Team Reggeborgh heads to the World Cup circuit with a strong delegation
Eight skaters are heading to Japan, where the first World Cup race will take place at the end of November. The tickets were earned last weekend at the World Cup Qualifying Tournament (WCKT) in Thialf Heerenveen.
Jenning de Boo, Tim Prins, and Stefan Westenbroek all secured a spot for the World Cup races in the 500-metre event on Friday. In the 1,000-metre event, Prins and De Boo secured spots with first and second place finishes, joined by veteran Hein Otterspeer, who earned an impressive fifth place after a thrilling race.
In the 1,500-metre event, Wesly Dijs and Tim Prins will compete. The 5,000-metre event earned Marcel Bosker a spot in the World Cup.
Among the women, Antoinette Rijpma-De Jong had an excellent debut with Team Reggeborgh, winning the 1,500-metre event. Rijpma-De Jong also earned spots in the 3,000-metre and 1,000-metre World Cup events. In the 1,000-metre event, she will be joined by Marrit Fledderus.
Unfortunately, Team Reggeborgh had to miss a few of their top skaters at the qualifying tournament. Patrick Roest was absent as he had not yet recovered from an inflamed wisdom tooth. Kjeld Nuis was also unable to compete due to a groin injury, as starting would have posed too great a risk. Femke Kok was ruled out of the WCKT earlier due to a prolonged viral infection.
In the Mass Start event, Bart Hoolwerf crossed the finish line first. After the bell rang, Bart outpaced his competitor Harm Visser in the final sprint.
The KNSB selection committee can still appoint additional skaters for the World Cups. The first World Cup will take place in Nagano, Japan (22-24 Nov). The second will be held in Beijing, China (29 Nov – 1 Dec).
