The Come Back

I'll keep this one short and sweet! 

After the 2014 Winter Olympics, i had fulfilled my Olympic dream of crossing over from Inline Speed Skating and what i knew for the past 20 plus years to ice Speed Skating. I finished 7th in the 10,000 meter and while that was a great result from where i'd started (not even being able to stand up on ice), i knew in my heart that i had more to give! 

So late last year i spoke with my wife and toyed with the idea of a "come back". I had some injuries i had to over come and with the help from the best in the business Ian King he had me doing things with my body that i was never able to, EVER before! 

It wasn't until April this year 2016 that i decided to 100% commit myself to skating again! My body feels good and what i have learnt over the past few years with nutrition, supplements and ways to look after my body there really isn't anything holding me back. 

So with these two guys, Peter Michael and Reyon Kay also from NZ, not only are they my team mates but my friends also. I couldn't think of any other skaters i'd rather be on this road with. 

So my journey starts here! 

World Cup Finale, Heerenveen

Written by T Dobbin
After spending a week in Inzell, Germany Shane travelled Tuesday to Heerenveen, The Netherlands for today's World Cup Finale 5,000 meter. With this weekend being the final hit out before the World Single Distance Championships in Inzell, Germany it will be only in the end result to know whether everyone will be skating 100% or holding back for the Worlds.

Shane is paired with fellow ex-inline skater and Frenchman Alexis Contin in the sixth pair of today's men's 5,000 meters. See the following link for full pairs of today's races: http://live.isuresults.eu/2010-2011/Heerenveen3/

Some of you may be able to view today's races online at http://schaatsen.nl/wc-finale/live

Tomorrow morning, Shane will then be flying back to Inzell for his final days preparing for the World Single Distance Championships. keep posted for results coming soon!

Finally, An Update

Written by T Dobbin
Well it's been some time since an update has been posted on Shane's blog. This winter has gone by so fast it's hard to believe there are only two races to go and it's soon to be March.

Since the World Cup last November in Berlin, Shane has been progressing this winter and trying to make a step up from last year. It hasn’t been an easy step to make, but over the past month things seem to be coming together after a really good training period throughout December and January.

Hamar in November, the third World Cup of this season was a great step for Shane. He raced the 10,000 meter race and managed to set a new personal record, New Zealand National record, as well as finishing the World Cup with the fourth best time of the day. It was a great way to finish off the three first World Cups of the season and after his disappointment in the first two. After Hamar Shane was ready to head back to Salt Lake City and get stuck into hard training.

On Shane’s return to Salt Lake City, he was able to sit down with his Coach/father Roy Dobbin to lay out training for the remainder of the season and get back on track for the season’s goal, the World Single Distance Championships. Shane’s brother, Kalon Dobbin was in Salt Lake City upon Shane’s return and helped him with his sprint training as well as his general conditioning.

Over the month of December, Shane set new personal records in the 500 meter, 1000 meter and 1500 meter distances, as well as set a seasonal best in the 5,000 meter. The next step for Shane was to try to qualify for the World All Round Championships at the regional qualifier held in Salt Lake City mid-January. It was going to be tough for Shane as in the past has lacked a sprint, but Shane put together some good times at the regionals and ended up finishing in fourth place overall, setting another season’s best in the 5,000 meter as well a spot on the podium in second, and a personal best and national record in the 10,000 meter at the Regionals and winning the final event of the weekend. For full results of the Regional Qualifier go to: http://www.speedskatingresults.com/index.php?p=2&e=5760&s=14253 These superb results confirmed his spot to start in the World All Round Championships in Calgary in February, which meant he was able to set a time in Calgary for the World Single Distance Championships and not have to travel to Moscow, Russia for the World Cup there in late January.

The World All Round Championships were still another month after the Regionals so it was back into the training and use the All Round and the Final World Cup in Salt Lake City as stepping stone to prepare for the final part of the season. Luckily for Shane his coach/father was able to travel from New Zealand to Salt Lake & Calgary to be able to help with the final phase of his training. In Calgary, Shane had an unexpected successful weekend setting three new personal records and National records as well as finishing 5th in the 5,000 meter, 4th in the 10,000 meter and finally 9th overall. For full results from the World All Round Championships go to: http://www.speedskatingresults.com/index.php?p=2&e=6193&s=14253

From Calgary, we flew directly back to Salt Lake City where the focus was on the 1500 meter to try to confirm a position in this event at the World Single Distance Championships. Racing was on Friday and Saturday with the first event being the 1500 meter. Shane managed to skate yet another personal record and National record in a time of 1.46,19s, just slipping through the qualification status in 23rd and out of 24th places for the World Singles.

