William Dandjinou of the Canadian Ice Maples competes in the 500m quarterfinals in Montreal on Saturday. © ISU

The opening ISU Short Track World Tour event last weekend in Montreal raised a few questions about reigning champion William Dandjinou (CAN). Could he keep up last season’s impossibly high standards? Might the emergence of Rim Jongun of the Korean White Tigers, and the ascendance of Pietro Sighel of the Italian Gladiators, cause him difficulties? 

The Canadian Ice Maple answered those queries in emphatic style on Saturday at Maurice Richard Arena, as World Tour 2 began. In a carbon copy of some of his better weekends last season, Dandjinou blasted through the 500m with a display of pure power, and then scooped the 1500m title with some tactical excellence, to prove he is still the man to beat.

Dandjinou continues 500m supremacy

The 500m was an awkward race. There was an early crash and a restart, where Jens van ’t Wout of the Dutch Lions was disqualified for a false start.

Once off for a third time, Dandjinou led from the first corner, carving perfect lines all the way to the finish. Behind him, a struggle was underway. 

Liu Shaoang of the Chinese Loongs was smooth, keeping close to the Canadian to get silver. But both Sighel and Sun Long of the Chinese Loongs fell. Sun was able to get to his feet more quickly than the Italian to take bronze. 

“I’m feeling good, it’s always fun to have good results,” said Dandjinou. “Beyond that, it was the way we did it. It was a very convincing way, but also technically and tactically smooth. I stayed concentrated on the task. In the 500m the positioning is very important, so you’ve got to work with that.”

Liu, the reigning Olympic champion in the distance, was satisfied with his afternoon.

Silver medalist Liu Shaoang and bronze medalist Sun Long, both of the Chinese Loongs, flank 500m gold medalist William Dandjinou (CAN). © ISU

“It’s 500m, it’s always an emotional roller-coaster,” Liu said. “It was a pretty exciting race. It’s a good learning lesson for the Olympics. I’m very happy with the results, especially that I had a teammate in the final. We want the same in Milan, to get to as many finals as possible together, because that will help us.

“I’m happy. The first weekend I felt really good. I got a little sick on Wednesday, I felt a bit down, and today still I feel a bit dizzy, but we still have to skate. Sun is doing well. He’s got a lot to learn as well, but he is growing fast.”

Van ’t Wout, who crashed out of the 1500m final after being fouled by Felix Roussel of the Canadian Ice Maples, was left rueing an unlucky return to the rink, having missed last weekend through illness. 

Jens Van 't Wout (NED) was disqualifed for a false start in the 500m final at the ISU Short Track World Tour event in Montreal on Saturday. © ISU

“I’m happy with how I’ve been performing,” said Van ’t Wout, who looked quick in the earlier rounds. “In the 500m, we are going to contest the (false start) decision. But I’m happy to be in A finals after how bad I’ve been feeling the last couple of days. I had a high fever. I lost three kilos because I couldn’t eat.

“The (1500m) foul is part of the sport. It’s annoying that it happens. I’m happy to be skating, and I know I will be stronger for the next events, but it’s going to be an exciting season. I’ve had battles with William and Rim, and I hope the three of us can fight this season.”

Dandjinou stays calm in front of 1500m chaos 

The 1500m had a stacked final, including three Canadians in Dandjinou, Roussel and Steven Dubois, van ’t Wout and Sighel. 

Dandjinou and van ’t Wout controlled the pace early, as Sighel crashed out, before Roussel’s move took out the Dutch Lion. 

It left Dandjinou and Roussel to cruise over the line one and two – but with Roussel yellow-carded, Shogo Miyata of the Japanese Ninjas, who had negotiated the mayhem perfectly, was bumped to silver, and Dubois promoted to bronze.

Dandjinou was delighted. 

“It’s complex with three Canadians, it’s always hard to manage, but I think we did a good race overall. It’s hard to be aware of everything. I was just happy that I was not in that chaos. There were a lot of good racers, and I could have been squeezed very easily, so that’s lucky.”

William Dandjinou (CAN) skates across the 1500m finish line ahead of teammate Felix Roussel on Saturday in Montreal. © ISU

The weekend was an improvement overall for Dandjinou from World Tour 1, in which he’d fallen twice to rule out a shot at the 1000m and 1500m finals. 

“I changed my set up with my blades to adjust after last weekend, and I feel like it has worked,” he said. “I am not thinking about the Crystal Globe right now, it is mostly about qualifying my spots for the Olympics. It’s hard to compare physically to last year, but I feel good.”

Miyata, 22, enjoyed his moment. 

Shogo Miyata of Japan (left) was bumped to second in the 1500m final after Felix Roussel (CAN) was yellow-carded. © ISU

“It is my first medal, so I am very happy,” Miyata said. “It was a very fast race, very difficult, but I liked it a lot. The Canadians are fast. Thanks very much to my coaching staff, my teammates and family.”

Dubois was also content. 

“It was a crazy race,” he said. “I lost a lot of speed trying to pass Jens, and it didn’t pay off. I saw the pass Felix tried to do, so I tried to chill and get back my legs. But then I made a mistake trying to inside pass the Japanese. It was a lack of judgment from me. I can learn from it. 

“With Felix, he went for a pass that you make 10 per cent of the time. Sometimes it works and it’s great, sometimes it’s not as fun. But he’s got the legs to do something.”

Jens van 't Wout (NED) and Steven Dubois (CAN) battle in the 1500m final at the second stop of the ISU Short Track World Tour in Montreal on Saturday. © ISU

Dubois believes he has room to improve, too. 

“I’ve been having a technical issue with my skates, so my top speed is hard right now. It’s showing in the 500m, where I can’t really go fast, but I’m doing some good stuff in the mid distances.”

The action continues at Maurice Richard Arena on Sunday, with the men’s 1000m and relay.