The ISU World Cup for Speed Skating will celebrate 35 years in 2019-20 after its start in 1985, beginning with the first of six meets, at the Minsk Arena in Belarus.
It’s a long season, with the World Cup Final on early March, but let’s start with the top performers from the last two seasons:
Men/Overall:
● 2018: Havard Holmefjord Lorentzen (NOR)
● 2019: Not named
Men/500 m:
● 2018: Havard Holmefjord Lorentzen (NOR)
● 2019: Pavel Kulizhkinov (RUS) ~ Third title
Men/1,000 m:
● 2018: Kjeld Nuis (NED)
● 2019: Kjeld Nuis (NED) ~ Fifth title (and fourth in a row)
Men/1,500 m:
● 2018: Denis Yuskov (RUS)
● 2019: Denis Yuskov (RUS) ~ Third title
Men/5,000 & 10,000 m:
● 2018: Ted-Jan Bloemen (CAN)
● 2019: Aleksandr Rumyantsev (RUS)
Men/Mass Start:
● 2018: Bart Swings (BEL)
● 2019: Cheon-Ho Um (KOR)
Women/Overall:
● 2018: Miho Takagi (JPN)
● 2019: Not named
Women/500 m:
● 2018: Vanessa Herzog (AUT)
● 2019: Vanessa Herzog (AUT) ~ Second title
Women/1,000 m:
● 2018: Yekaterina Shikhova (RUS)
● 2019: Brittany Bowe (USA) ~ Third title
Women/1,500 m:
● 2018: Miho Takagi (JPN)
● 2019: Brittany Bowe (USA) ~ Second title
Women/3,000 & 5,000 m:
● 2018: Antoinette de Jong (NED)
● 2019: Martina Sabilkova (CZE) ~ 12th title
Women/Mass Start:
● 2018: Francesca Lollobrigida (ITA) ~ Second title
● 2019: Bo-Reum Kim (KOR) ~ Third title
Bowe returns to the circuit off an excellent year in which she won the World Cup in two events, won the World Championship in the 1,000 m and a bronze in the 1,500 m.
Look for results here.