CALGARY, ALBERTA – Antoine Gélinas-Beaulieu and Valérie Maltais rose above the chaos to bring home their respective national titles in the Mass Start on Sunday at the 2025 Canadian Long Track Championships presented by Intact Insurance in Calgary.
Gélinas-Beaulieu (Sherbrooke, Que.), who had not taken part in a Mass Start race since March 2024, remained patient throughout the 16-lap marathon, before making his move towards the front for the final sprint. The 33-year-old crossed the finish line with a time of 7:55.88, narrowly edging out Ottawa’s Jake Weidemann (7:55.96) and Montreal’s David La Rue (7:56.43) to bring home gold.
“It has been two years since I raced a Mass Start. The last time was here in Calgary, when I won silver at the World Championships. It had been a while, so I was definitely a little stressed at the start line. There were a lot of really competitive skaters today, but my race went well. There are no easy Mass Start races, but there were no big surprises in this one, which helped my position myself well throughout the race so that I could win it in the final sprint,” said Antoine Gélinas-Beaulieu.
There was no surprise on the women’s side, where Maltais (La Baie, Que.) finished atop the field of 14 skaters. The 35-year-old sprinted past Rose-Anne Grenier (Sainte-Marie, Que.) and Darby Beeson (Airdrie, Alta.) in the final lap to grab the title with a time of 9:08.72. Grenier earned silver (9:10.46), while Beeson (9:10.61) beat out Isabelle Champagne (Calgary, Alta.) for bronze.
Ivanie Blondin (Ottawa, Ont.) is prequalified for the World Cups in the discipline due to her performance on the international stage last season, which culminated with World Championship silver in silver in Hamar.
“I was nervous, but also confident ahead of today’s race. There are always a bunch of things that can happen in a Mass Start, but I felt good, and I knew I had the speed. I really wanted to win the race today so that I could once again represent Canada at the World Cups,” said Valérie Maltais.
The Canadian team for the upcoming ISU World Cup Speed Skating season will be named in the coming weeks based on results from these Canadian Long Track Championships, as well international performances from last season.
Canada will compete on home ice next month at the second World Cup of the season, from November 21-23 at the Olympic Oval in Calgary. Ticketing options are available for both die-hard and casual fans, with single-day General Admission tickets starting at $10 for kids and $15 for adults, while Premium Tickets can be purchased for only $30. For more information on the ISU World Cup Speed Skating in Calgary, visit www.speedskating.ca/calgary2025.
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