Mid week News: Shane Dobbin accepted to skate at the World Single Distance Championships in 2009

Written by T Dobbin

It's coming to the end of the ice season for 2008-2009. The final marathon will be held in Thialf this weekend with Dutch National Championship Marathon race. It's one of the biggest events of the season and the most prestige race to win of the marathon races in the Netherlands.

Shane Dobbin's marathon season came to an end in Groningen last week when he crashed and dislocated his shoulder. Thankfully he recovered fast and is already back training on the ice. Last week Shane Dobbin received confirmation from New Zealand that he got accepted to skate at the ISU World Single Distance Championships in Vancouver from the 12th to the 15th of March to race in the 10,000 meters. Of course Shane Dobbin & New Zealand jumped at the chance and sent the acceptance straight away.

So in the next two weeks Shane will be training for the World Championships 10km flying to Vancouver on the 9th of March to have a few days preparation on the ice. The schedule of events are as follows:

Thursday 12th March
Men's 1,500m
Ladies 3,000m

Friday 13th March
Mens 1,000m
Ladies 1,500m
Mens 5,000m

Saturday 14th March
Ladies 1,000m
Mens 10,000m
Ladies 5,000m

Sunday 15th March
Ladies 500m x 2
Mens 500m x 2
Ladies Team Pursuit
Mens Team Pursuit

For the official website go to http://www.speedskatingrichmond2009.com

Keep posted for more news and the race results from this weekend's National Marathon Championships.

KNSB 5 days Results

Written by T Dobbin

Finally the five days is finished and the results are in. The third day of the KNSB 5 days was held in Alkmaar which is DSB Bank's home city.

The ladies race was still 60 laps and ended in a sprint finish with DSB Bank's Elma de Vries crossing the line with the race victory and still in the Orange jersey. See below the ladies race results:

Alkmaar Ladies Marathon
1st Elma de Vries (DSB Bank)
2nd Carla Zielmann (Hoolwerf)
3rd Chris Witty (Landjuweel)

The mens race finished in a sprint finish after many breakaway attemps from many of the teams and skaters. See below the mens race results:

Alkmaar Mens Marathon
1st Arjan Stroetinga (BAM)
2nd Karlo Timmerman (Renault)
3rd Bob de Vries (BAM)
4th Ingmar Berga (DSB Bank)
5th Cedric Michaud (Nefit)

The fourth day of the KNSB Cup the 12th KNSB race was held in Haarlem. Elma de Vries from DSB Bank broke away with 10 laps to go and ended up maintaining her lead to take another victory in the KNSB Cup in Haarlem. The sprint finish for the ladies went to Chris Witty to cross the line in second and the young Cado Motus skater Bianca Roosenboom finished in third place with her first podium in the marathons this season.

Haarlem Ladies Marathon
1st Elma de Vries (DSB Bank)
2nd Chris Witty (Landjuweel)
3rd Bianca Roosenboom (Cado Motus)

The mens race in Haarlem finished with excitement. 22 skaters ended up lapping the peleton and in the final 10 laps everyone was trying to escape off the front. The successful skater was from Nefit with Cedric Michaud in the final two laps breaking away and crossing the line with his first victory in the KNSB Cup this season.

Haarlem Mens Marathon
1st Cedric Michaud
2nd Rob Hadders (BAM)
3rd Yoeri Lissenberg (Foekens)
4th Roy Boeve (Safan)
5th Crispijn Ariens (PE People)

The final KNSB Cup the 13th race was held in Hoorn. The ladies skated a very hard race with many of the ladies stopping because the race was very hard with many breaks. The race ended in a sprint finish with the results below:

1st Chris Witty (Landjuweel)
2nd Elma de Vries (DSB Bank)
3rd Mariska Huisman (Viks)

Elma de Vries of DSB Bank ended up winning the overall classment in the ladies keeping her orange jersery for the second year in a row. The sprinters classment went to Chris Witty (Landjuweel) and the best young skater went to Margo van der Merwe (Team de Sprinters)



The mens finale was 150 laps. Within the first 50 laps there was already a breakaway with three skaters off the front trying to lap the peleton. Finally with 97 laps to go the three skaters were one lap up when one of these three skaters crashed and broke his skate leaving only two skaters one lap up on the peleton. The teams of BCT & PE People did a good job and controlling the peleton bringing back any breaks that were trying to escape off the front. Finally the peleton got the bell with 6 laps to go and ended in a sprint with Arjan Stroetinga (BAM) crossing the line for third place.

