The women’s 500-metre final turned out to be a crazy one. In a race with pounding, a fall, a penalty and lots of overtaking, Xandra Velzeboer kept her head down. She came for the world title, but was proud of silver.
In 2022, Xandra Velzeboer was world champion in the 500 metres for the first time. Unreal, she thought to herself, but based on her times, she had a feeling beforehand that it was in. Two winters later, Xandra Velzeboer is the woman of the World Championships all eyes are on. Her status has changed, self-confidence has only grown. The fact that her head can be seen on every poster in Ahoy does not frighten her. She looks calm, confident and prepared for all possible race scenarios.
Well, all… That in the final of the 500 metres she would move up from third starting position to second, drop back to fifth due to a bash and then take silver, she could not have predicted in advance. Nevertheless, she did not give up for a moment in the race. “I saw everything happening, but in my head this ride did not feel like chaos. I was very calm and alert.” Even after she received an illegal push from Arianna Fontana. “I saw her to my left and thought I was skating in front of her. I was right about that too, because she ended up getting the penalty. I couldn’t do anything about it and fought my way back to second place.”
Having to make multiple overtakes in just 42 seconds is a sinecure job. “These 4.5 laps were one crazy sprint. Then you have to decide in a split second whether you want to speed any longer or whether you can make an action. I gained that instinct by failing at times. Although I must admit that it often fell the right way this season. I can rely on staying calm in a race where I don’t have much time to think.”
While many spectators watched restlessly on the sidelines, Velzeboer remained remarkably calm. “Today I had no stress. I could focus on the things I wanted. Of course I thought shit for a moment when I fell back. If I had finished fifth because of that, I would have whined like hell. The medal would have been snatched from under my nose. It still feels a bit like that when it comes to the world title. I was in perfect position and knew I could still catch up to the front. But with the way I raced, I can’t regret it. Nothing I left out in this final.”
