The European Championship distances in Heerenveen seem to be a great prelude to the Olympic Games for Irene Schouten. The Hoogkarspelse won the mass start this afternoon with force majeure. Earlier today she took gold in the team pursuit with Ireen Wüst and Antoinette de Jong. On Friday, Schouten already became European champion in the 3,000 meters.
At the mass start there was again no measure on Schouten. The West Frisian took on the sprint with compatriot Marijke Groenewoud in the final round. The competition couldn’t follow and had to let the two go. Schouten turned out to have the best legs and rode sovereignly to the finish.
Team Pursuit
Earlier today, Schouten had little competition in the team pursuit with Ireen Wüst and Antoinette de Jong. The three skaters drove a flawless race and with a time of 2.54.12 the Dutch even fell below the track record held by Canada.
In Beijing, Schouten, Wüst and De Jong are contenders for Olympic gold. The biggest challengers there will be Canada – which has won all the World Cups this season – and reigning Olympic champion Japan.