The two skaters to finish the final 5 laps was Crispijn Ariens (PE People) and Jochem Uithoven (BCT). These two skaters skated very slowly for the final 4.5 laps finishing the race with a standing 200 meter sprint finish. Just crossing the line in first place for the race victory was Jochem Uithoven from BCT with their teams first victory of the season. Second place went to Crispijn Ariens from PE people. See below the results from Hoorn.

Hoorn Mens Marathon
1st Jochem Uithoven (BCT)
2nd Crispijn Ariens (PE People)
3rd Arjan Stroetinga (BAM)
4th Sjoerd Huisman (Nefit)
5th Bart de Vries (Schuurman)

Winning the overall classment for the mens was Bams Arjan Stroetinga. The best young skater went to Renaults Karlo Timmerman and the sprinters overall classment went to Sjoerd Huisman from Nefit.

With the one marathon remaining and one of the biggest of the season the National Championships which will be held in Thialf, Heerenveen on Saturday.

KNSB Cup 10 Breda

Written by T Dobbin

Last night was the 10th KNSB Cup in Breda. Breda was a very difficult ice track with at each corner every lap the peleton breaking the ice and big ice chunks came flying out. Because of the ice being so bad, each lap in certain places of the corner people were crashing after their clap would hit the holes. It made it a very difficult race for everyone.

The ladies race finished in a sprint finish with the Amercian Chris Witty (Landjuweel) taking her second victory in two days. Full results from the ladies below:

Ladies Marathon
1st Chris Witty (Landjuweel)
2nd Elma de Vries (DSB Bank)
3rd Mariska Huisman (Viks)

The mens race was one of the toughest races seen this winter. The team of BAM skated a very strong race with Bob de Vries (BAM) lapping the peleton two times and then again lapping the breakaway group one time. The breakaway group finished in a sprint with DSB Bank's Arjan Smit lunging at the line just missing out on podium to finish in fourth for the DSB Bank team. See below the mens marathon results.

Mens Marathon
1st Bob de Vries (BAM)
2nd Arjan Stroetinga (BAM)
3rd Sjoerd Huisman (Nefit)
4th Arjan Smit (DSB Bank)

Shane Dobbin had to sit out of the KNSB 10 in Breda because of his shoulder but after just one day already a huge improvement with his recovery and will be back on his skates in no time. Tonight the race is in the home city from the team of DSB Bank. The head quarters of DSB Bank are in Alkmaar and it will be an important race of their team. Keep posted for results.

KNSB Cup 9 Groningen

Written by T Dobbin
Wednesday was the first of the five days cup held in Groningen. The ladies race started at 18:30 followed by the men at 19:30. It is the first race of a long five days with races held all over the Netherlands.

The ladies race started off to a hard start with Maria Sterk from DSB Bank crashing early on in the race. She skated most of the race off the back trying to catch back up to the peleton while everyone was off the front trying to make it a hard race. The ladies ended in a sprint finish with the American Chris Witty just crossing the line in first place with the race victory. See below for the ladies results.

Ladies Marathon Results
1st Chris Witty (Landjuweel)
2nd Elma de Vries (DSB Bank)
3rd Maria Sterk (DSB Bank)
4th Bianca Roosenboom (CadoMotus)

The mens race started off fast, and by the half way point the deciding breakaway had already formed and taken a lap over the peleton. In the leading breakaway were all the top sprinters from each team including Karlo Timmerman (Renault), Arjan Stroetinga (BAM), Sjoerd Huisman (Nefit) and Ingmar Berga (DSB Bank).

In the final sprint for the peleton Shane Dobbin (DSB Bank) went around the outside to pass with one lap to go for the pack sprint and ended up crashing into the wall and dislocating his shoulder. Unfortunately this accident ended Shane's starts in the KNSB Cup and his marathon season for 2008-2009 having to take at least a few days rest before getting back into training.