Finally racing Saturday morning, in the 10,000 meter Shane was pair with Norwegian Henrik Christensen. Shane skated his best 10,000 meter yet, skating a very “flat race” with consistancy each lap and once again, setting another National record and personal best time beating his time from last weekend in the 10,000 meter with a time of 13.04,36s which placed him the 6th best time of the day. For full results from the World Cup in Salt Lake City go to: http://www.speedskatingresults.com/index.php?p=2&e=6276&s=14253

This season Shane has managed to set new personal records in every event from the 500 meter to the 10,000 meter. Right now Shane is currently in Inzell, Germany where in less than two weeks the World Single Distance Championships will be held. Last Wednesday we arrived for one week training, before heading back to where it all started in Heerenveen, The Netherlands for the World Cup Finale 5,000 meter held on Friday the 4th of March. The very next day Shane will return to Inzell, Germany for the final week before the World Single Distance Championships starting on Thursday the 10th of March and finishing Sunday the 13th. We will be updating the results from the World Cup Finale and World Single Distance Championships so make sure you keep posted.
The program for the World Singles is as follows:

Thursday 10th March 2011
(Start Time Approximately 15:30)
1,500 meter Men
3,000 meter Ladies

Friday 11th March 2011
(Start Time Approximately 14:00)
1,000 meter Men
1,500 meter Ladies
5,000 meter Men

Saturday 12th March 2011
(Start Time Approximately 12:00)
1,000 meter Ladies
10,000 meter Men
5,000 meter Ladies

Sunday 13th March 2011
(Start Time Approximately 12:00)
500 meter Ladies (1st race)
500 meter Men (1st race)
500 meter Ladies (2nd race)
500 meter Men (2nd race)
Team Pursuit Ladies
Team Pursuit Men

For the official website for the World Single Distance Championships go to: http://www.inzell-wm2011.com

Berlin Live on NOS Sport

Written by T Dobbin
For those who are able to watch online, check out the live coverage of this afternoon's ISU World Cup in Berlin at http://nos.nl/sport/schaatsen/live/ Coverage starts at 15:30 European time.

World Cup Update

Written by T Dobbin

It's already been a week since the first World Cup in Heerenveen. Shane has been in Berlin since Monday preparing for the second World Cup held in Berlin. Racing last Sunday in Heerenveen wasn't one of Shane's best races in the 5,000 meter. He was very disappointed after his result so this week he's hungry to do better. Last week Shane ended up finished in 15th place with a time of 6.30.92. This time was enough to keep him in the A division for this weekend's World Cup in Berlin, however it's a whole week longer in Europe therefore he's had more time to adjust after the travel and get over the Jetlag. Today Shane will skate in the second pair with fellow ex-inliner Roger Schneider from Switzerland. For a full list of the pairs for today's 5,000 meter please go to http://live.isuresults.eu/2010-2011/berlin/d205.htm Keep posted for results from today's World Cup or go to http://www.isuresults.eu/ for full results.

See the results from Heereveen World Cup last weekend below:
1st Bob de Jong NED - 6.17.31
2nd Ivan Skobrev RUS – 6.18.96
3rd Wouter Olde Heuvel NED – 6.20.93
4th Jonathan Kick USA – 6.22.32
5th Bob de Vries NED – 6.22.44
6th Alexis Contin FRA - 6.22.67
7th Seung-Hoon Lee KOR – 6.23.40
8th Havard Bokko NOR – 6.23.73
9th Jorrit Bergsma NED – 6.24.20
10th Dmitry Babenko KAZ – 6.25.60
11th Oysterin Grodum NOR – 6.26.65
12th Enrico Fabris ITA – 6.27.38
13th Henrik Christiansen NOR – 6.30.04
14th Patrick Beckert GER – 6.30.12
15th Shane Dobbin NZL – 6.30.92

ISU World Cup Heerenveen Update

Written by T Dobbin
Tomorrow is the 5,000 meter at the ISU World Cup in Heerenveen. Shane will be taking the start tomorrow with an approximate start time of 16.14 in the sixth pair with Swedish skater Joel Eriksson. You can watch Shane race LIVE tomorrow via the following website's live streaming. Click on http://schaatsen.nl/wc-heerenveen/live

The pairs for tomorrow's races are as follows including all approximate start times for each pair:

15.14 Pair #1 - Havard Lorentzen NOR / Patrick Beckert GER
15.22 Pair #2 - Norimasa Zaike JPN / Jan Szymanski POL
15.30 Pair #3 - Justin Warsylewicz CAN / Tore Solli NOR
15.38 Pair #4 - Marco Weber GER / Alexis Contin FRA
16.06 Pair #5 - Lucas Makowsky CAN / Shani Davis USA
16.14 Pair #6 - Shane Dobbin NZL / Joel Eriksson SWE
16.22 Pair #7 - Jorrit Bergsma NED / Oystein Grodum NOR
16.30 Pair #8 - Henrik Christiansen NOR / Jonathan Kuck USA
16.58 Pair #9 - Robert Bovenhuis NED / Seung-Hoon Lee KOR
17.06 Pair #10 - Ivan Skobrev RUS / Wouter olde Heuvel NED
17.14 Pair #11 - Bob de Vries NED / Enrico Fabris ITA
17.22 Pair #12 - Bob de Jong NED / Havard Bokko NOR

Times are Standard Eastern European Time and are approximate start times (approximate start time of the first pair around the World are below). Keep posted for the results.

New York, USA - 9:14am
Salt Lake City, USA - 7:14am
New Zealand - 3:14am (Monday Morning)
Brisbane, Australia - 12:14am (Monday Morning)
Perth, Australia - 10:14pm

ISU World Cup One in Heerenveen

World Cup Number 1
Today is the start of the first World Cup for the 2010-2011 Winter held in Heerenveen. The program is totally different than the last year and the five kilometer is held on Sunday. The ice in Thialf is in good condition which was confirmed by last weekend’s Dutch National Championship times. The weather in Holland is still the same as always, wet, windy and cold. However, it should make for some good times come Sunday.

Shane arrived last Sunday and has been struggling with jetlag all week. Hopefully come Sunday, everything will be back to normal and Shane will be ready to race. “It’s been good being back in Heerenveen again. It’s good to see familiar faces and come back to where it all started”. This winter there are some different faces in the national teams, including new faces in the 5,000 meter.

To view the results and to watch each race live on the internet, including watching Shane skate live on Sunday in the 5,000 meter you can go to the following website. http://schaatsen.nl/wc-heerenveen/live The start time for Shane on Sunday will be posted on Saturday evening.

The program of the World Cup this weekend is below:
Friday 12th November
Ladies 1 x 500 meter
Men 1 x 500 meter
Ladies 1,000 meter
Men 1,000 meter

Saturday 13th November
Ladies 1 x 500 meter
Men 1500 meter
Ladies 3,000 meter

Sunday 14th November
Men 1 x 500 meter
Ladies 1500 meter
Men 5,000 meter

Tomorrow night the 5,000 meter pairs will be online so keep posted for updates from Heerenveen.

Two Weeks Out

Written by T Dobbin
Just two weeks until the first World Cup of the 2010-2011 long track ice season starting with the WC in Heerenveen, Holland. Followed by the World Cup in Berlin the following weekend and finally heading to Norway with the final World Cup for November in Hamar.

Shane still in Salt Lake City, heads to Holland next weekend, one week before the World Cup to prepare for his race. Shane will skate only the 5,000 meter in Heerenveen which is held on Sunday the 14th of November.

With only two weeks remaining of training, Shane is hitting this final week with some hard training and finalising those minor details, followed by a recovery week when in Heerenveen.

"Things are definitely going in the right direction compared to last year. I have been able to focus 100% on long track this winter which has been a huge advantage being able to focus every training session on that".

Shane is really looking forward to skating in Heerenveen. After watching the World Inline Speed Skating Championships in Guarne, Colombia especially watching the New Zealand men's team take gold in the relay final on road today, he has a lot of motivation to keep focused on his long track and give it his all in the upcoming World Cups.

Keep posted for more updates coming soon.

Salt Lake City Update

Written by T Dobbin
It's been another week down in Shane's training program and only just over three weeks to go until the first World Cup in Heerenveen. Currently Shane is having a recovery week before he hits the final three weeks of his training phase. To finish last week's hard training cycle off, Shane skated a race here in Salt Lake City skating a five kilometre. It was a good race, skating a flat race while the ice not in great condition. There is still room for improvement between now and Heerenveen, so after this week it will be back into hard training to prepare 100% for the three World Cups coming up in November.

Shane's lap times are below:

Start 19.25
30.08
31.18
31.29
30.88
30.93
31.16
31.06
31.32
31.52
31.17
31.24
31.56
Time: 6.32,64

Keep posted for more updates soon.

New Personal Record in the 3km

Written by T Dobbin
This morning was the second race of the pre-season for Shane in Salt Lake City. He decided that he would race a 3km as he is still in the middle of a hard training phase so this race would be better suited. Shane managed to skate a good race finishing with a new personal best time as well as a new, New Zealand National record in the 3000 meter distance. See his lap times below:

Opener: 19.40
Lap 1: 29.55
Lap 2: 30.03
Lap 3: 30.22
Lap 4: 29.84
Lap 5: 29.32
Lap 6: 29.56
Lap 7: 30.20
Finishing time: 3:48.12

For now it's back into another week of training and another race next weekend.

