ISU World Cup in Hamar

Written by T Dobbin

It was a devastating weekend in Hamar for Shane last weekend at the ISU World Cup. With Hamar being the one and only chance to qualify for the 10km at the Olympics he knew that it would be a very important weekend and the first part of his training was revolved around that weekend.

Saturday night was the draw for the 10km and Shane was third pair with Olympic Champion from Italy Enrico Fabris. It was a very good pair for Shane as Fabris skates a very steady laps and this would be a benefit in the 10km.

Shane started out skating very good lap times. He was looking in good condition and everything was going great throughout the race. He was three seconds under his schedule and was skating right with his opponent Fabris. With 9 laps to go Shane was on target for a time of 13.25 or faster which would be 5 seconds under the Olympic qualifying time. Shane felt really good during the 10km and plan was to try to conserve energy through the start and then with 6 or 7 laps to go bring the lap times down and finish with all he had.

With 8 laps to go, Shane was on the exit of the final corner on the inner lane and dug the front of his blade into the ice, crashing and sliding into the outer lane hitting the wall. Immediately his first reaction was to get up and finish because he needed the points in the overall so that if he can still finish instead the top 10 in the ISU Overall standing for the distance he would be able to still compete in the 10km at the Olympics. After crashing into the barrier Shane got up and skated some meters in the outer lane before realizing that he needed to get across into the inner lane.

Having blurred vision and pain from crashing Shane kept going for the final 8 laps and still crossed the finish line just 8 seconds from his previous personal best with a time of 13.47.

See Shane’s lap times below:

400m – 35.3
800m – 1.06.98 (32.2)
1200m – 1.38.82 (31.8)
1600m – 2.11.09 (32.2)
2000m – 2.42.87 (31.7)
2400m – 3.14.47 (31.6)
2800m – 3.46.29 (31.8)
3200m – 4.18.45 (32.1)
3600m – 4.50.52 (32.0)
4000m – 5.23.30 (32.7)
4400m – 5.55.15 (31.8)
4800m – 6.27.51 (32.3)
5200m – 6.59.35 (31.8)
5600m – 7.31.73 (32.3)
6000m – 8.03.68 (31.9)
6400m – 8.36.04 (32.3)
6800m – 9.18.69 (42.6)
7200m – 9.54.77 (36.0)
7600m – 10.27.73 (32.9)
8000m – 11.00.51 (32.7)
8400m – 11.33.54 (33.0)
8800m – 12.06.98 (33.4)
9200m – 12.40.30 (33.3)
9600m – 13.13.46 (33.1)
10000m – 13.47.1 (33.7)

After warming down the referee came over to Shane and explained that he would be disqualified. The reason he was disqualified is because when he got up after crashing, he skated in the outer lane and the rules state that when someone crashes, they must immediately go back to his/her lane. Because Shane skated on the outer he was disqualified.

Right now Shane is currently sitting in 19th overall. It will be a very difficult task to try to get back into the top 10 in the overall so from here Shane is going to go to Calgary and Salt Lake World Cups and try to secure his place at the 2010 Olympics in the 5km. With only a very select few skaters skating under the Olympic qualification time everyone is waiting to hear what will happen with the remaining places for the 10km. In the rules it states that each athlete MUST skate the under the maximum qualification time to skate at the Olympics and for the 10km it's either 13.30 or faster than a 6.30 in the 5km. If there is any chance he can skate the 10km at the Olympics we will take it but right now the situation doesn’t look good. Our fingers are crossed!

Saturday night Shane will be racing his with Marathon team in Amsterdam before flying on Sunday to Calgary. Keep posted for more updates through the upcoming World Cups.

ISU World Cup Hamar

Written by T.Dobbin

This weekend is the third ISU World Cup of the winter held in Hamar, Norway. Shane travelled on Monday to Hamar where there have been a few bumps in the road but everything seems to be coming together two days out of competition.

