:22.17 (31.5)
1400m - 1:54.10 (31.9)
1800m - 2:25.38 (31.2)
2200m - 2:56.36 (30.9)
2600m - 3:27.45 (31.0)
3000m - 3:58.50 (31.0)
3400m - 4:29.80 (31.3)
3800m - 5:01.41 (31.6)
4200m - 5:33.34 (31.9)
4600m - 6:05.50 (32.1)
5000m - 6:37.96 (32.4)
TOTAL TIME: 6:37.96

It was also Dj's first ever attempt at a long track time and event. He still has one year left as a Junior on the ice so he has high hopes to make it to the Junior Worlds next year in Feburary in Poland.

Dj's 5km lap times:
200m - 19.97
600m - 51.54 (31.5)
1000m - 1:23.56 (32.0)
1400m - 1:55.86 (32.0)
1800m - 2:28.04 (32.1)
2200m - 3:00.51 (32.4)
2600m - 3:33.37 (32.8)
3000m - 4:06.04 (32.6)
3400m - 4:38.95 (32.9)
3800m - 5:12.12 (33.1)
4200m - 5:45.66 (33.5)
4600m - 6:19.48 (33.8)
5000m - 6:53.54 (34.0)
TOTAL TIME: 6:53.54

Essent Cup 4 in Amsterdam

Written by T Dobbin

Last night was the fourth race in the Essent Cup held in Amsterdam. The weather forecast was for snow and that forecast was correct with small drops of snow during the nights racing.

Results for Amsterdam's races are as follows:

Ladies Marathon

1st Janneke Ensing (Frisia)

2nd Carla Zielman (Hoolwerf)

3rd Mariska Huisman (Viks)

4th Maria Sterk (DSB Bank)

5th Joland Langeland (Steenbergen)

Mens Marathon

1st Karlo Timmerman (Equipe Renault Eco2)

2nd Arjan Stroetinga (BAM)

3rd Bob de Vries (BAM)

4th Cedric Michaud (Nefit)

5th Geert Plender (Safan)

6th Joost Vink (Goesting.nl)

7th Douwe de Vries (Adformatie)

8th Jan Maarten Heideman (DSB Bank)

9th Roel van Hest (Kooyenga)

10th Durk Fabriek (Schuurman Shoenen)

Mens First Division Marathon
1st Hermen van der Wal (Kooyenga)

2nd Peter Nauta (Bolsward)

3rd Erwin Mesu (GIBO-BEKA)

For full results go to: http://www.knsb.nl/

For more photos go to: http://www.fotohdeboer.nl/

News Update

Written by T Dobbin

Another week has already passed and before we know it's Friday. Both Shane Dobbin & Dj Nation have had a hard week of training preparing for their next race. This weekend the next Essent Cup will be held in Amsterdam at the Jaap Eden Ice Rink. The weather forecast is for storming very cold temperatures with the chance of snow. Those that will be racing in Amsterdam on Saturday night will have a tough race ahead because it's the only rink in the Netherlands that is totally outside and uncovered.

Shane Dobbin & Dj Nation will have the weekend off racing in the marathons but have other events on the schedule. Shane & Dj got the go ahead that they are confirmed starters for Sunday night's racing in Thialf. http://www.thialf.nl/ For a few weeks they have been trying to get put on the list to race in Thialf to make times but unfortunately were unable to be confirmed until this week. Shane & Dj will be racing the 5km long track event paired with each other. They are both very lucky because the organisation are specifically putting on this event for them to be able to set a time for themselves and to get some training in on their weekend off marathon racing. http://www.knsb.nl/upload/wedstrijdinschrijving/html_files/HV2008_HV015_sta.htm

Unfortunately Shane Dobbin's coach Peter de Vries has work committments and is unable to be on the ice that Sunday evening but organised for the farther of the most famous skater Sven Kramer to be on the ice for Shane on Sunday which will be an honour to have him help. Not only will Shane & Dj be racing this weekend in Thialf but in the city of Enschede Wayne Begg will be taking part in the 500 meter and 1000 meter on Saturday night along with Australia's Sophie Muir.

