Isabelle Weidemann finishes second overall in World Cup long distance rankings
INZELL, GERMANY – Valérie Maltais reached the podium in her final race before Milano-Cortina 2026, earning bronze in the women’s 3000m at the ISU World Cup Speed Skating in Germany on Saturday.
Maltais (La Baie, Que.) posted a time of 3:59.92 to finish third in the last long distance race of the season. Her pair mate Ragne Wiklund of Norway crossed the finish line in 3:54.74, setting a new personal best and new track record at the Max Aicher Arena to grab gold, while Joy Beune of the Netherlands earned silver (3:56.96).
Valérie Maltais“I’m happy with my performance today. It was a really consistent race and I feel that I skated well. I knew Ragne [Wiklund] was going to start very quickly, so we emphasized that in my race plan. I’m starting my recovery phase after a successful training camp in Spain, so this is a good sign considering I haven’t yet reached my peak. Definitely a positive result heading into the Olympics.”
Wiklund was in a class of her own atop the World Cup rankings with 270 points across five long distance races. Canadian Isabelle Weidemann (Ottawa, Ont.) finished in second place with 227 points, thanks to a pair of silver medals. The third and final spot on the overall podium went to Beune, who was tied with Maltais with 222 points but got the upper hand thanks to her two victories and four podium results.
The final ISU World Cup Speed Skating event of the season concludes tomorrow in Inzell, where medals and World Cup titles will be awarded in the men’s and women’s 500m, Mass Start and Team Sprint. Racing will be live streamed on CBC Sports and Radio-Canada Sports digital platforms.
Results
Women’s 1000m
- Béatrice Lamarche: 6th
- Rose Laliberté-Roy:4th (B Division)
- Carolina Hiller-Donnelly: 5th (B Division)
Men’s 1000m
- David La Rue: 16th
- Anders Johnson: 2nd (B Division)
Women’s 3000m
- Valérie Maltais: 3rd
- Isabelle Weidemann: 7th
- Ivanie Blondin: 10th
- Laura Hall: 9th (B Division)
Men’s 5000m
- Ted-Jan Bloemen: 16th