What's been happening

Written by T Dobbin
It has been a while since any posting on here, but thought it was time to get back into the swing of things and keep everyone updated on the upcoming 2010-2011 winter. With only five weeks to go before the first World Cup of the season, Shane is hard into his training phase and getting ready to hit the season in shape.

After last winter, Shane decided it was time he needed a change and a refocus so that he can prepare himself not just this winter but hopefully many more. Shane left Netherlands where he had been basing himself and in March went back to Australia, for yet another Winter, and get back into basics. Spending six months basing himself on the Gold Coast of Australia training many hours a week on the bike and in the gym as well as inline skating.
"Even though it's winter in Australia, the weather on the Gold Coast is perfect for training. Most of the days as sunny without any clouds in the sky, as well as temperatures always in the mid to low 20's in degrees C. Some weekends even managed to get up to the high 20's which was starting to get a little too warm when you spend many hours on the bike".
However it was a great off season for Shane and he is now ready to refocus his ice skating goals and ready to hit the ice.

Shane is now currently basing himself out of Salt Lake City in the USA. He arrived four weeks ago and got straight onto the ice. It took a few weeks to get back the feeling on ice and to gain a new feeling when he put on his new ice boots, his Marchese's. He has already competed one race, two weeks ago in Salt Lake where he raced a 3000 meter just getting the feel of getting back into race mode again and was only one second behind his personal best time. Below are Shane's times for his race, raced on the 25th of September (just two weeks after getting back on the ice):
Open: 19.16
Lap 1: 30.2
Lap 2: 30.52
Lap 3: 30.73
Lap 4: 30.25
Lap 5: 29.99
Lap 6: 30.07
Lap 7: 30.46
Finishing time: 3:51.39

Shane is set to race again tomorrow in Salt Lake City.

Keep posted for more updates throughout this upcoming winter.

Off-Season Update One

Written by T Dobbin
After three weeks off training, yesterday was Shane's first day back on skates and back into training. Not having his inlines skates on since the end of August last year, it was time to put them back on and start preparing for this coming winter. "I felt good for the first ten minutes on my skates, then the remainder of my skate I was in the hurt box".

Having re-located for the European Summer to the Gold Coast in Australia where he has the chance to get away from the inline & ice scene and take the opportunity to get much needed training done rather than always having to try to fit training around his inline races. Living close to two short track ice rinks will hopefully give him the opportunity to learn something new on ice to help in the future.

Currently the weather still extremely hot on the Gold Coast with temperatures hitting 31 degrees C, 4 degrees above average for this time of year. Although Winter will be approaching soon the temperatures during the day very rarely go below 20 degrees C with mostly sunny days. "For the past three weeks it's been a great time to rest in the perfect place. Saturday i'm back on the resort golf course followed by our coming home celebration and then it will be back to full time training as of next week".

Video of Shane Dobbin thanks to KNSB.tv

Written by T Dobbin
Check out the great interview and video footage of Shane Dobbin yesterday in Thialf after his 10,000 meter race. http://www.knsb.nl/topsport/knsb-tv/item/19344/

It can also be viewed on pureskatingnews known as Cado Motus, Shane's inline sponsor: http://www.pureskatingnews.com/2010/03/shane-dobbin-after-wc-allround-video.html

Day Three Of The ISU World All-Round in Heerenveen

Written by T Dobbin
The third and final day of the ISU World All-Round is over with the men's 10,000 meter being the last and final race. With the new rules to qualify to skate the final event the 10,000 meter, Shane Dobbin was able to take to the start in this final race. Finally on the last day the ice conditions were back to normal. The stadium was still full of spectators and speed skating fans and as the weather forecast was much better yesterday without rain, it allowed the ice to set much better after the ice cleaning.

Shane was paired with Dutch skater Wouter Olde Heuvel in the second pair. Shane skated a very strong, consistent race throughout each and every lap of his 10,000 meter finishing with a new personal best time of 13:30,30 setting a new National Record for New Zealand, his eighth National Record broken this season. Shane ended up finishing in 7th place in the 10,000 meter which is an outstanding performance, especially this late in season.