Keep posted for results and news that will be coming over the weekend.

Essent Cup 3 Eindhoven

Saturday evening was third race of the Essent Cup in Eindhoven. It wasn't as cold as last time the race was in Eindhoven with temperatures in the low teens. The first race of the evening was the ladies marathon. Mariska Huisman (Viks) won her first marathon in two years with a lunge at the line with USA's Chris Witty (Landjuweel). See below for ladies results


Ladies Results
1st Mariska Huisman (VIks)
2nd Chris Witty (Landjuweel)
3rd Maria Sterk (DSB Bank)

The men's A grade race got off to a slower start than usual. The action would first start at the first sprint points where Douwe de Vries (Adformatie), Bob de Vries (Bam), Cedric Michaud (Nefit) and Jan Maarten Heideman (DSB Bank) were sprinting for the three sprint points. It was close between all four skating with Douwe de Vries trying to hold onto the gold jersey and the other three skaters trying to win the gold jersey.

With approximately 35 laps remaining a breakaway group with 18 skaters were off the front of the peleton. In this breakaway included DSB Bank's Arjan Smit and Ingmar Berga trying hard to gain a lap over the rest of the peleton. When the team of Safan went to the front they pulled back the breakaway group just in time for the final elimination sprint where only the top 20 skaters across the line finish the final 20 laps.

The finish of the men's race finished in a sprint finish where the victory went to BAM with Arjan Stroetinga.

Mens Results
1st Arjan Stroetinga (BAM)
2nd Cees Juffermans (TNT Express)
3rd Jan Maarten Heideman (DSB Bank)
4th Karlo Timmerman (Renault Eco2)
5th Cedric Michaud (Nefit)
6th Douwe de Vries (Adformatie)

The final event of the night was the first division starting their marathon at 21:00. Shane Dobbin (DSB Bank) and New Zealand's Dj Nation & Wayne Begg were starters in Eindhoven. It was a very hard race from the first lap. With many A grade skaters starting in the first division the field each lap was getting smaller and smaller. A group of approximately 20 skaters including Shane Dobbin (DSB Bank) and Dj Nation lapped the peleton after approximately 40 laps. Willem Hut (BAM) made the race very difficult always attacking every moment possible. Shane Dobbin (DSB Bank) skated the race on the front always trying to either close down breaks or make breaks himself. He did a good job of controlling the race with Dj Nation pulling through for some very strong leads on the front trying to not let Willem Hut (BAM) breakaway.

It wasn't until the final 30 laps where there were only 18 skaters left in the race and Willem Hut (BAM), Casper Helling (Safan) and Koss Kortekaas (Vlasman) broke away together and ended up gaining another lap over the remaining 15 skaters. In the final 20 laps Dj Nation & Engbert de Vegt broke away together for the sprint for 4th place which after two sprint finishs from lap 11 to 10 and then again 6 to 5 it was Dj Nation who crossed the line for 4th just ahead of Engbert de Vegt. The rest of the peleton's sprint finish came across the line all together with Shane Dobbin crossing the line in 11th place.

The victory went to Willem Hut (BAM) from second Casper Helling (Safan) and third Koos Kortekaas (Vlasman).

First Division Results
1st Willem Hut (BAM)
2nd Casper Helling (Safan)
3rd Koos Kortekaas (Vlasman)
4th Dj Nation
5th Engbert de Vegt (GIBO-BEKA)
6th Johan Bakker
7th Martijn van Es (TNT Express)
8th Pieter Albada
9th Klass de Weerd
10th Roelof Koops
11th Shane Dobbin (DSB Bank)

Full results are at http://www.knsb.nl/content/marathon/wedkal_detail.asp?ID=303

For more photos from Eindhoven go to http://www.fotohdeboer.nl/index.php

The next race of the Essent Cup is in Amsterdam but both Shane Dobbin & Dj Nation will be having the weekend off from the marathon racing. Keep posted for more news coming soon.