With Ingmar Berga (DSB Bank) crossing the line right behind Sjoerd Huisman (Nefit) in second place, the jury decided that because he skated across the line lunging with the front of his foot in the air he was relegated to fourth place. The final results for the first race of the men are as follows:

Mens Marathon Results

1st Sjoerd Huisman (Nefit)
2nd Arjan Stroetinga (BAM)
3rd Karlo Timmerman (Renault)
4th Ingmar Berga (DSB Bank)

Tomorrow is another day with the marathon racing heading to the South of Netherlands in Breda. Shane Dobbin will be taking a full rest tomorrow and heading to the physio for treatment to get back on his skates as soon as possible.

KNSB 5 Days Announcement

Tonight is the first race of the KNSB 5 days. It's the final races of the season in the KNSB cup with just one marathon race after the 5 days which is the National Marathon Championships. Shane Dobbin of DSB Bank will be starting in four of the five races over the next five days.

Elma de Vries of DSB Bank is currently in the Gold Jersey with 176.5 over her team mate Maria Sterk with 153.2 points. Elma de Vries will racing the next five days to make sure she secures her place in the Gold. In the mens top division Arjan Stroetinga from BAM is in the Gold with 181.4 points, followed by Karlo Timmerman (Renault) with 147.1 points and in third place Bob de Vries (BAM) with 142.1 points.

KNSB 5 Days Calendar
18th February - Groningen
19th February - Breda
20th February - Alkmaar
21st February - Haarlem
22nd February - Hoorn

Keep posted over the next 5 days for full results from the KNSB 5 days.

Shane Dobbin Reserve for the World Champs 10 km

Written by T Dobbin
After the last World Cup of the season in Heerenveen last weekend, the ISU have released the current qualification status for the World Championships. Shane Dobbin from New Zealand skated a strong 10 kilometer on Sunday morning did a good enough time to put his name down on the reserve list for the World Championships to be held in Vancouver mid March. Click on the list below to see the 10 kilometer qualification status.

For the full list go to: http://www.isu.org

Heerenveen World Cup 14th & 15th February

Photos from the ISU World Cup in Heerenveen, February 14th & 15th thanks to Daniel Yeow.

Video from the races on the weekend will be uploaded soon!

Heerenveen World Cup day 2

Written by T Dobbin

Sunday was the second and final day of the Heerenveen World Cup. Shane Dobbin of New Zealand skated his second ever 10 kilometer race Sunday in the B Division setting a new personal best time and New Zealand National Record. See below for results

Mens B Division 10km
1st Mark Ooijevaar (NED) 13.19,26
2nd Sverre Haugli (NOR) 13.20,11
3rd Marco Weber (GER) 13.29,72
7th Shane Dobbin (NZL) 13.39.42

Mens A Division 10km
1st Sven Kramer (NED) 13.03,51
2nd Havard Bokko (NOR) 13.07,93
3rd Bob de Jong (NED) 13.09,16

Ladies B Division 1500m
1st Maria Lamb (USA) 2.02,13
2nd Karlolina Erbanova (CZE) 2.03,59
3rd Nicole Garrido (CAN) 2.04,04

Ladies A Division 1500m
1st Anni Friesinger (GER) 1.57,48
2nd Christine Nesbitt (CAN) 1.57,58
3rd Kristina Groves (CAN) 1.58,40

For full results go to: http://www.speedskatingresults.com/index.php?p=2&e=2477
Photo thanks to Daniel Yeow from Australia.

Heerenveen Distance World Cup

Written by T Dobbin

Today was the first day of the Distance World Cup in Heerenveen. Shane Dobbin skating for New Zealand skated his first race in a World Cup with the 1500 meter in the B grade. it was a full stadium in Heerenveen with a very good atmosphere.

Shane Dobbin started a very fast 1500 meter race with a personal best opening time and a good first lap. Unfortunately not being able to hold on for the final 600 meters ended up with a time of 1:54.30. The ladies raced a 5 kilometer today with Elma de Vries from the Netherlands skating in the B Group setting a personal best time of 7 minutes and 2 seconds qualifying her for the World Championships in Canada in March. Results of today are below:

Ladies 5 kilometer B Grade
1st Elma de Vries (Netherlands 7:02.48
2nd Nancy Swider - Pelz Junior (USA) 7:15.06
3rd Maki Tabata (Japan) 7:18.07

Ladies 5 kilometer A Grade

1st Martina Sablikova (Cze) 6:59.08
2nd Stephaine Beckert (Germany) 7:01.33
3rd Kristina Groves (Canada) 7:05.08

Men 1500 meter B Grade

1st Daniel Friberg (Sweden) 1:48.27
2nd Jay Morrison (Canada) 1:48.56
3rd Pascal Briand (France) 1:49.82
17th Shane Dobbin (New Zealand) 1:54.30

Men 1500 meter A Grade

1st Shani Davis (USA) 1:45.40
2nd Enrico Fabris (Itatly) 1:45.88
3rd Trevor Marsicano (USA) 1:46.09

Tomorrow is the final day in Heerenveen with the ladies 1500 meter and the mens 10,000 meter. Shane Dobbin from New Zealand is paired with the Frenchman Tristan Loy in the first pair which will be raced in quadrants. Keep posted for more results.

