After the 1500m on Friday and the 1000m on Saturday, Jordan Stolz (USA) completed his Thialf Track Record hat-trick with a time of 33.90s to win the 500m at the ISU World Cup in Heerenveen on Sunday.

After the American display of power and technique, the orange home crowd cheered for Jorrit Bergsma (NED), who won his second Mass Start race of the World Cup season after an eventful race, and the Dutch Team Sprint squad, who seized gold in a track record time to conclude the competition on Sunday.

Jordan Stolz (USA) wins the 500m at the ISU World Cup Speed Skating at Thialf Ice Stadium in Heerenveen, Netherlands © ISU

Stolz is the only one under 34 seconds

After Jenning de Boo (NED) lost his 1000m rink record to Stolz on Saturday, the Dutchman had another thing to defend on Sunday. De Boo skated in the eighth pairing, before Stolz took the ice in the ninth and penultimate heat.

With a time of 34.10s, De Boo came .12s short of his own Track Record. 

Stolz, a little over a minute later, stopped the clock at 33.90s, the only skater to break the 34s barrier on Sunday. De Boo literally bowed his head in disbelief and frustration.

"I had a good race, but he was better. I’m gutted,” De Boo admitted. “It’s a bad feeling. I started this weekend with two Thialf Track Records (500m and 1000m) and I leave empty handed.

“The advantage is that the pressure is now with him. I hope to be back in the hunter’s position.”

Jenning De Boo (NED) at the ISU World Cup Speed Skating at Thialf Ice Stadium in Heerenveen, Netherlands © ISU

De Boo came .20s short of gold, but he had a .20s margin over Wataru Morishige (JPN) himself to take silver. 

Despite his performance, Stolz thought his 500m race was not as good as his 1000m race on Saturday, which he deemed to be near-perfect.

“I was a little bit tired. It can be a little bit faster, on the other hand, I think this is my fastest time at sea level so I’m happy about it.”

In the meantime, Stolz does not feel the pressure of being hunted by De Boo, or the other contenders.

“I’m not afraid. Obviously they’re working hard to try and beat me. That’s just something that comes with (winning). I’m just trying to stay ahead of them.”

Bergsma thrives on the waves of home crowd

After his 500m explosion, Stolz also competed in the Mass Start. He hopes to be able to compete for a medal in the event, but his Sunday race was not so lucky. 

Halfway through the race, the American crashed. He got up quickly, but competing for the medals was out of the question, because the pace was too high to get back to the pack.

Bergsma was the initiator of the fast pace. The Dutch leader in the World Cup ranking attacked straight from the start and got away with Felix Maly (GER) and Andrea Giovannini (ITA). The three were reeled in, however, but the pace didn’t drop. 

Jorrit Bergsma (NED) at the ISU World Cup Speed Skating at Thialf Ice Stadium in Heerenveen, Netherlands © ISU

Bergsma explained: “When we were caught back, the pace remained extremely high, but I got a little momentum with three laps to go. 

“I jumped at the same moment Timothy Loubineaud (FRA) tried to attack, but he crashed and I got a gap. After that it was just going flat out to the finish line.”

Bergsma’s ‘do or die’ effort was rewarded with gold at the finish line. Behind the Dutchman, Chung Jae Won (KOR) sprinted to silver and Bergsma’s teammate Bart Hoolwerf (NED) completed the podium in third place. 

Gold medalist Jorrit Bergsma (NED), centre, silver medalist Jae-Won Chung (KOR) and bronze Bart Hoolwerf (NED) at the ISU World Cup Speed Skating at Thialf (NED) © ISU

Bergsma praised the quality of the Mass Start field: “The field is deeper than ever. We used to have a few fast guys, but now it’s not just down to skaters with a fast bunch sprint anymore. There’s more skaters who try to attack early on in the race.”

Bergsma retained the lead in the World Cup standings, with Chung surpassing Giovannini in second place.

Consolation for De Boo

In the Team Sprint, Jenning de Boo (NED) found consolation for losing his two individual Track Records to Stolz. Together with Stefan Westenbroek and Tim Prins, he skated a track record of 1:17.22 to win the concluding event on Sunday.

United States (Zach Stoppelmoor, Cooper McLeod, Conor Mcdermott-Mostowy) took silver in 1:18.16, and Norway (Bjørn Magnussen, Henrik Fagerli Rukke, Siver Brattgjerd) took bronze in 1:19.02.

Team Sprint team (NED) Jenning de Boo with Stefan Westenbroek and Tim Prins © ISU

Prins, the third lap man for the Netherlands, had enjoyed racing the Team Sprint event in front of the home crowd. 

He said: “Somehow it hurts a bit that the event is not Olympic, so there’s less media attention. But it’s super cool, and that shows if you see how the crowd reacts.

“The speed is so high. For me, I always fear that I cannot keep up with those rockets, but it’s such a great feeling when I manage to. Six inner corners, at such phenomenal speed, it’s such a beautiful event.”