Written by T Dobbin

ISU World Cup Heerenveen Day 3

Written by T Dobbin

Sunday was the final day of the ISU Heerenveen World Cup. It was a day where Shani Davis, Chad Hedrick and Trevor Marciano all got together and skated for the first time their top skaters in the team pursuit and ended up finishing in second. The news Shani Davis skating the team time trial was headlines here in Netherlands because for many years Shani has been against racing the team pursuit so that he could concentrate on his own individual races. But this year things have changed and he, Chad and Trevor plan to train together and get the best possible result that they can in Canada in 2010. See below for results from the final day in Heerenveen.

Ladies 1000 meter Final
1st Christine Nesbitt (Canada) 1:16.18
2nd Kristina Groves (Canada) 1:16.76
3rd Beixing Wang (China) 1:17.01

Men's 1000 meter Final
1st Shani Davis (USA) 1:08.99
2nd Pekka Koskela (Finland) 1:09.05
3rd Simon Juipers (Netherlands) 1:09.26

Ladies Team Pursuit
1st Netherlands 3:01.32
2nd Canada 3:02.34
3rd Germany 3:02.51

Men's Team Pursuit
1st Netherlands 3:42.29
2nd USA 3:43.48
3rd Sweden 3:47.20

For more results go to http://www.isuresults.eu/2008-2009/worldcup/heerenveen-1/index.html
For more photos go to http://www.fotos.desg.de/

ISU World Cup Heerenveen Day 2

Written by T Dobbin

Saturday was the second day of the ISU World Cup in Heerenveen, Netherlands. It was full of excitement watching the second round of the 500 meter sprint finals with Kato from Japan crashing in the first round 500 meter yesterday but winning the second 500 meter today. The speed some of the male sprinters reach is approximately 60 kilometers per hour. The second event for the day was the ladies 1500 meter finals and the final event was the 5 kilometer men's final where Sven Kramer (Netherlands) took yet another victory in this event but with the next four places all within point six of a second from each other. See results below from day two.

Ladies 500 meter Final 2
1st Jenny Wolf (Germany) 37.64
2nd Beixing Wang (China) 37.74
3rd Sang-Hwa Lee (Korea) 38.13

Men's 500 meter Final 2
1st Joji Kato (Japan) 34.82
2nd Fengtong Yu (China) 35.05
3rd Pekka Koskela (Finland) 35.09

Ladies 1500 meter Final
1st Kristina Groves (Canada) 1:57.22
2nd Daniela Anschutz Thoms (Germany) 1:57.91
3rd Christine Nesbitt (Canada) 1:58.08

Men's 5000 meter Final
1st Sven Kramer (Netherlands) 6:14.32
2nd Carl Verheijen (Netherlands) 6:20.18
3rd Enrico Fabris (Italy) 6:20.20
4th Chad Hedrick (USA) 6:20.35
5th Bob de Jong (Netherlands) 6:20.78

Sunday is the final day for the second ISU World Cup with the final events being the ladies and men's 1000 meter finals and the team pursuits.

For full results go to http://www.isuresults.eu/2008-2009/worldcup/heerenveen-1/index.html

For more photos go to http://www.fotos.desg.de/

Essent Cup 3 Eindhoven Annoucement

Written by T Dobbin

Today is the third Essent Cup race which will be held tonight in Eindhoven in the South Netherlands. The last race that was held there the temperature was 3 degrees and the ice was very bad. Tonight Shane Dobbin (DSB) and Dj Nation (New Zealand) are racing in the first division which follow the ladies race and start at 20:45. Last week Shane Dobbin (DSB) finished on the podium in third and will be wanting to do better this evening.