After examining the race in Heerenveen Shane discovered that his jig, which is used to sharpen his blades, was bent. So for the past week or so, Shane had been sharpening his blades on the wrong angle. After figuring out one problem, on Tuesday morning another problem occurred when Shane was training and his bridge broke.

He received a blade from Netherlands on Wednesday evening and finally was able to train Thursday morning with new bridges, re-straighten blades and everything back on track.

See below the program for this weekend's ISU World Cup.

Friday, November 20
17:00 Team Leaders’ Meeting, Johann Olav Koss Auditorium, Hamar Olympic Hall
19:00 Opening Draw, Johann Olav Koss Auditorium, Hamar Olympic Hall

Saturday, November 21
*10.00 - 5000m Ladies Division B
1500m Men Division B

13.00 - 1500m Men Division A
5000m Ladies Division A

Sunday, November 22
*10.00 - 1500m Ladies Division B
10000m Men Division B

14.00 - 1500m Ladies Division A
10000m Men Division A

Shane will be racing only Sunday in the 10,000 meter. It is uncertain until Saturday night's draw if he will start Sunday Afternoon in either the A division where only 12 skaters start. Which is the top 12 in the overall, or if he will skate Sunday morning in the B Division. Shane is currently 13th in the ISU World Ranking for the distance events.

Keep posted this weekend for more updates and results. Don't forget to check out his interview from last weekend's ISU World Cup in Heerenveen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEr-JLqNwDE

Shane Dobbin on his road to Vancouver Interview by Cado Motus

Written by T.Dobbin

Last weekend Shane had an interview from his inline sponsor Cado Motus. To view the video go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEr-JLqNwDE

For more information go to: http://www.pureskatingnews.com/

Or to view all Cado Motus youtube videos go to: www.youtube.com/cadomotus

ISU World Cup Heerenveen

Written by T Dobbin

This weekend was the second ISU World Cup for the 2009-2010 Winter held in Heerenveen, Netherlands. Shane decided on Friday that he would not take part in the 1500 meter on Friday morning and would only take part in the 5000 meter on Saturday afternoon.

With Shane's previous sponsor going bankrupt, last week he was able to secure some new sponsors to help him throughout this winter. Shane found sponsors from the marketing company Sport Navigator http://www.sportnavigator.nl taking up five out of the eight logos on Shane's uniform with logos from Kia Motors, Clafis Engineering and G4S. We are hoping to finalize the remaining three logos positions very soon!

After finishing second in Berlin, Shane moved into A grade and 14th in the ISU World Cup 5km overall. Heerenveen would be his first ever start in the A grade competition which is live on television here in the Netherlands. Shane was set to start in the fourth pair with Marco Weber from Germany starting on the inner lane.

After a hard few weeks and continuing the hard training this week, Shane knew his legs weren't would not be completely prepared for the race on Saturday. However, Shane set his lap times that he felt he would be able to hold throughout the race and ended up with the finishing time that he predicted. See below the race lap times:

200m - 19.57 (19.5)
600m - 50.35 (30.7)
1000m - 1:20.73 (30.3)
1400m - 1:51.91 (31.1)
1800m - 2:23.22 (31.3)
2200m - 2:54.00 (30.7)
2600m - 3:24.52 (30.5)
3000m - 3:55.36 (30.8)
3400m - 4:26.54 (31.1)
3800m - 4:57.28 (30.7)
4200m - 5:28.23 (30.9)
4600m - 5:59.31 (31.0)
5000m - 6:30.90 (31.5)

Shane finished in 13th place in A grade which moves him up once place in the ISU World Cup overall for the 5km and is now currently in 13th place.

Next weekend is the one and only 10km World Cup race held in Hamar, Norway. Shane travels with his Coach Roy Dobbin Monday to Hamar where he will train and prepare for the 10km held on Sunday afternoon. Shane will once again start in the A grade in Hamar and hopes to have a successful weekend. With Hamar being the one and only 10km during these ISU World Cups before the Olympics, it's the only chance he has to qualify for the 10km at the 2010 Winter Olympics. The minimum qualifying time is 13.30 last year finishing 14th place at the World Single Distance Championships he hopes to have a good race and set a new personal best time hopefully under the minimum qualifying mark.

