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The men’s Mass Start has had a different dynamic this World Cup season, and Timothy Loubineaud (FRA) is taking advantage. After having won his career first World Cup race in Nagano last November, the French specialist added a second victory in Calgary, Canada, on Sunday to go back on top of the ranking. Jordan Stolz (USA) edged out Jenning de Boo (NED) by a .02s margin in the 500m to collect his 19th consecutive World Cup win, and his USA teammates Austin Kleba, Cooper McLeod and Zach Stoppelmoor rounded up the Calgary event with gold and a world record in the men’s Team Sprint.

Resilience after physical troubles

Whereas mass starts often tended to finish in a final bunch sprint, the races seem to be more open this season. Timothy Loubineaud’s Nagano victory came after a long, solo breakaway. In Calgary, he decided again to take the initiative early on in the race.

Loubineaud escaped from the pack in the third lap, and heading into the first intermediate sprint got some company from Fridtjof Petzold (GER) and Indra Médard (BEL).

Mass Start medallists (left to right): Fridtjof Petzold of Germany (silver), Timothy Loubineaud of France (gold) and Indra Médard of Belgium (bronze). ©ISU

The three stayed in front for the entire race, with Loubineaud and Petzold taking up the bulk of the front duty, while Médard could sit and wait, knowing that his teammate Bart Swings (BEL) would have a chance in the bunch sprint if the escaping trio got caught.

With Médard in the breakaway, Swings did not feel the need to chase, however, and neither did the other teams.

Going into the final lap, Loubineaud had the best legs of the front three. Petzold and Médard finished second and third, respectively.

“I went into the race without any tactics,” said Loubineaud. “It’s the same as I did in Japan [at the Nagano World Cup in November]. I’m a very random guy, and when I let the fire inside me talk, it’s not too bad. It doesn’t work all the time, but it worked in Japan, and it works here.

“The last lap I was very worried, because the Belgian [Médard] was not leading. Of course, he has a tactic of trying to make a good race for Bart Swings, which I understand, but I also understand that he’s in the race to win. It’s good that I have my win and he has his podium. Everyone is in the right place, and everyone’s happy.”

Timothy Loubineaud of France celebrates a gold-medal performance in men’s Mass Start at ISU World Cup in Calgary. ©ISU

Loubineaud was emotional because he had been struggling with his physique lately.

“[After the World Cups in Asia], I had symptoms of overtraining, that’s also why I was not in Thialf [Heerenveen] for the European Allround Championships two weeks ago]. Last week I wasn’t even able to skate three 40-second laps in a row,” he said.

“Today is very special. Yesterday I considered not skating the 10,000m, but luckily I did and I skated a French national record.

“It’s so emotional, because I have such a big team around me, my friends, my coaches. I’m trying to hold back my tears, probably my grandma is watching this as well.”

Having won and going to the top of the World Cup Mass Start rankings doesn’t mean the overtraining symptoms are completely over for Loubineaud.

“I’m still recovering, I would say I’m at 80 percent at the moment,” he said. “Next week [at the World Cup in Milwaukee] I hope to be a little bit better. For me it’s all bonus.”

Jordan Stolz (USA) makes ‘waves’ in the men’s 500m race, which he won, at ISU World Cup Calgary. ©ISU

Stolz keeps going, but De Boo closes in

After already having won the 1500m on Friday and the 1000m on Saturday, Jordan Stolz (USA) didn’t show any signs of fatigue in Sunday’s 500m. The 20-year-old American won the shortest distance in 33.85s, just .16s off the track record he had skated himself at last year’s World Single Distance Championships.

“I felt like, technically, I raced really well, although I was a little tired from the last two days,” Stolz said.

Stolz set his mark in the eighth of 10 pairings and when he got off the ice, Jenning de Boo (NED) had yet to come. The Dutchman had skated the fastest full lap in Saturday’s 1000m, finishing second just .15s behind Stolz.

