The special stands placed for coaches at the edge of the ice rink felt like a swing for national coach Niels Kerstholt on Saturday. He was rocking from one emotion to another. The Netherlands had two top favourites for the world title in the women’s 500 metres, but they lost. Suzanne Schulting also dropped to stitches. “I wanted to say, ‘What a shitty day’. But we got two silver medals, so we can’t do that.”
Kerstholt takes a moment when asked about his conclusion on the second World Cup day in Ahoy, Rotterdam. The Dutch team closed strongly with two final places in the relay, but before that things did not go so well on many levels. Xandra Velzeboer could not prolong her world title in the 500 metres, Selma Poutsma did not compete for the title at that distance either. Suzanne Schulting did not reach the A final in the 1500 metres and Friso Emons was beaten in the semi-finals by two strong opponents. In contrast, Velzeboer took silver and Jens van ‘t Wout did well: also silver in the 1500 metres. Tired by a rollercoaster of emotions, the selector spoke to the press in the bowels of Ahoy at the end of the afternoon.
“Ups and downs,” he says. “Especially in the beginning there was a lot of down, it all didn’t fall. Friso got caught just before the final, Jens rode too carefully. Suzanne was thrown out, Xandra rode a dyke of a final in the 500 metres but was a bit too slow in the semi-finals, putting her in a lesser starting spot. Can she push through, she just catches up with that (Kim) Boutin… Really a day of ups and downs. Because I want more, I always think it was a bad day. We have to shift gears to get better again. Then at the end of the day, if you make it to the final in both relays, with good chances, we ride dominant. Then we shouldn’t overdo it either.”
Last year, the Dutch women wiped the floor with the world’s top players; this weekend, for now, a somewhat different picture has emerged. “Due to various circumstances, there is less dominance,” Kerstholt explains. “The world top is here, other riders who were not there last year. Arianna Fontana popping you into the boarding if you want to go outside. We didn’t have things like that last year, everything fell the right way.” With five wins in six World Cups, Velzeboer went into her 500 metres as a top favourite. She finished with silver on Saturday, but is not lulled by the defeat. “I think Xandra is right to be proud of her second place. She is the best in the world, but that doesn’t mean she always wins. She shows she can play the 500 metres in different ways.”
