Speed Skating Canada

| Events: National, National Team: Long Track, Uncategorized

Valérie Maltais and Hayden Mayeur capture Mass Start crowns on final day of Canadian Long Track Championships

| Events: National, National Team: Long Track, Uncategorized

Valérie Maltais and Hayden Mayeur capture Mass Start crowns on final day of Canadian Long Track Championships

| Events: National, National Team: Long Track, Uncategorized

Valérie Maltais and Hayden Mayeur capture Mass Start crowns on final day of Canadian Long Track Championships

Maltais and Mayeur will join World Championship medalists Blondin and Gélinas-Beaulieu on the World Cup circuit

QUEBEC CITY, QUEBEC – The 2024 Canadian Long Track Championships presented by Intact Insurance came to an end on Sunday with Valérie Maltais and Hayden Mayeur coming out on top to win their respective Mass Start titles.

With Ivanie Blondin and Antoine Gélinas-Beaulieu already prequalified for the distance due to their World Championship medals last season, skaters were fighting for just one men’s and women’s spot on the World Cup team.

On the women’s side, it was Maltais (La Baie, Que.), the reigning World Cup champion in the distance, who earned the win, completing the 16-lap race in 9:34.163. She was joined on the podium by Gabrielle Jelonek (Quebec City, Que.) and Darby Beeson (Calgary, Alta.), who finished +0.109 and +0.278 seconds behind the leader.

A breakaway from long-distance specialist Laura Hall (Salmon Arm, B.C.) caused some concern early on, but the peloton caught up with her with three laps remaining. Skaters then jostled for position near the front to set themselves up for the final sprint, one that saw Maltais and Jelonek overtake Beeson, who was in the lead on the inside.

“I am happy with my victory in the mass start today, it was important to ensure a place in the World Cup. It is always a very different race in Canada from what we find in the World Cup. So I have to manage several aspects well, without necessarily having to go for the maximum effort.”

Valérie Maltais

Things were equally as exciting in the men’s race, where Mayeur (Toronto, Ont.), a World Cup bronze medalist in the distance, was victorious following a hectic final sprint. Mayeur’s time of 08:44.035 placed him ahead of Calgarians Max Halyk (+0.261s) and Jack Deibert (+0.29s).

“For the majority of my career, the Mass Start has been an event that I put a lot of my attention towards. It comes with risk because anything can happen during those 16 laps and the best skater can either win or come last. Today, I went out onto the line without a race plan. I’ve been a racer my whole life, so my goal was to skate off instinct. I positioned myself well during the race to conserve energy and launched myself on the final lap with just right timing to cross the line in first position. It felt incredible and I’m so happy to be on the top step at the Canadian Championships once again.”

Hayden Mayeur

The results from this weekend’s Canadian Long Track Championships presented by Intact Insurance will be used to help select the skaters that will represent Canada on the international stage for the first half of the season.

The season gets underway next month with ISU Four Continents Speed Skating Championships in Hachinohe City from November 15-17. Athletes will then begin their World Cup season with stops in Nagano (November 22-24) and Beijing (Nov 29-December 1). The circuit will then make it’s way to North American in the New Year, with events in Calgary (January 24-26) and Salt Lake City (January 31-February 2).

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