Victory for Nils van der Poel in the Olympic qualifiers

The World Cup kicked off on Friday in the Polish Tomaszów Mazowiecki and van der Poel entered the 5,000-meter race as the only skier who has not yet competed this season. However, it would turn out that competition habits had nothing to do with the results.

van der Poel started in the eighth and final pair and thus had everyone else’s times to go on. However, the Swede started cautiously and was 1.7 seconds from lead time after the first kilometer.

But the reigning world champion showed that the start was not decisive. The Swede broke the track record when he crossed the finish line, 5.38 seconds ahead of the nearest competitor, the Canadian Ted-Jan Bloemen.

– It was a cool feeling at the riot, it was really powerful, says van der Poel to Radiosporten in Swedish Radio and tells that he received congratulations from the competitors.

– There are many who have congratulated, some more genuinely happy than others, he says.

– I think that even the most sharp and well-trained doubt, and it is clear that some doubt a little extra when they are deprived of five seconds in the World Cup premiere.

The World Cup competitions is part of the Olympic qualifiers, where the riders collect points in the battle to compete in Beijing. Through the victory, van der Poel has very good chances to get there. He himself doubts that anything can stop him from an Olympic venue.

– I have a very hard time seeing that, it’s if I get injured or sick.

Next week, 10,000 meters await in Norwegian Stavanger.

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