Shane's lap times were as follows:
1. 400m 35.32 (35.3)
2. 800m 1:06.78 (31.4)
3. 1200m 1:39.08 (32.3)
4. 1600m 2:11.36 (32.2)
5. 2000m 2:43.75 (32.3)
6. 2400m 3:15.99 (32.2)
7. 2800m 3:48.29 (32.3)
8. 3200m 4:20.71 (32.4)
9. 3600m 4:53.16 (32.4)
10. 4000m 5:26.28 (33.1)
11. 4400m 5:58.65 (32.3)
12. 4800m 6:31.03 (32.3)
13. 5200m 7:03.20 (32.1)
14. 5600m 7:35.38 (32.1)
15. 6000m 8:07.90 (32.5)
16. 6400m 8:40.37 (32.4)
17. 6800m 9:12.85 (32.4)
18. 7200m 9:45.27 (32.4)
19. 7600m 10:17.98 (32.7)
20. 8000m 10:50.02 (32.0)
21. 8400m 11:22.00 (31.9)
22. 8800m 11:54.08 (32.0)
23. 9200m 12:26.21 (32.1)
24. 9600m 12:58.18 (31.9)
25. 10000m 13:30.30 (32.1)

"It's a great way to finish the season with a new personal best time and National record. I'm happy with the way I skated and have more motivation now to go home and train hard during the off-season so that i can come back next winter on the ice in better shape than I ever have".

Full results are as follows:
1 Sven Kramer NED 12:57.97
2 Håvard Bøkko NOR 13:12.13
3 Ted-Jan Bloemen NED 13:13.56
4 Jonathan Kuck USA 13:15.62
5 Sverre Haugli NOR 13:18.39
6 Jan Blokhuijsen NED 13:25.97
7 Shane Dobbin NZL 13:30.30
8 Wouter Olde Heuvel NED 13:32.27
9 Trevor Marsicano USA 13:38.11
10 Lucas Makowsky CAN 13:54.63
11 Matteo Anesi ITA 14:08.40
12 Konrad Niedzwiedzki POL 14:10.78

Now it's time for Shane to take a rest and travel back home to enjoy a few weeks of "Normal Life" before getting into his off-season training and preparation for next winter.

Shane ended up finishing in 12th overall in his first ISU World All-Round competition. For full results go to: http://www.knsb.nl/wk/allround/uitslagen-lotingen-en-meeschrijflijsten/

All photos of Shane are at: http://www.desgphoto.com/desgphoto/gallery/index.php?p=athlet&id=2687&langswitch_lang=en

Thank you everyone for their support throughout the season. We look forward to the next four years and hope that everyone continues to follow the progress. Keep posted throughout the winter for news and updates on Shane's off-season training and preparation for next winter.

Second Day at the ISU World All-Round

Written by T Dobbin
With the second day of the ISU World All-Round completed and just one day to go, the men only had one event yesterday which was the 1500 meters. Once again the crowds in Thialf stadium didn't disappoint. The stadium was packed again with 12,000 people wearing orange supporting their Dutch speed skating stars. The ice wasn't in any better condition on day two as promised. There was bubbles, tyre marks and streak lines that covered the surface. It's very disappointed for everyone to finish the season in the famous Thialf ice rink with such poor ice conditions.

However, even with the ice conditions as they were, American Jonathan Kuck managed to skate a very spectacular 1500 meter setting a new personal best time to win the 1500 meter event in Thialf with a time of 1.45,36 over Canadian Lucas Makowsky in a time 1.46,15 finishing second.

Shane was in the fourth pair with Italian Luca Stefani starting on the inner lane. Shane's 1500 meter was not quite his best, however it was satisfying as he took four seconds off his last 1500 meter set in Thialf last winter.

"The 1500 meter is hard event to do when you don't train for this type of race. It's something that I want to work on during the off season and hopefully race in the World Cups next winter and be much better at".

Shane's lap times are below:
1. 300m 25.56 (25.5)
2. 700m 52.80 (27.2)
3. 1100m 1:21.32 (28.5)
4. 1500m 1:51.20 (29.8)

With the new qualification rules to be able to skate the final event at the World All-Round, Shane managed to skate a fast enough 5,000 meter on Friday and place high enough to confirm a start in the 10,000 meter today. Shane is paired with Dutch skater Wouter Olde Heuvel starting in the second pair on the outer lane. It's a great way to finish the season skating getting another chance to race the 10,000 meter event which is hard to come by, and after missing out on racing the 10,000 meter at the Olympics.

"It's probably by favourite event right now because after only being on the ice for two and half years I'm sure suited to the longer style races".