Racing in the A Grade for DSB is Ingmar Berga, Arjan Smit, Jan Maartien Heideman and Jeron de Vries.

Keep posted for full results that will be coming soon!

ISU World Cup Heerenveen Day 1

Written by T Dobbin

Last night was the first evening of events at the Heerenveen World Cup. There was an upset in the men's 1500 meter final with USA's Shani Davis taking out the victory and the hometown favourite Sven Kramer only finishing 11th. See below for full results

Ladies 500 meter Final 1
1st Jenny Wolf (Germany) 37.60
2nd Beixing Wang (China) 37.63
3rd Sang-Hwa Lee (Korea) 38.22

Men's 500 meter Final 1
1st Pekka Koskela (Finland) 34.88
2nd Dmitry Lobkov (Russia) 35.16
3rd Fengtong Yu (China) 35.18

Ladies 3000 meter Final
1st Renate Groenewold (Netherlands) 4:04.85
2nd Marina Sablikova (CZE) 4:05.54
3rd Diane Valkenburg (Netherlands) 4:05.70

Men's 1500 meter Final
1st Shani Davis (USA) 1:45.23
2nd Stefan Groothuis (Netherlands) 1:45.84
3rd Mark Tuiter (Netherlands) 1:45.90

For full results go to http://www.isuresults.eu/2008-2009/worldcup/heerenveen-1/index.html

For more photos go to http://www.fotos.desg.de/

ISU World Cup Heerenveen Annoucement

Written by T Dobbin

Today is the start of the second ISU World Cup for 2008 in Heerenveen, Netherlands. There will be no starts for New Zealand in Heerenveen due to no availablity for setting a qualifing time prior to this World Cup. The events start later on this afternoon with the program for this weekend as follows:

Friday 14th November 2008
Ladies 500 meter Final 1
Men's 500 meter Final 1
Ladies 3000 meter Final
Men's 1500 meter Final

Saturday 15th Novemebr 2008
Ladies 500 meter Final 2
Men's 500 meter Final 2
Ladies 1500 meter Final
Men's 5000 meter Final

Sunday 16th November 2008
Ladies 1000 meter Final
Men's 1000 meter Final
Ladies Team Pursuit
Men's Team Pursuit.

Keep posted for results from this weekends ISU World Cup in Heerenveen.

ISU World Cup Berlin Day 3

Written by T Dobbin

Results from the final day of the ISU World Cup in Berlin.

Ladies 1000 meter Final
1st Christine Nesbitt (Canada) 1:16.86
2nd Shannon Rempel (Canada) 1:17.11
3rd Laurine van Riessen (Netherlands) 1:17.21

Mens 1000 meter Final
1st Stefan Groothuis (Netherlands) 1:09.13
2nd Shani Davis (USA) 1:09.15
3rd Simon Kuipers (Netherlands) 1:09.30

Ladies Team Pursuit Final
1st Netherlands 3:04.34
2nd Germany 3:03.51
3rd USA 3:05.68

Mens Team Pursuit Final
1st Canada 3:47.29
2nd Germany 3:47.37
3rd Japan 3:48.02

For full results go to http://www.isuresults.eu/2008-2009/worldcup/berlin/

For more photos go to http://www.fotos.desg.de/

Essent Cup 2 in Assen

Written by T Dobbin

Last night was the second Essent Cup race held in Assen the home club rink from both Shane and Dj. The start time changes from last week to this week with the Ladies starting at 18:30, the Men A at 19:30 and the First Division at 20:45.

The ladies results are as follows:
1st Carla Zielman (Hoolwerf Heiwerken)
2nd Chris Witty (Landjuweel)
3rd Maria Sterk (DSB Bank)
4th Anniek ter Haar (Aavas Groep)
5th Mariska Huisman (Viks Parket)

The men's race was a good race to watch. Douwe de Vries (Adformatie) sprinted for most of the points during the race taking the gold jersey at the end of the race. In the final 20 Bob de Vries (BAM Schaatsteam), Jan Maarten Heideman (DSB Bank) Cedric Michaud (Nefit) skated off the back of the peleton while everyone else in the final 20 made breaks and crossed over to the breakaways which allowed most of the top 20 to take one lap and Jan Maarten Heideman (DSB Bank) sprinted for 16th place with 10 laps to go.