Keep posted for more updates this week and this weekend with results from Hamar.

For photos from Shanes 5km in Heerenveen please go to: http://www.desgphoto.com/desgphoto/gallery/index.php?p=event&id=171&day=2009-11-14&distance=6&division=9&gender=men

ISU World Cup Heerenveen

Written by T Dobbin
This coming weekend is the second ISU World Cup which is held in Shane's home rink Thialf in Heerenveen. Heerenveen is always one of the most exciting World Cup's to be a part of because the crowds in the ice rink get behind each and every skater. At first Shane was going to be taking part in both the 1500 meter and the 5000 meter, however has decided to withdraw from the 1500 meter and for this weekend only participate in the 5000 meter held on Saturday afternoon.

Shane Dobbin will be starting in the A division this week. Friday evening the pairs will be drawn so we will know then the exact start time is for his event.
The schedule for this weekend is as follows:

PROGRAM
Thursday, November 12:
16.30 hrs. Team Leaders meeting
18.00 hrs. Opening draw,

Friday, November 13:
11.30 hrs. * 500 m. (1st) Men B-division
500 m. (1st) Ladies B-division
1500 m. Men B-division

16.00 hrs. 500 m. (1st) Ladies A-division
500 m. (1st) Men A-division
3000 m. Ladies A-division
1500 m. Men A-division
3000 m. Ladies B-division (quartet starts)

Saturday, November 14:
09.45 hrs. * 500 m. (2nd) Ladies B-division
500 m. (2nd) Men B-division
1500 m. Ladies B-division

13.45 hrs. 500 m. (2nd) Ladies A-division
500 m. (2nd) Men A-division
1500 m. Ladies A-division
5000 m. Men A-division
5000 m. Men B-division (quartet starts)

Sunday, November 15:
09.30 hrs * 1000 m. Ladies B-division
1000 m. Men B-division

13.00 hrs. 1000 m. Ladies A-division
1000 m. Men A-division
Team pursuit Ladies
Team pursuit Men

Keep posted for results and updates throughout the weekend. After this weekend is over its off to Hamar, Norway on Monday for the third World Cup of the season and the only 10,000 meter event for this season before the Olympics.

ISU World Cup Berlin

Written by T Dobbin
After a last minute decision Shane decided that he would skate Berlin after being giving permission from his marathon team. Luckily he did because Shane skated the 5 kilometre on Saturday morning skating a personal best time and a very respectable time under his belt this early in the season.

Wednesday morning, Shane drove to Amsterdam airport to pick up his father/coach Roy Dobbin and from there we headed to Berlin. Thursday morning Shane had a good but hard training session on the ice to get the feeling following by an afternoon/evening trip to star bucks to keep him grounded.

Friday followed with a final training session and full race preparation for Saturday morning's race.

Shane started out with his best opener ever in a 5km, and from there the goal was to average 30.5 seconds per lap. After an amazing skate his final time appeared on the board and it was 8 seconds faster than his personal best time set in Salt Lake City in January this year. See below each lap time.

200m - 19.30 - 19.3
600m - 48.79 - 29.4
1000m - 1:19.18 - 30.3
1400m - 1:49.88 - 30.6
1800m - 2:21.28 - 31.4
2200m - 2:51.97 - 30.6
2600m - 3:22.51 - 30.5
3000m - 3:52.71 - 30.2
3400m - 4:23.03 - 30.3
3800m - 4:53.32 - 30.2
4200m - 5:23.77 - 30.4
4600m - 5:54.22 - 30.4
5000m - 6:24.88 - 30.6

This personal best time put Shane Dobbin in second place in the B division and it was the days 9th fastest time. For full results go to: http://live.isuresults.eu/2009-2010/berlin/

This following weekend Shane Dobbin moves into the A Division for the 5km in Heerenveen.

