Ntab, Takagi and De Haitre all enjoy maiden World Cup wins

Dutchman Ntab took victory in the men's 500m after not only crushing his own personal best but also bettering Pavel Kulizhnikov's 2015 track record with a time of 34.52. Russian world champion Kulizhnikov was third in 34.61 with compatriot Ruslan Murashov second with 34.57 although the former still leads the World Cup standings with 300 points. Japan's Takagi then followed suit in the women's 1000m, clocking 1:15.25 to beat Dutch duo Jorien ter Mors and Marrit Leenstra with 1:15.36 and 1:15.82 respectively. The women were the only ones to beat the 1:16 barrier but Brittany Bowe's 2015 track record of 1:14.10 remains safe for another day. And there was another debut winner in the men's 1000m as De Haitre handed Canada its first season World Cup win. De Haitre, who also represents Canada in track cycling, finished in a time of 1:08.90 with Russian Kulizhnikov having to settle for silver, 0.09 seconds behind, with Japan's Takuro Oda grabbing his first career first podium place with the bronze. Kulizhnikov did push Kjeld Nuis from the top rank in the 1000m World Cup classification after the latter was absent in Astana, while De Haitre climbed to third place. Meanwhile Japan was the only team to beat the three-minute barrier in the ladies team pursuit to take gold and a new track record, while the men's team followed their female compatriots when they won their team pursuit race.

Sportsbeat 2016