In the final sprint Ingmar Berga (DSB Bank) followed Sjoerd Huisman (Nefit) going into the last lap where Sjoerd Huisman (Nefit) took the lead and didn't look back. Ingmar Berga (DSB Bank) was close behind but coming out of the last corner Sjoerd Huisman took the inside line and crossed the line with the victory and his first victory in the Essent Cup.

Men's results as follows:
1st Sjoerd Huisman (Nefit)
2nd Ingmar Berga (DSB Bank)
3rd Cees Juffermans (TNT Express)
4th Douwe de Vries (Adformatie)
5th Karlo Timmerman ( Equipe renault Eco2)

The final start of the evening was the men's first division race and starting for DSB Bank was Shane Dobbin and from New Zealand the youngster Dj Nation. The race was very fast and hard. There were many breakaway attempts and with the sprint points included in poured the pace on for the laps before and during the sprint points.

At the lap 60 mark the race had to be stopped and re-started because of a large crash around the final corner with approximately six skaters and alot of blood. Once the race was re-started there were a few laps to get back into the race and then the second group of sprints started. Shane Dobbin (DSB Bank) found himself racing alot from the front of the peleton having to close down many breaks himself. Sprinting for the final 20 Shane Dobbin (DSB Bank) & Dj Nation found themselves together and no one would seperate them. Dj Nation of New Zealand followed Shane Dobbin and both Shane & Dj made the final 20.

In the final 20 laps Engbert de Vega (GIBO-BEKA) made a solo breakaway and ended up close to 3/4 of a lap in front of the peleton and no one committing to the chase. Dj Nation of New Zealand made an attack from the back of the peleton to cross over solo to the breakaway with approximately 15 laps to go but the peleton chased him down and he was back in the peleton once again. With approximately 7 laps to the finish the TNT skater Lars Hoogenboom attacked off the front solo to try to close the break to Engbert, and soon to follow solo was Shane Dobbin (DSB Bank) with 5 laps to go. All three skaters skating the final five laps solo it was Lars Hoogenboom (TNT Express) who took the lead with just one lap to go to take victory in the first division marathon in Assen. Second was Engbert de Vegt (GIBO-BEKA) and coming in solo for third Shane Dobbin (DSB Bank).

Men's First Division results:
1st Lars Hoogenboom (TNT Express)
2nd Engbert de Vegt (GIBO-BEKA)
3rd Shane Dobbin (DSB Bank)
4th Peter Nauta (Schaatsteam Bolsward)
5th Klass de Weerd (Dorcas Hulp)
18th Dj Nation (New Zealand)

For full results go to: http://www.knsb.nl/content/marathon/wedkal_detail.asp?ID=302
For more pictures go to: http://www.fotohdeboer.nl/

ISU World Cup Berlin Day 2

Written by T Dobbin

Today was the second day of the ISU World Cup held in Berlin. Today's schedule was the sound round of the 500 meter's with the time of yesterday and today combined to determine the overall winner, the men's 1500 meters and the ladies 3 kilometer. See below for top three results from these events and the link below for full results.