Jordan Stolz (USA) races to gold in the men’s 500m at ISU World Cup in Calgary. ©ISU

In the 500m, De Boo got even closer. Stopping the clock at 33.87s, he was the first Dutchman to ever skate the 500m under 34 seconds, adding a second national record to Saturday’s mark in the 1000m.

“I kind of expected that he would be pretty close,” Stolz said. “But I’d hoped I’d have a little bit faster of a lap.

“I think we can push each other. He had a really good lap in the 1000s. So that kind of shows like, how much better a person can get.”

Men’s 500m medalists (left to right): Jenning de Boo (silver, Netherlands), Jordan Stolz (gold, USA) and Damian Zurek (bronze, Poland). ©ISU

De Boo said he had been nervous at the start.

“That 1000m was incredibly good, and it really surprised me, but the 500m … Everybody said that I was going to skate a 33-second-time, but it’s not that easy, so that put quite some pressure on my shoulders,” he said. “I knew Stolz’s time already and I was really shaking at the starting line.

“Yet I managed to do what I had to do, and I’m very proud of that.”

Finishing .02s short was not too big of a disappointment for De Boo.

Jenning de Boo of the Netherlands was ‘very proud’ of his silver-medal performance in the men’s 500m. ©ISU

“[When I crossed the line], I was celebrating, but then again not all-out, because I saw that I was just behind [Stolz’s] time. It was a little short, but good enough for me. Next time I hope to get past him.”

Damian Zurek (POL) took bronze in 34.07s to collect his first World Cup medal of the season. He was back in the mix after a rough couple of months.

“I’m really happy,” Zurek said. “The time was quite fast, a new personal best.

“The first half of the season was quite hard for me, because I was sick a lot with flu-like symptoms, but now I’m going forward.”

USA takes Team Sprint world record

Austin Kleba, Cooper McLeod and Zach Stoppelmoor (USA) won the Team Sprint in a time of one minute 16.98s, shaving .19s off the world record Canada set at the World Single Distance Championships last year.

“I knew that we could [win] as a team,” Kleba said. “I knew that it was possible. It just took a cleanly executed race, fortunate enough that we skate in Salt Lake, and have a little bit of a feel for fast ice. It is a little tougher [here], the corners being tighter, but our team came prepared. We had a good plan into what we wanted to execute, and we executed it.”

The USA trio of Austin Kleba, Cooper Mcleod and Zach Stoppelmoor captured gold in men’s Team Sprint at ISU World Cup Calgary. ©ISU

The Netherlands (De Boo, Stefan Westenbroek, Tim Prins) had also set their sights on the world record, but they came 0.56s short of Team USA, taking silver in 1:17.54.

They had a plan, too, but it went astray when third-man Prins had a mis-stroke and lost his connection with Westenbroek and De Boo.

“Our first lap was perfect, and the second lap, too, but then Tim had a mis-stroke and with the helmet and the wind, you can’t hear each other, so I didn’t know that he lost connection,” De Boo said afterwards. “It’s a tiny mistake. I’m sure that if he had kept connection, we could have skated a world record and won.”

Poland’s Zurek, Piotr Michalski and Marek Kania finished third in 1:17.58. The United States and the Netherlands join the lead in the World Cup rankings, with Poland following in a distant third.

Next stop Milwaukee

Having concluded ISU World Cup III in Calgary, the series resumes at the Pettit National Ice Center in Milwaukee, USA, next weekend.

ISU World Cup Speed Skating Series events 2024/25:

Nov 22  - 24, 2024                     Nagano / JPN 

Nov 29 - Dec 01, 2024              Beijing / CHN

Jan 24 - 26, 2025                      Calgary  CAN

Jan 31 - Feb 02, 2025               Milwaukee / USA

Feb 21 - 23, 2025                      Tomaszów Mazowiecki / POL

Feb 28 - Mar 02, 2025              Heerenveen / NED

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