The pairs for the 10,000 meter are as follows:

Pair 1 - Matteo Anesi ITA (PB 14:01.78) / Konrad Niedzwiedzki POL (PB 13:51.95)
Pair 2 - Wouter Olde Heuvel NED (PB 13:17.08) / Shane Dobbin NZL (PB 13:34.03)
Pair 3 - Sverre Haugli NOR (PB 13:12.75) / Jan Blokhuijsen NED (PB 13:31.11)
Pair 4 - Trevor Marsicano USA (PB 13:21.06) / Lucas Makowsky CAN (PB 13:21.93)
Pair 5 - Sven Kramer NED (PB 12:41.69) / Håvard Bøkko NOR (PB 13:00.65)
Pair 6 - Ted-Jan Bloemen NED (PB 13:11.79) / Jonathan Kuck USA (PB 13:30.14)

For live results go to: http://www.knsb.nl/wk/english/live-results/ Or get all the info from the World All-Round at http://www.knsb.nl/wk/english/

It's once again on Eurosport today however, not live just showing highlights later this evening.

Photos of Shane can be viewed at : http://www.desgphoto.com/desgphoto/gallery/index.php?p=athlet&id=2687

First Day Of The World All-Round

Written by T Dobbin
Yesterday was the first day of the ISU World All-Round competition in the famous Thialf ice rink in Heerenveen. The stadium was completely full with 12,000 spectators and seas of orange. The crowd was spectacular and the cheers could be heard throughout many of the surrounding roads in Heerenveen. The atmosphere in Thialf was by far some of the best that we have seen in our speed skating experience.

The first event of the day was the men's 500 meter sprint. Shane was paired in the fourth pair with German Marco Weber. Shane opened in a 11.04 second 100 meter but had the advantage of coming out of the first corner with someone to chase. Shane skated a time of 38.41 seconds which placed Shane in 22nd position after the first event.

There was huge problems with the ice again this weekend and the Zamboni's left tyre tracks in the ice and huge Zamboni streaks around the track. When the 5,000 meter event started the humidity in the ice rink was at 32%, when the final pairs were skating the humidity got up to 50% which is just about unheard of in ice skating. Apologies were made at the team leaders meeting, explaining to the coaches that during the 5,000 meter ice cleanings thousands of people would come in and out of the ice rink leaving the doors open and somehow had set off the fire alarm doors which automatically open and stay opened until the alarm is turned off. It was poring with rain outside yesterday and with the doors open for this long it had caused a problem inside with the air pressure and the conditions of the ice. The ice makers have assured all the coaches that the conditions today would be 100% better, and let's hope so for the skaters sake.

However, Shane skated a very strong race to finish his 5,000 meter season and his first in long track. It was second event of the day and Shane was paired with Olympic Champion Sven Kramer in the 10th pair. It was an honour to be the same pair as Sven Kramer especially in front of his home town croud with the roar coming out of Thialf. It was probably one of his best races of the season technically skating a very flat race throughout each lap and his fastest opening lap ever. Shane managed to finish with a top ten finish in this event finishing in 9th place and beat his time set in the Heerenveen World Cup in November of last year. See below Shane's lap times for the 5,000 meter.

Shane Dobbin
1. 200m 18.95 (18.9)
2. 600m 48.60 (29.6)
3. 1000m 1:19.40 (30.8)
4. 1400m 1:50.49 (31.0)
5. 1800m 2:21.29 (30.8)
6. 2200m 2:52.04 (30.7)
7. 2600m 3:23.25 (31.2)
8. 3000m 3:54.43 (31.1)
9. 3400m 4:25.40 (30.9)
10. 3800m 4:56.66 (31.2)
11. 4200m 5:28.06 (31.4)
12. 4600m 5:59.34 (31.2)
13. 5000m 6:30.64(31.3)

The top 15 from the 5,000 meter is as follows:
1 Sven Kramer NED 6:19.63
2 Håvard Bøkko NOR 6:21.08
3 Ted-Jan Bloemen NED 6:23.41
4 Jonathan Kuck USA 6:23.47
5 Ivan Skobrev RUS 6:23.88
6 Sverre Haugli NOR 6:26.03
7 Jan Blokhuijsen NED 6:27.68
8 Wouter Olde Heuvel NED 6:29.45
9 Shane Dobbin NZL 6:30.64
10 Trevor Marsicano USA 6:32.79
11 Lucas Makowsky CAN 6:35.06
12 Marco Weber GER 6:36.88
13 Hiroki Hirako JPN 6:36.94
14 Patrick Beckert GER 6:37.05
15 Johan Röjler SWE 6:41.14

For full results go to: http://www.knsb.nl/wk/english/results-draws-and-write-down-lists/

Or to watch today's events live on the internet go to: http://www.knsb.nl/wk/english/live-results/

Don't forget if you have Eurosport today's events will be shown tomorrow and tomorrow is once again shown live.