On Sunday morning Shane skated his season's best 1500 metre race with a time of 1.52.28

Keep posted for more updates throughout the winter.

ISU World Cup Berlin

Written by T Dobbin

This weekend is the first ISU World Cup of the winter. Originally Shane Dobbin was unable to participate in the Berlin World Cup due to his commitments with the DSB Bank Marathon Team. With the problems of the DSB Bank, and all skaters sponsored by the bank no longer have a sponsorship, this left Shane open to a late change of plan this winter and focus 100% on the World Cup to try to qualify for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada.

Today Shane Dobbin will be arriving in Berlin to get two days training on the ice before the start of the competition. Competition starts on Friday with the 500 meter and 1000 meter men's events as well as the ladies 3000 meter. Saturday morning Shane will be starting in the B Division racing the 5000 meter event, then on Sunday morning the 1500 meter. It will be Shanes first ever start in a World Cup for the 5000 meter. See below the race Schedule for Berlin.

Friday, November 6, 2009
12:30 h Division B*
500 m Men (1)/3000 m Ladies/1000 m Men

17:00 h Division A
500 m Men (1)/3000 m Ladies/1000 m Men

Saturday, November 7, 2009
9:30 h Division B*
500 m Ladies (1)/5000 m Men/ 1000 m Ladies

14:00 h Division A
500 m Ladies (1)/5000 m Men/ 1000 m Ladies

Sunday, November 8, 2009
9:00 h Division B*
500 m Ladies (2)/500 m Men (2)/ 1500 m Ladies/1500 Men

14:00 h Division A
500 m Ladies (2)/500 m Men

For more information go to: http://www.knsb.nl/topsport/wp-content/media/1257109228Announcement.pdf

With many fast times coming out of Berlin in the preseason races it will be a good chance for Shane to get another race under his belt and hopefully set a good time, maybe even a personal best. Keep posted for results and updates during this weekend's ISU World Cup in Berlin.

Marathon Cup Update

Written by T Dobbin

Two weeks have passed and two marathons. On Saturday the 24th of October was the third Marathon Cup race in Amsterdam. It was poring with rain but that didn't stop any of the action in the race.

Amsterdam Marathon Cup Results:

1 Karlo Timmerman Adformatie
2 1 Bob de Vries Haule Schaatsteam
3 24 Sjoerd Huisman Nefit HR Ketels
4 5 Ingmar Berga
5 91 Bart de Vries Windkr88
6 12 Pieter Jan van Eck Van Werven
7 3 Douwe de Vries Adformatie
8 22 Kurt Wubben TNT Express
9 6 Jan Maarten Heideman
10 11 Ralf Zwitser Adformatie

Ladies Results
1 Mariska Huisman Viks Parket
2 D41 Maria Sterk
3 D5 Daniëlle Bekkering Frisia Financieringen

After two years of marathon skating Shane Dobbin decided it was time to look further into his skate set up. After a week of playing with his skate set up Shane realised that for the past two years he was skating on a blade slightly to short and is now skating a lot more comfortable on the 17.5" blade.

Skating his first marathon in the longer blade helped give Shane Dobbin his best marathon result of the season finishing in 10th place. It gives Shane a little more confidence going into this weekend's first World Cup of the Winter held in Berlin. See results from Eindhoven's Marathon Cup last weekend.

Eindhoven Results
1 Bob de Vries BAM Schaatsteam
2 5 Ingmar Berga
3 22 Kurt Wubben TNT Express
4 27 Christijn Groeneveld Equipe Renault Eco2
5 6 Jan Maarten Heideman
6 24 Sjoerd Huisman Nefit HR Ketels
7 8 Rob Hadders Equipe Renault Eco2
8 91 Bart de Vries Team Windkr88
9 19 Karlo Timmerman Adformatie
10 67 Shane Dobbin

Ladies Results
1 Mariska Huisman Viks Parket
2 13 Carla Zielman Pro Horeca
3 5 Daniëlle Bekkering Frisia Financieringen