Grand Prix 2 in Sweden

Written by T Dobbin

Yesterday was the second Grand Prix in Sweden for the KNSB Cup. It was a very difficult race because during the start and much of the race it was snowing and no one was able to see where the course was. No one could see where the cracks were and there were many skaters crashing and trying to catch back up to the Peleton. See below for the results.

Ladies 80km Results
1st Erna Kijk In de Vegte (Landjuweel)
2nd Hilde van Slochteren (VPZ)
3rd Marjolijn Hulzebosch (Van der Wiel)
4th Jolanda Spruit (Cakyline)
5th Danielle Bekkering (Frisia)

Mens 150km Results
1st Jourke Hoogeveen (Schuurman)
2nd Ruud Aerts (Foekens)
3rd Tristan Loy (Adformatie)
4th Jan Maarten Heideman (DSB Bank)
5th Arjan Smit (DSB Bank)

Monday is the third Grand Prix where many skaters will be flying back to the Netherlands after this race to prepare for the final KNSB cup marathon races.

Grand Prix 1 in Sweden

Written by T Dobbin

Yesterday was the first day of the 5 Grand Prix races in Falun, Sweden. The ladies skated a 60 kilometer race and the men an 80 kilometer race. Results are below:

Women 60km Results

1st Carla Zielman (Hoolwerf)
2nd Mariska Huisman (Viks)
3rd Maria Sterk (DSB Bank)

Men 80km Results
1st Martijn Kromkamp (Kooyenga)
2nd Gary Hekman (Nefit)
3rd Rob Hadders (BAM)
4th Ruud Borst (Team Care Group)
5th Rene Ruitenberg (Safan)
6th Jeroen de Vries (DSB Bank)

Everyone now has one day rest before the next race tomorrow with the ladies an 80 kilometer and the men 150 kilometer. The program of the Grand Prix's in Sweden are below:

5th February Grand Prix 1 (Ladies 60k/Men 80k)
7th February Grand Prix 2 (Ladies 80k/Men 150k)
9th February Grand Prix 3 (Ladies 100k/Men 100k)

After the 3rd Grand Prix the ladies Natural Ice races are finished and some of the men come back to the Netherlands to prepare them for the finish of the KNSB Cup marathon races and the Dutch National Championships.

From DSB Bank Shane Dobbin, Ingmar Berga and Arjan Smit are included in coming back to the Netherlands after the third Grand Prix. Shane Dobbin will be skating in the Heerenveen World Cup on the 14th & 15th of February and Ingmar Berga will be racing in the Open race at the Heerenveen World Cup on the 15th of February. The remaining two races in Sweden are below.

12th February Grand Prix 4 (Men 100k)
14th February Grand Prix 5 (Men 200k)

Keep posted for more results and updates.

Weissensee Open National Championships

Written by T Dobbin
Today was the Dutch Open Natural Championships held in the Weissensee, Austria. It was another gruelling race with the ladies skating 60 kilometer and the men 100 kilometer.

The results are below:

Ladies 60km

1st Maria Sterk (DSB Bank) 1:53.01
2nd Erna Kijk In de Vegte (Landjuweel) 1:54.09

3rd Cindy can den Berg (Frisia) 1:54.20
4th Sandra t'Hart (Landjuweel) 1:55.00

5th Jolanda Langeland (Steenbergen) 1:55.04

Mens 100km

1st Tristan Loy (Adformatie) 2:47.58
2nd Ruud Aeerts (Foekens) 2:48.14
3rd Ingmar Berga (DSB Bank) 2:48.14
4th Peter jan van Eck (Safan) 2:38.17
5th Arjen Becker (Kooyenga) 2:48.17

For more results go to http://www.weissensee.nl/