Ladies 500 meter Final
1st Beixing Wang (China) 37.91
2nd Jenny Wolf (Germany) 37.95
3rd Sang-Hwa Lee (Korea) 38.26





Men's 500 meter Final
1st Joji Kato (Japan) 34.70
2nd Fengtong Yu (China) 35.07
3rd Mika Poutala (Finland) 35.13





Ladies 3000 meter Final
1st Martina Sablikova (CZA) 4:03.70
2nd Daniela Anschutz Thoms (Germany) 4:07.08
3rd Masako Hozumi (Japan) 4:06.92





Men's 1500 metre Final
1st Sven Kramer (Netherlands) 1:45.69
2nd Erban Wennemars (Netherlands) 1:45.85
3rd Simon Kuipers (Netherlands) 1:45.95





Tomorrow is the final day of the World Cup in Berlin before everyone heads to the Netherlands in Heerenveen for the second World Cup next weekend. Tomorrow's events are the men's and ladies 1000 metre finals as well as the team pursuits. Keep posted for tomorrow's results.





Full results go to: http://www.isuresults.eu/2008-2009/worldcup/berlin/


For more photos go to: http://www.fotos.desg.de/

ISU World Cup Berlin Day 1

Written by T Dobbin

Last night was the first event for the ISU speed skating with the Berlin World Cup. The first events on the schedule were the men's and ladies 500 meter sprints, the men's 5 kilometer and the ladies 1500 meter. See results below:

Mens 500 meter Final
1st Keiichrio Nagashima (Japan) 34.92
2nd Pekka Koskela (Finland) 34.99
3rd Kyou-Hyuk Lee (Korea) 35.01

Ladies 500 meter Final
1st Jenny Wolf (Germany) 37.75
2nd Beixing Wang (China) 37.75
3rd Sang-Hwa Lee (Korea) 38.12

Men's 5km Final
1st Sven Kramer (Netherlands) 6:15.74
2nd Havard Bokko (Norway) 6:20.03
3rd Carl Verheijen (Netherlands) 6:20.87

A big congratulations goes out to Elma de Vries (DSB/Netherlands) who skated in the A division ladies 1500 meter final last night and was pair with Martina Sablikova (CZE) and finished in 7th place to be the first Netherlands ladies skater.

Ladies 1500 meter Final
1st Kristina Groves (Canada) 1:57.65
2nd Brittany Schussler (Canada) 1:57.74
3rd Shannon Rempel (Canada) 1:58.04

On the events schedule for today is the second round of 500 meter finals, the men's 1500 meter and the ladies 3 kilometer finals.

For full results of the Berlin World Cup go to http://www.isuresults.eu/2008-2009/worldcup/berlin/

For more photos go to: http://www.fotos.desg.de/

Mid-Week News update

Written by T Dobbin

It's already mid-week but the first Wednesday in a month where there is no mid-week racing. Yesterday the boys (Shane, Kalon & Dj) took a visit to the Dutch boot maker Groothuis. Last week Kalon was moulded for some ice boots and yesterday Dj got himself moulded. Shane has decided that his boots of last year need a change and is in the process of getting them re-leathered. http://www.groothuisschoenen.nl/

This week has been a week of recovery for Dj who will be starting his real training this week for the ice season and Shane has been organising his schedule for the next few weeks. Kalon flies to Argentina tomorrow so Saturday in Amsterdam was his last marathon for this season but hopes to be back as soon as he can for more of the ice skating life. Both Shane and Dj will be racing on Saturday night in the First Division marathon in their home club rink Assen.

Both Shane and Dj are trying to organise themselves to get into a long track race to set some times and train themselves to know their limits. It's not so easy to get to race on good ice to set the long track times but we are working on it.

Winter has started to set in early this Winter. It's already quite cold and very gray skies. The trees have already lost their leaves and the prediction is for a cold winter but only time will tell. Keep posted for more updates and results that will be coming soon.

Essent Cup 1 in Amsterdam

Written by T Dobbin

Last night was the first evening of racing for the Essent Cup. Amsterdam is the only rink in the Netherlands that is completely outside. We were driving to the rink in the pooring rain along with when we arrived but as soon as the racing started it had gone.

