NOS Skating•
Van de Bunt also surprises at 10,000 meters and takes his second Olympic starting ticket
Stijn van de Bunt has once again caused a surprise at the Olympic qualifying tournament in Thialf. After winning the 5,000 meters on Friday, he was also by far the fastest in the 10,000 meters on Sunday.
With a phenomenal time of 12.36.35, just above the Dutch record, Van de Bunt secured his second Olympic starting ticket.
The battle for second place was the most exciting. Jorrit Bergsma squeezed out a final sprint and clocked 12.45.21. He fell just under the time of Marcel Bosker, who finished third with 12.45.98 and can therefore put the Olympic ten kilometers out of his mind.
Bergsma in waiting room
For Van de Bunt, the victory means that he will be at the start of both the 10,000 meters and the 5,000 meters at the Winter Games in Milan. The 39-year-old Bergsma still has to wait and see whether his second place will be enough to participate in the Games. He is therefore at the bottom of the matrix, but hopes that national coach Rintje Ritsma will appoint him for the mass start. In that case, Bergsma will also be allowed to start in the ten kilometers.
Chris Huizinga and Beau Snellink, who were among the contenders in the 10,000 meters, did not come close to a ticket at all. Huizinga finished fourth in 12:50.83, Snellink finished ninth with 13:11.28.
Van de Bunt wanted to win so that his teammate could go to the Games: ‘That was my motivation’
“I knew I had a good ride in my legs, but this is really bizarre,” said Van de Bunt immediately after his winning ride. “I had trained more on ten than on five, so I was a bit more confident here. The five kilometers came as more of a surprise, but I still didn’t see this coming.”
The 21-year-old Van de Bunt, who has never competed in a World Cup race, had the audience jumping to their feet before the mop-up break. He even rode for a long time on the schedule of the Dutch record, which is held by Patrick Roest (12.35.20).
But in the final laps Van de Bunt had a hard time and fell just short of taking over that record. However, he was almost twenty seconds off his personal record. “I only heard afterwards from my coach that I was so close to the Dutch record, but that was all that was possible at the moment,” he said.
Teammate Diniz as motivation
With his win, Van de Bunt not only did good business for himself, he was also aware that he may have done his teammate Sebas Diniz a great service. Diniz rode the second fastest time in the 500 meters on Saturday, but is not yet certain of participating in the Games due to his place on the matrix.
A total of nine skaters are allowed to participate in the Games. The names above the red line in the matrix are already certain.
Now that Van de Bunt occupies two places on the matrix – as winner of both the 5,000 and 10,000 meters – there is a greater chance that sprinter Diniz will also receive an Olympic starting ticket. “That was a motivation for me,” said Van de Bunt.
Van de Bunt himself can even hope for a third starting ticket for the Games. He is also a candidate for inclusion in the team for the team pursuit. “I think I am a very good pawn in that, that I have the capabilities for that. I think I am the ideal man,” he sounded confident.