Today's only event for the men is the 1500 meter. Shane is in pair number four with Italian Luca Stefani starting on the inner lane. The first competition day for the ladies is today starting with the 500 meter and their 3,000 meter. After the men's 1500 meter we will know if 9th place in the 5,000 meter will qualify him for the 10,000 meter which is raced tomorrow afternoon.

For Photots go to: http://www.desgphoto.com/desgphoto/gallery/index.php?p=athlet&id=2687&langswitch_lang=en

WK All-Round in Heerenveen

Written by T Dobbin
Tomorrow is the first day of the World All-Round competition held in Thialf stadium in Heerenveen. It's only the men that skate tomorrow with the first two events of four to get underway at 16.30 with the 500 meter followed by the 5,000 meters. After Shane set his new personal best time in the World Cup in Salt Lake City in December of 2009 for the 5,000 meter, this put Shane in the third and final grouping to determine the pairs for tomorrow.

With being int he final grouping, the draw was completed tonight and Shane will be skating tomorrow the 5,000 meter with Olympic Champion Sven Kramer from the Netherlands. They are paired together in pair number 10 out of 12 with Shane starting on the inner lane. See below the list of pairs for the 5,000 meter.

Pair Number 1 - Jeff Kitura CAN / Justin Warsylewicz CAN
Pair Number 2 - 24 Joel Eriksson SWE / Zbigniew Brodka POL
Pair Number 3 - Matteo Anesi ITA / Joshua Lose AUS
Pair Number 4 - Konrad Niedzwiedzki POL / Ted-Jan Bloemen NED
Pair Number 5 - Marco Weber GER / Lucas Makowsky CAN
Pair Number 6 - Mathieu Giroux CAN / Jonathan Kuck USA
Pair Number 7 - Hiroki Hirako JPN / Luca Stefani ITA
Pair Number 8 - Trevor Marsicano USA / Wouter Olde Heuvel NED
Pair Number 9 - Johan Röjler SWE / Håvard Bøkko NOR
Pair Number 10 - Shane Dobbin NZL / Sven Kramer NED
Pair Number 11 - Patrick Beckert GER / Ivan Skobrev RUS
Pair Number 12 - Jan Blokhuijsen NED / Sverre Haugli NOR

In the 500 meter Shane is paired with German Marco Weber in pair number four. All results will be live on http://www.knsb.nl/wk/english/live-results/ as well as all results, drawings and updates through the weekend. http://www.knsb.nl/wk/

For those countries that have eurosport, the World All-Round Championships will be on tomorrow live as well as on Sunday, http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/speed-skating/

It's Shane first World All-Round Championships and it's going to be good experience and a chance to finish the 2009-2010 ice season on a high. Keep posted for results.

Final Week Of Training For The 2009-2010 Ice Season

Written by T Dobbin
With only one competition remaining for the 2009-2010 ice season this weekend in Thialf, Heerenveen it's Shane's final week of training for this winter. After this weekend is over it will be time to hang up the ice skates until later in the year when Shane returns to a new training venue and city for next winter. After this weekend Shane will take a short break from training and head back home at the end of March. After his break Shane will be back into training and be starting to prepare for next winter.

Friday afternoon is the first day of racing at the ISU World All-Round Championships. The first event of the day for Shane is the 500 meter sprint. Having only ever skated two previous 500 meter races it's not one of Shane's best distances as yet. Shane's best 500 meter time is 38.20 seconds set earlier this year in Calgary, Canada. The second distance of the day on Friday is the 5,000 meter in which Shane will be hoping the ice is much better than the conditions last weekend and hopes to beat his time set then. To win the World All-Round title, you have be the best skater throughout all distances over the weekend.

See below the race schedule for this weekend.

Friday 19th March 2010 - Start time 16.30
Men's 500 meter
Men's 5,000 meter

Saturday 20th March 2010 - Start time 14.00
Ladies 500 meter
Men's 1,500 meter
Ladies 3,000 meter

Sunday 21st March 2010 - Start time 13.00
Ladies 1,500 meter
Men's 10,000 meter
Ladies 5,000 meter

In both the men's 10,000 meter and ladies 5,000 meter, only the top twelve skaters in the All-Round overall take to the start in these final distances of the weekend. In total there will be 24 skaters racing the All-Round Championships consisting of 15 from the Europe, two from Asia and finally seven from the North America and Oceania region. Keep posted for results from Shane's first World All-Round Championships.

World Cup Finale, Heerenveen

Written by T Dobbin
In Thialf the stadium was full of Dutch supporters, supporting all the athletes at the World Cup Finale yesterday. The stadium can hold up to 12,000 spectators and it was close to full yesterday with 10,000 people. It made for a fantastic atmosphere in Thialf and gave all the athletes a great feeling.