The Rules: In the Essent Cup the races are like a points race on inline skating. At lap 80 to 78 there are three sprint points, again at lap 60 to 58 and at 40 to 38. Then at lap 20 the bell is rang and only the first 20 skaters across the line make it to the final 20 for the sprint finish for the victory. If the peleton is lapped those skaters complete the 100 laps. Those skaters that are not in the breakaway finish their race for the sprint with 5 laps to go but if there are more than 8 on the breakaway that lap the peleton the main peletons sprints for the finish with 10 laps remaining. It's a very exciting race and the highlights from these races are on television on Sunday's here in the Netherlands at 12:30.

A Grade: Shane's team mate Jan Maarten of DSB Bank made a spectacular finish in his breakaway group. Skating a very smart race he managed to hit the lead with one lap to go and made his sprint from the front. He had a few meters on his opponent Cedric Michaud going into the last corner but with the cut ice took a very wide final corner sprinting down the outside of the final straight and still managed to cross the line in first place with his first victory of the season.

Results
1st Jan Maarten Heideman (DSB Bank)
2nd Cedric Michaud (Nefit RH Ketels)
3rd Bob de Vries (BAM Schaatsteam)

First Division: Racing at 22:00 in the first division from New Zealand was Shane's brother Kalon Dobbin & Dj Nation. In the B grade there were five teams from the A that for the Essent Cup now start in B so the pace was alot faster tonight in this division. Kalon Dobbin made it to the front in the first 10 laps but after a hard training with the DSB Bank team on Friday morning his legs were feeling a bit under the weather. Dj Nation skated a good race and had good position throughout the race. He missed the group of 9 skaters breaking away off the front who ended up taking a lap from the peleton so there wasn't alot that he could do to cross over solo to these 9 skaters. Finally Dj was a bit tired this evening and ended up not contensting the final sprint but still a very strong race from the young New Zealand only 19 years old.

Results
1st Tristan Loy (Adformatie)
2nd Klaas de Weerd (Dorcas Hulp)
3rd Engbert de Vegt (GIBO-BEKA)

Next Saturday evening is held in Assen for the Essent Cup 2 and Shane will be racing in the first division along with Dj Nation.

Ice News Update

Written by T Dobbin

Already one month into the ice season there has been a full four weeks of racing. Shane has raced two marathons in A grade and one marathon in B grade. It's been a very busy month and coming into winter the flu has been going around. For about two and a half weeks Shane got sick and wasn't really able to do the normal training but managed to do enough to keep his level.

Just two weeks out from the Heereveen World Cup Shane has two weeks to try to get in as many long track times as possible. His qualifying time is to make a 7:05 for the 5km. We have been trying for the last week to enter into any long track races that might be here in Holland so hopefully before the Heereveen WC he will be able to get some races under his belt.

For now it's two weeks of hard training and preparation for Hereeveen. Next Saturday he will be racing in the B grade marathon which will be held in Assen. Keep posted for more news.

World Championships Spain 2008

Written by T Dobbin

The World Championships this year

during track and road didn't really go according to plan for Shane. On track in his first race he ended up crashing out and was unable to finish the race. He didn't race another individual race on track again only the American Relay with his brother Kalon Dobbin and Scott Arlidge but unfortunately they missed out on skating the final.

Come to the road Championships and Shane ended up finishing in 7th place in the points race taking a chance and breaking away in the final 5 laps.

It was the final race of the Championships and possibly Shanes last race of his World Championship career being the Marathon. The weather wasn't settled. One minute it was raining and the next sunny. Shane Dobbin with his team mate Dj Nation both of New Zealand broke away with two skaters from Argentina and one from France. This five man breakaway ended up finishing with just three after Dj Nation of NZ sacraficed his place to work for Shane and help him with whatever was possible in the breakaway. After a long hard race it was Shane that came across the line in first place approximately 5 metres in front of his competitor to win his four World Championship title.

The marathon is always one of the biggest and best races to win at Worlds. It was a very succesful race for not only Shane but New Zealand. It's a great way for Shane to hang up his skates and think about his future on the ice. For more information please visit http://www.cadomotus.com