EK09 Track Wrap: Bart Swings storms Zandvoorde

In his first year as a Senior, Bart Swings has stamped his name on the 2009 European Track Championships in Zandvoorde, Belgium this week - winning the 1000m & 10km Points/Elimination events in a week of sub-World Record skating on the historic track...

Bart Swings - Senior EK Gold in the 1000m final

The 200m of uncoated asphalt that is the Zandvoorde track has hosted the World Championships on two occasions, in 1991 and 2002. Noted as a fast track, with its wide corners and short straights loading skaters into a heavily-banked baseline around the corner, it has perhaps never been as fast as it was this week - playing host to the best skaters in Europe, most of the seniors now very familiar with 110mm skates.

While the track's now-unconventional layout can no longer be homologated by FIRS, and World Records set on the track not ratified, this did not stop 5 senior men posting times below that of Pedro Causil's (24.531 sec) 300m World Record set in Gijon last September. In the daytime qualifying session, Kevin Gauclin, Ronald Mulder, Andrea Peruzzo, Wouter Hebbrecht & Nicholas Pelloquin all bettered the time – with Pelloquin coming out fastest with a new WR of 24.221 sec. Hebbrecht's experience won out in the final, being the only one of the five to better his qualifying time, he won with a 24.271 sec 300m. In the womens event, Italian Nicolette Falcone went under Brittany Bowe's official 300m WR (26.611 sec) posting 26.572 sec to win the TT final.

Experience wins out - Wouter Hebbrecht off the start in his 300m TT win (24.271 sec, MPC Black Track)
Image: darkroom.danielyeow.com

More trail-blazing times would be set in the 500m events, with Alexis Contin winning his 500 QF in 40.853 sec and later Kevin Gauclin winning his 500 SF in 40.848 sec (the official WR being 41.233 sec). Erika Zanetti won her 500 SF in 44.040 sec (the official WR 43.915 sec). 500 finals were eventually won in the womens by Erika Zanetti, ahead of Falcone, Berg & Posada, and in the mens by Peruzzo, ahead of Mulder, Angeletti & Gauclin.

Start of the Mens 1000m final - Swings (right) took the win over Felix Rijhnen (GER) & Andrea Peruzzo (ITA)
Image: darkroom.danielyeow.com

The 1000m womens final was won by Sabine Berg, continuing a successful transition to Senior for the former Junior World Champion, ahead of de Vries & Zanetti. In an interesting podium for the mens final, it was CadoMotus Bart Swings with an emphatic win over Rijhnen & Peruzzo.

The eliminations saw Laura Lardani take the womens win over Sabine Berg & Laetitia Le Bihan, and Fabio Francolini edge out Bart Swings by just 0.018 seconds ahead of Alexis Contin in 3rd.

A return-to-form saw Simona de Eugenio win the points/elimination ahead of ex-Junior teammates Marieke Thum & Sabine Berg, and in the mens, the absence of World Champion Yann Guyader left the race somewhat open and it was Bart Swings who took advantage with a big points win (25) over another interesting podium of Peula (7pts) & Dutchman Crispijn Ariens (6pts).

Swings victory in the 10km Points/Elimination, ahead of Peula (ESP) & Ariens (NED)
Image: darkroom.danielyeow.com

Closing with the short and sharp 3000m relay finals, Germany took out the womens final ahead of Italy and the Netherlands. In the Mens final the French mounted a huge starting charge that saw them fade through the distance after initially building a big lead - together with their pursuers Holland & Germany. From a big deficit, the Belgians caught them and also overtook a late charge by the Italians - with Bart Swings final lap a dramatic run-down of the tired french who he overtook exiting the final turn to take Gold for the CadoMotus trio of Swings, Spruyt & Swings.

Swings leads a Belgian come-from-behind win in the Senior Relay
Image: darkroom.danielyeow.com

Links:

VIDEO: Mens and Womens 300m TT
VIDEO: Mens 1000m final
VIDEO: Mens 10km Points/Elimination final
VIDEO: Mens 3000m relay final

RESULTS: Track (full) incl. Cadet & Junior