Dutch skaters took to the ice this past weekend in Thialf as the national Allround and Sprint championships got underway in the Netherlands.
By: Maria Dalton
Photos by: Jaap Hop
While heavyweights like Wust, Kramer and Roest were missing from action this weekend at Thialf, Dutch fans were still spoiled with another great weekend of racing as many familiar faces thrilled the crowd on route to capturing national titles.
Otterspeer, Leerdam capture sprint titles
Hein Otterspeer captured the men’s sprint titles after two first place finishes in the 1000m and strong finishes in the 500m catapulted him to the top of the podium. Otterspeer finished just ahead of Dai Dai Ntab who finished with 138.750 points. Dai Dai Ntab will be looking to find his stride this year after numerous disappointing results last year – including disqualification for fall start at the Dutch Olympic trials. Lennart Velema rounded off the podium, bringing home the bronze medal with 139.055 points.
Jutta Leerdam was dominant on the women’s side, finishing in first in three races and recording a second-place finish in the second 500m. Leerdam has previously found success at the junior level and is making it known that she is a serious force in the sprint distances in her first senior season. Leerdam finished with 150.070 points to finish ahead of Letitia de Jong. Sanneke de Neeling rounded off the podium finishing with 152.710 points.
De Vries, Achtereekte crowned allround champions
Douwe de Vries captured the men’s allround title as three familiar faces found themselves on the podium at Thialf this past weekend. De Vries started with an eighth-place finish in the 500m, however his first-place finishes in the other three distances allowed him to edge out Marcel Bosker. Bosker, who finished in third at last year’s World Allround championship, was narrowly edged out of the top spot – finishing a mere 0.65 points behind de Vries. Chris Huzinga finished with 151.611 points to round of the podium.
Carlijn Achtereekte’s consistent racing over the weekend allowed her to earn the top spot on the podium. The 28-year-old finished second in each allround distance to capture the title with 159.685 points. Joy Beune, who was labelled as one of our skaters to watch this season, finished second. She is in her first season at the senior level and her results this past weekend combined with her successes at the world cups so far leave no doubt that she is one to watch in years to come. Esmee Visser, who is currently ranked second in the long distances on the world cup circuit, rounded out the podium with 162.250 points.
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