Beune once again had to rely on her final round. The Twente from Team IKO-X20 was still behind Miho Takagi’s time schedule, but because she was able to maintain her technique and therefore her speed, she was no less than 1.2 seconds faster than the Japanese great in the last 400 meters. Beune rode the rest home with character because the difference with Takagi was enormous: 1.51.17 versus 1.51.68.
“I just keep winning,” Beune beamed NOS. “And that makes it fun. I had to do it myself today, I only had an advantage with a substitution.” Thanks to its top form, TeamNL secured the maximum number of starting places for the Milan Winter Games. Beune: “That’s nice, but of course I don’t buy anything for that myself. I have to show it later at the Olympic qualifying tournament. But this is the best training for me, to gain competition toughness for that OKT.”
The other Dutch women could not follow Beune, although Antoinette Rijpma-De Jong still finished fourth (1.52.33).