Shane raced the 5,000 meter yesterday which was the last event of the day. He stepped on the ice right after the ice preparation and was in the fifth pair with Norwegian Henrik Christiansen. When both skaters stepped on the line for the start the ice was sill full of water and the Zamboni had left type tracks and marks across the ice leaving it in probably some of the worst ice seen in Thialf. Shane tweeted after the race “It was the worst ice EVER! I thought I was swimming with all the water on the surface….. But what a great crowd and atmosphere”. With a false start to delay the start a few extra minutes, it didn’t seem like anything was to help the ice conditions for the second half of the 5,000 meters.

It’s hard to find the motivation after a long ice season and the Olympics. Everyone looked tired and ready to hang up their skates for the season. However, Shane managed to skate an average race, he said “it wasn’t great but it wasn’t so bad either, especially at this time of the year”. Shane ended up just missing out a top ten finish and finished in 11th place 0.7 seconds behind 10th and just outside the "bubble". See below Shane’s lap times.

Shane Dobbin NZL 6:33.85
1. 200m 19.43 (19.4)
2. 600m 49.85 (30.4)
3. 1000m 1:21.02 (31.1)
4. 1400m 1:51.85 (30.8)
5. 1800m 2:22.40 (30.5)
6. 2200m 2:53.04 (30.6)
7. 2600m 3:23.82 (30.7)
8. 3000m 3:54.71 (30.8)
9. 3400m 4:25.78 (31.0)
10. 3800m 4:57.25 (31.4)
11. 4200m 5:29.11 (31.8)
12. 4600m 6:01.47 (32.3)
13. 5000m 6:33.85 (32.3)

Full results:
1st Håvard Bøkko NOR - 6:20.52
2nd Sverre Haugli NOR - 6:21.49 (+ 00.97)
3rd Ivan Skobrev RUS - 6:23.24 (+02.72)
4th Jan Blokhuijsen NED - 6:26.24 (+05.72)
5th Wouter Olde Heuvel NED - 6:26.66 (+ 06.14)
6th Henrik Christiansen NOR - 45 6:28.45 (+ 07.93)
7th Øystein Grødum NOR - 6:29.35 (+08.83)
8th Bob de Jong NED - 6:29.45 (+08.93)
9th Enrico Fabris ITA - 6:32.33 (+11.81)
10th Carl Verheijen NED - 6:33.14 (+12.62)
11th Shane Dobbin NZL - 6:33.85 (+13.33)
12th Slawomir Chmura POL - 6:34.31 (+13.79)
13th Lucas Makowsky CAN - 6:35.93 (+15.41)
14th Marco Weber GER - 6:38.46 (+17.94)
15th Hiroki Hirako JPN - 6:38.72 (+18.20)
16th Patrick Beckert GER - 6:42.89 (+ 22.37)

The World Cup season is now over and Shane ended up finishing in 15th place in the World Cup Ranking for the 5,000 meter It’s a great achievement in Shane’s first year of long track racing, when at the start of the season he was only allowed to start in two World Cups due to his commitments with his marathon team. Shane’s results for the 2009-2010 season were in Berlin he finished 2nd in B division which would have been 9th in A division, Heerenveen finishing 13th, in Norway a crash in the 10,000m followed by the disqualification gave him no overall points in the World cup Ranking and missing his chance to skate the 10,000 meter in Vancouver. In Calgary Shane finished 10th followed by an 11th in Salt Lake City. At the Olympics Shane finished a disappointed 17th and finally another 11th place in the World Cup Finale to wrap up his first Long Track season. For photos from the 2009-2010 long track season of Shane Dobbin go to http://www.desgphoto.com/desgphoto/gallery/index.php?p=athlet&id=2687

Next weekend is the World All-Round Championships also in Thialf, Heerenveen. It’s a sold out crowd and it’s going to be great experience for Shane and a great event to watch. For full results from the World Cup and the World Cup Ranking go to: http://www.knsb.nl/wc/english/results/

ISU World Cup Finale

Written by T Dobbin
Throughout this weekend is the ISU World Finale and the final event for most skaters this season. It has been pretty tough for just about everyone to come back to Europe after the Olympics and have more races on their calendar before they can hang their skates up for a while and enjoy the off season.

Today is the 5,000m finale in which Shane Dobbin will be taking the start line. He is currently ranked in 14th in the overall and in the World Cup Finale only the top 24 athletes in the ISU World ranking are allowed to start. Shane Dobbin is paired with Norwegian, Henrik Christiansen in pair number six.

For Live results go to: http://www.knsb.nl/wc/english/

Keep posted later today for the results.