Maltais wins two bronze at opener of speedskating World Cup season
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BEIJING – Canada’s Valérie Maltais won two bronze medals on the final day of the speedskating World Cup season opener.
Maltais, from La Baie, Que., teamed with Laura Hall of Salmon Arm, B.C., and Rose-Anne Grenier to claim bronze in the women’s team pursuit earlier Sunday.
The Canadians posted a time of three minutes 3.17 seconds to finish behind the Netherlands (2:57.37) and China (3:00.58).
It was the first World Cup race for the new team, which was formed after decorated veterans Isabelle Weidemann and Ivanie Blondin announced they were taking a break from competition.
Weidemann and Blondin, both from Ottawa, teamed with Maltais to defend Canada’s women’s pursuit gold at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics.
The Canadians started with the slowest first lap of the eight teams in contention but moved into bronze medal position with a lap and a half remaining.
“Going into the race, our plan was just to start together and finish together,” Hall said. “We wanted to find our rhythm early because we knew we were not the fastest starters. We kept it together in the last two laps and were able to finish strong.”
Later, Maltais added bronze in the women’s mass start with a time of 8:02.65, finishing behind Dutch skaters Marijke Groenewoud (8:02.05) and Merel Conijn (8:02.57) in a new format that features eliminations during the sprint laps.
“I was a little bit scared and nervous about it just because we’ve seen internationally a lot of action (in this new format) that meant we had to be careful,” Maltais said.
“Once I was in the race, I was no longer thinking about that and just trying to position myself while still being aware of the back of the pack, which is not a way that I am used to racing a Mass Start. I’m comfortable in a peloton coming from short track. I was taking information from behind, protecting my track and my position, so I can see now how I can enjoy this new format of racing.”
The next World Cup stop is next weekend in Obihiro, Japan.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 15, 2026.