Van ‘t Wout takes bronze at 1,500 meters, Velzeboer surprisingly eliminated

Jens van ‘t Wout has won a bronze World Tour medal in the 1,500 meters in Seoul. In the final he finished fourth, but due to a penalty for number three Steven Dubois, Van ‘t Wout moved up one place.

For Xandra Velzeboer, the 1,000 meter tournament was already over after the semi-finals. So far this season she has been on the podium every time in the kilometer, but she did not reach the final during the fourth World Tour weekend of the season.

Van ‘t Wout, who won gold in the 1,000 meters in Beijing earlier this season, won his semi-final sovereign and also showed his good form in the final. The 23-year-old Dutchman rode well at the front of the group, but was thrown aside by an inside overtake by Dubois.

He stayed upright, finished the race and eventually crossed the finish line in fourth. Because Dubois was punished afterwards for his unauthorized overtaking action, Van ‘t Wout was still allowed to take a seat on the podium.

Velzeboer had a difficult time on the first final day in South Korea. In the quarter-finals of the 1,000 meters she was not very convincing with a second place and in the semi-finals she was also unable to control the race.

She was in fourth place and could not easily overtake. In the end she came in third place, but that was not enough for a place in the final.

Her sister Michelle Velzeboer was in the final. She was on course for a medal for a long time, but she was surpassed in the final phase. She eventually crossed the finish line in fifth place.

Just like Van ‘t Wout, Friso Emons was in the final of the 1,500 meters. He finished in sixth place. The victory went to Canadian William Dandjinou, who has already won gold twice this season in the 1,500 meters.

Emons crashed in his semi-final on the 1,500 meters, but was later added to the start list of the final by the jury. He was caught in the trap of the Chinese Liu Guanyi, who was riding behind him. Emons himself was in second place at the time. Emons was not involved in the final.

Daan Kos also rode a strong semi-final in the 1,500 meters. He even took the lead for a while, but fell just short of a place in the final in the final sprint. Closely behind Steven Dubois and Michal Niewinski, 21-year-old Kos finished third.

Earlier in the day, the Netherlands had already qualified for the final of the mixed relay. The Orange Quartet, consisting of Teun Boer, Jens van ‘t Wout, Michelle Velzeboer and Xandra Velzeboer, won the semi-final, which also included South Korea, Italy and Poland.