New sensation Van de Bunt also wins 10,000 meters – and is suddenly the country’s hope for the long distances

He stood there calmly and relaxed, in the tunnel to the central area of ​​Thialf. You wouldn’t think that Stijn van de Bunt (21), from Lopik, had just officially become the sensation of the Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OKT). He had ridden a ride over 10,000 meters that, it could not be otherwise, would have been good for number one in the final results – and a starting place at the Games. With an astonishing time (12:36.35, just one second above the Dutch record), he would – as it turned out – indeed leave all the established names behind him. Behind Van de Bunt, old fighter Jorrit Bergsma (39) fought his way to second place; he also seems certain of participating in the Games.

Van de Bunt’s victory came two days after he had already stunned the skating world with a victory in the 5,000 meters. And this despite the fact that last summer he had broken his back and several ribs in a cycling accident in Andorra, where he was at a training camp. Three days in the hospital, eight days without training – an eternity for a top athlete. After the five kilometers on Friday, Van de Bunt said, his phone went black due to the many messages he had received (“I actually thought it was broken”). He had only slept four hours because of the excitement.

Yet he was there again, on Sunday at the 10,000 meters. He knew he was in good shape: the ten kilometers is actually more his distance than the five kilometers. He had been working towards this for months, his coach Erik Bouwman said afterwards. “So we really knew he was going to pop today.” Van de Bunt had no lap times in mind beforehand and had “simply gone based on feeling and technique”.

And that’s what it looked like from the stands. Van de Bunt moved across the ice with a light and relaxed stroke – the 24 laps did not seem to cost him any effort. His lap times were completely flat. After six kilometers he dipped under 30 seconds – and every time he did that again, the audience in Heerenveen clapped and cheered louder. At the finish, Van de Bunt appeared to have shaved eighteen seconds off his personal record. He only learned from his coach afterwards that he had even driven under Patrick Roest’s Dutch record for a while.

Source of concern

With his double victory at the OKT, Van de Bunt, who was completely unknown until two days ago, has instantly become the country’s hope for the long distances. The 5,000 and 10,000 meters have long been a source of concern for Dutch skating enthusiasts: the Dutch men are being beaten by foreign competition on their former king’s numbers. Prior to the OKT, expectations were therefore low.

With Van de Bunt, who has not previously competed in international competitions, there suddenly seems to be a Dutch candidate for the podium in Milan. When asked about those high expectations, he responded with a remarkable amount of self-confidence. Yes, he understood that he was the nation’s new hope. “And I would like to fulfill that hope. I also think that I should comply with that.”

There is a good chance that Van de Bunt will not end up with a starting position at the five and ten kilometers at the Games. After completing the 5,000 meters, he openly applied for a place in the team pursuit. He had “the speed for it,” he said, plus experience from his time in the juniors. The national coach could certainly call him. “I’m ready.”

Pointing points

Everything now indicates that that call will indeed come. The results on the 5,000 and 10,000 meters have saddled national coach Rintje Ritsma with a completely new situation. Of his intended team for the Games, which he has fielded at all competitions for two seasons, only one rider has qualified directly for Milan: Chris Huizinga, who finished second in the 5,000 meters. It does not seem likely that the KNVB skating association will give the dropouts a designation at the expense of two other skaters. And so, Ritsma said yes before the start of the 10,000 meters NRChe automatically ends up with Van de Bunt: “I will have to, otherwise I will not be able to fill the team.”

After his victory in the 10,000 meters, Van de Bunt put another option on the table: the mass start. There, Jorrit Bergsma is the first choice of national coach Ritsma, but number two Bart Hoolwerf was unable to skate into the selection order at the OKT. It would be “very nice” if he could also drive that part, said Van de Bunt. He had once ridden a mass start among the juniors, “and won too.” Due to his past in roller skating, he continued, he has experience in a peloton – and he can also sprint quite well. “I think I am a handy boy who can switch quickly.”

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